Butterfly Network and Merge Labs sign BCI ultrasound licensing deal

Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE: BFLY) and Merge Labs announced a multi-year licensing agreement under which Merge Labs will use Butterfly's Poseidon Family of Ultrasound-on-Chip™ technology to develop ultrasound-based brain-computer interfaces (BCI).

The agreement, structured through Butterfly's Embedded™ licensing program, includes upfront and milestone-based license payments, hardware purchase commitments, technology access fees, and ongoing royalties on future commercial sales. Under the terms, Butterfly will serve as Merge Labs' exclusive CMOS-MEMS chip-based ultrasound partner, though Butterfly retains the right to license its technology to other companies in the field.

Merge Labs was founded in January 2026 with $252 million in seed funding from investors including OpenAI, Bain Capital, Interface Fund, Fifty Years, and Gabe Newell. The company's founding team includes Tyson Aflalo, Sam Altman, Alex Blania, Sandro Herbig, Sumner Norman, and Mikhail Shapiro.

"We believe ultrasound has tremendous potential to enable a new generation of neural interfaces," said Tyson Aflalo, co-founder of Merge Labs. "Butterfly has built a semiconductor-based ultrasound platform with the performance, flexibility, and commitment to innovation that can help us move quickly toward that goal."

Joseph DeVivo, President, CEO, and Chairman of Butterfly Network, said the company is "committed to supporting their team as they advance this work from research toward commercialization."

The announcement precedes Butterfly's inaugural BCI Innovation Summit, scheduled for September 2, 2026, which the company described as an invite-only event convening leaders across BCI innovation, investment, and research.

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