Former Meta AI chief Yann LeCun's startup raises $1.03 billion to build world models

Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI), the AI startup founded by Yann LeCun, the former chief AI scientist at Meta and winner of the Turing Award, has raised $1.03 billion in funding at a pre-money valuation of $3.50 billion. 

The startup plans to use this money to build and commercialise advanced AI systems that can think, plan, and understand real-world environments. The investment was led jointly by Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital and Bezos Expeditions. 

In addition, other investors also joined the round, including individuals such as Tim and Rosemary Berners-Lee, Jim Breyer, Mark Cuban, Mark Leslie, Xavier Niel and Eric Schmidt.

How AMI plans to use the funding?

According to a Reuters report, LeCun plans to build AI systems and models that advances in reasoning, planning, and operating in complex real-world environments. He believes that the current scenario of AI models opting for the prediction-based approach alone is not enough to create truly intelligent AI agents and to solve complex problems.

The startup also plans to fund its computing power and build talent across major global AI hubs. Reportedly, it plans to grow teams in four main locations: Paris, New York, Montreal, and Singapore.

With expansion, Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI) plans to sell its AI to businesses that run complex systems in industries like manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, biomedical, pharmaceutical, and others. The report quoted LeCun saying, “We want to become the main provider of intelligent systems.”

He also has an ambition to support consumer applications like domestic robots and even the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. “What consumers could be interacting ​with is ⁠a domestic robot. You need a domestic robot to have some level of common sense to really understand the physical world,” he said.

While the startup has backing from lead investors, the company is supported by NVIDIA, Samsung, Sea, Temasek, Toyota Ventures, Association Familiale Mulliez, Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, Publicis Groupe, and others.