资金与时间点是本文的核心数字：先前报导称 Merge Labs 以约 8.5 亿美元估值募资，目标筹集 2.5 亿美元，而 Altman 共同创办但不会个人出资。Altman 曾投资 Neuralink；另有报导指出 World（Altman 支持的数位身分公司）执行长 Alex Blania 也是共同创办人之一。

Forest 自 2023 年成立、过去数年研发以超音波侦测血流变化来推估脑活动，并可用聚焦声波刺激；相较于 Neuralink 等植入式装置只能在局部量测神经元电活动，超音波方案被认为可能提供更接近「全脑」的覆盖。其装置正于英国进行早期安全性研究（与一项 650 万规模计划相关）且获 ARIA 支持；此外亦传出 Merge 正评估把超音波装置与基因疗法结合，以提高特定细胞对声波的反应。

Merge Labs, Sam Altman’s new brain-computer interface startup, is being spun out of the Los Angeles nonprofit Forest Neurotech and aims to read brain activity with ultrasound. Reported cofounders include Forest CEO Sumner Norman and chief scientific officer Tyson Aflalo, and the company remains in stealth.

The key numbers are financial and temporal: earlier reporting put Merge’s fundraising at an $850 million valuation, targeting $250 million, with Altman cofounding but not personally investing. Altman has previously invested in Neuralink, and reports also name Alex Blania (CEO of World, an Altman-backed digital identity company) as a cofounder.

Forest, launched in 2023 after several years of work, infers brain activity by using ultrasound to detect blood-flow changes and can also deliver stimulation via focused sound waves. Unlike implants such as Neuralink that record electrical activity only where placed, an ultrasound approach is framed as potentially offering nearer whole-brain access. Its device is in an early UK safety study linked to a 6.5 million-scale project and supported by ARIA; Merge is also reportedly considering pairing ultrasound with gene therapy to make certain cells more responsive to sound waves.