Just as the world catches its breath from the AI revolution supercharged by OpenAI, co-founder Sam Altman is already pioneering the next frontier: your brain. His latest venture, however, avoids the dystopian vision of needles and implants. Instead, Sam Altman’s next startup eyes using sound waves to read your brain—a technology more familiar in a maternity ward than a cyberpunk movie.
The tech titan, now synonymous with ChatGPT, has quietly co-founded a new company to create a non-invasive Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). The goal is to achieve a high-bandwidth connection between the human mind and a computer, a feat that could revolutionize medicine and, eventually, human capability itself.
The venture, reportedly named 2021 Co. for now, has acquired technology from Kernel, a pioneer in the non-invasive BCI space. This isn’t just a fleeting idea; Altman has reportedly invested a significant amount of his own money, signaling serious intent.
How Sound Waves Can Read Your Brain
So, how does it work? The core idea is to use functional ultrasound to monitor brain activity. When a part of our brain becomes active—whether we’re thinking of a word or imagining moving a hand—blood flow to that region increases. High-frequency sound waves can detect these minute changes with remarkable precision, essentially creating a real-time map of our thoughts.
This technology adapts the same principle used in ultrasound scans to look inside our skulls, offering a powerful, real-time view of brain function without any invasive procedures.
A Non-Invasive Alternative to Neuralink’s Implants
This approach elegantly sidesteps the biggest hurdle facing the BCI industry: invasiveness. While Elon Musk’s Neuralink has grabbed headlines with its surgical implants that stitch electrodes directly into the brain, the procedure is complex and risky.
Altman’s bet is that a helmet or wearable device equipped with ultrasound transducers could offer a powerful alternative without a single incision. It promises the best of both worlds: the high-resolution data of an implant with the safety and convenience of a wearable EEG cap.
Revolutionizing Medicine: The Immediate Goal
The initial applications are rightly focused on medicine. The implications are staggering for patients suffering from paralysis, locked-in syndrome, or neurodegenerative diseases like ALS. Imagine being able to communicate, control a wheelchair, or type an email using only your thoughts, all through a device you simply wear. A scalable and non-surgical BCI could be a medical game-changer, offering new hope and independence to millions.
Beyond the Clinic: The Future of Human-Computer Integration
Altman’s ambitions likely extend far beyond the clinic. The long-term vision for any BCI is the seamless integration of human and machine intelligence. This could mean typing at the speed of thought, controlling smart home devices with a mental command, or even accelerating learning. It’s the ultimate hands-free device, powered by the most complex processor known: the human brain.
The Hurdles and Ethical Questions Ahead
Of course, we are still in the very early days. The challenges are immense, from miniaturizing the powerful ultrasound technology into a consumer-friendly device to developing algorithms that can accurately translate blood flow patterns into commands.
And then there are the profound ethical questions. If a device can read our brain activity, what does that mean for personal privacy? Our thoughts have always been our last bastion of true privacy. As this technology matures, society will need to build robust firewalls to protect our consciousness from being hacked, monitored, or monetized.
For now, Sam Altman is placing his chips on sound. It’s a bold, less invasive, and perhaps more humane path towards the future of brain-computer interfaces. While Neuralink drills, Altman’s new venture listens. And what it hears could change everything.
