AI pioneer Yann LeCun launches new start-up, seeks $3.5B valuation
What's the story
Yann LeCun, a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), has officially announced his latest venture: Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs (AMI Labs). The news was confirmed by LeCun himself on LinkedIn and was described as "the worst-kept secret in the tech world," implying it was not a surprise. However, unlike his previous roles, he won't be taking up the position of CEO at this new start-up.
Leadership transition
Alex LeBrun appointed as CEO of AMI Labs
LeCun has appointed Alex LeBrun, the co-founder and former CEO of medical transcription AI start-up Nabla, as the new CEO of AMI Labs. The transition was announced in a press release from Nabla and confirmed by LeCun on LinkedIn. "Yes, AMI Labs is my new start-up. I'm the Executive Chairman. And Alex LeBrun is transitioning from CEO of Nabla to CEO of AMI Labs!" wrote LeCun in his post.
Financial aspirations
AMI Labs' ambitious fundraising goals
Even before its official launch, AMI Labs is looking to raise €500 million (approximately $586 million) at a valuation of €3 billion (around $3.5 billion). The Financial Times reported this citing sources familiar with the negotiations. This aggressive fundraising strategy isn't surprising given the current trend of venture capitalists investing heavily in AI start-ups led by renowned AI scientists.
Technological focus
AMI Labs to focus on world model AI
AMI Labs will be focusing on developing world model AI, a technology that tries to understand its environment and simulate cause-and-effect scenarios. This is seen as a potential solution to the structural hallucination problems of large language models (LLMs). Other leading labs and start-ups such as Google DeepMind and Fei-Fei Li's World Labs are also working on similar projects.