Bridge Neurotech launched October 6, 2026 with $13.5 million in initial funding, including from General Catalyst — which has also backed Anduril, Anthropic, Airbnb and Stripe — marking its first disclosed round as a competitor to Sam Altman-backed Merge Labs. Founded by CEO Will Biederman, who developed the chip Neuralink licensed for its first devices during his PhD, the company plans to build a wearable, ultrasound-powered brain-computer interface as a non-surgical alternative to implanted systems from Neuralink, Synchron, Paradromics and Precision Neuroscience. The article disclosed no Bridge-specific revenue, clients, pipeline or employee count, noting only industry context that ~100 people globally have received implanted BCIs in clinical trials, including at least 21 Neuralink recipients.