AMI Labs, the groundbreaking new venture co-founded by Turing Prize laureate Yann LeCun following his departure from Meta, has successfully secured an impressive $1.03 billion in funding, valuing the company at $3.5 billion pre-money. The firm is dedicated to developing "world models," an advanced form of artificial intelligence designed to learn directly from reality rather than being confined to language-based data.
This specialized domain currently has fewer participants compared to the booming generative AI sector, though this landscape is expected to shift rapidly. "My prediction is that ‘world models’ will be the next buzzword," AMI Labs CEO Alexandre LeBrun shared with TechCrunch. He added, "In six months, every company will call itself a world model to raise funding."
LeBrun delivered this statement with a smile, underscoring his belief in AMI Labs' fundamental distinction: its core mission to truly comprehend the real world. Such an approach holds significant potential for applications in healthcare, a sector where AMI Labs’ initial partnership will be with Nabla, the digital health startup where LeBrun currently serves as chairman.
In his previous capacity as CEO of Nabla, LeBrun had independently arrived at the same conclusion as LeCun regarding the inherent limitations of large language models (LLMs), particularly their propensity for "hallucinations" which could have life-threatening implications in critical fields. However, he also acknowledges that it will take considerable time for the startup to deliver a viable alternative rooted in JEPA, the Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture proposed by LeCun in 2022.
"AMI Labs is a very ambitious project, because it starts with fundamental research," LeBrun explained. "It’s not your typical applied AI startup that can release a product in three months, have revenue in six months and make $10 million in [annual recurring revenue] in 12 months." He emphasized that the journey for world models to evolve from theoretical concepts to widespread commercial applications could span several years.
Despite this extended timeline, companies operating in the world models space have managed to attract substantial investments. SpAItial, for instance, raised a $13 million seed round—a notably large sum for a European startup—while Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs secured a remarkable $1 billion just last month. AMI Labs now joins this exclusive group, having exceeded its initially rumored fundraising target.
The French AI laboratory was reportedly seeking approximately €500 million last December, but ultimately raised an impressive €890 million (equivalent to $1.03 billion), a success largely attributed to its formidable leadership team. Beyond LeCun's involvement as chairman and LeBrun's proven entrepreneurial track record, the team also includes Laurent Solly, Meta’s VP for Europe, as COO, along with high-profile researchers Saining Xie as chief science officer, Pascale Fung as chief research & innovation officer, and Michael Rabbat as VP of world models.
According to LeBrun, the overwhelming interest in AMI Labs allowed the startup the unique opportunity to handpick its investors, ensuring alignment in both expectations and background. The funding round was co-led by Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, and Bezos Expeditions. Participation also came from numerous other funds and industry-tied backers, as well as esteemed individuals including Tim and Rosemary Berners-Lee, Jim Breyer, Mark Cuban, Mark Leslie, Xavier Niel, and Eric Schmidt.
Beyond the strategic value offered by its investors, this significant funding will provide AMI Labs with a meaningful operational runway to finance its two primary cost centers: computing power and talent acquisition. LeBrun stated his intention to prioritize quality over quantity in assembling AMI Labs’ team across four key global locations: Paris, where the company is headquartered; New York, leveraging LeCun's teaching role at NYU; Montreal, where Michael Rabbat is based; and Singapore, strategically chosen for both recruiting top AI talent and proximity to future clients in Asia.
While AMI Labs does not currently have plans for immediate revenue generation, it intends to engage proactively with prospective customers from an early stage. "We are developing world models that seek to understand the world, and you can’t do that locked up in a lab," LeBrun remarked. "At some point, we need to put the model in a real-world situation with real data and real evaluations."
When the appropriate time arrives, AMI Labs will collaborate with partners to explore deployment opportunities. Nabla has been disclosed as the first partner anticipating access to these early models, though certainly not the last. "This may explain the presence and strong interest of certain industrial players and potential partners in the investment round," LeBrun suggested.
In addition to its lead investors and angel contributors, AMI Labs boasts support from major corporate entities such as NVIDIA, Samsung, Sea, Temasek, and Toyota Ventures, alongside prominent French players like Association Familiale Mulliez, Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, and Publicis Groupe. Further participation came from venture capital firms including Aglaé Lab, Alpha Intelligence Capital, Artémis, Bpifrance Digital Venture, New Legacy Ventures, SBVA, and ZEBOX Ventures.
While these investments may require considerable time to translate into commercial applications, AMI Labs remains committed to LeCun's core beliefs by consistently publishing academic papers throughout its research journey.
"We will also make a lot of code open source," affirmed LeBrun, who previously contributed to Meta’s AI research laboratory, FAIR. He acknowledged that while open research is becoming "increasingly rare," the startup's founders firmly believe in its power. "We think things move faster when they’re open, and it’s in our best interest to build a community and a research ecosystem around us."
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