Butterfly Network becomes Merge Labs exclusive ultrasound chip partner

Butterfly Network announced on 1 September 2026 that it has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Merge Labs through Butterfly Embedded, its technology-licensing arm. The agreement gives Merge Labs access to the Poseidon Family of Ultrasound-on-Chip technology for developing ultrasound-based brain-computer interfaces, and names Butterfly as Merge’s exclusive CMOS-MEMS chip-based ultrasound partner. Butterfly keeps the right to license the same technology to other companies working in the field.

The commercial structure covers upfront payments, milestone-based licence payments, hardware purchase commitments, technology access fees and ongoing royalties on future commercial sales. Neither company disclosed any dollar figures.

Merge Labs co-founder Tyson Aflalo said the company believes ultrasound has potential to enable a new generation of neural interfaces. Butterfly chief executive Joseph DeVivo said Merge had selected Butterfly as its exclusive platform for research and development.

What moved here is a supply chain, not a patient outcome. Most invasive brain interfaces reach the cortex through electrodes and craniotomy; ultrasound is one of the routes being pursued to read or stimulate neural tissue with less surgery. This is a chip licence at the research stage, with no trial, no filing and no device. It matters because it tells you which physical layer a well-funded entrant has decided to build on.