OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is preparing to start a new startup called Merge Labs, with the aim of competing with Elon Musk's Neuralink, along with other neurotechnology startups and the development of brain-to-computer interfaces such as Precision Neuroscience and Synchron, according to a new report by the Financial Times.

The new company will rely on artificial intelligence technologies to develop advanced interfaces to connect the human brain to the computer, a move that will escalate the competition between Altman and Musk, a rivalry that has its roots in 2018 when Musk left OpenAI's board of directors.The name Merge Labs is inspired by the term fusion introduced by Altman in 2017, and describes the moment when human capabilities and computers converge.