World Labs, an AI startup founded by Professor Li Feifei, completed two rounds of financing in just two months, with a valuation exceeding US$1 billion, making it a highly anticipated unicorn company. This huge financing was led by NEA, reflecting investors’ continued optimism in the AI field, especially companies led by well-known AI scientists. World Labs is committed to developing AI models that can accurately estimate the three-dimensional physical properties of real-world objects and environments, aiming to achieve detailed digital reproduction without the need for extensive data collection, which is of great significance in fields where data is scarce. Downcodes editors will give you an in-depth understanding of World Labs’ breakthrough progress and its future development potential.
Recently, World Labs, a start-up company founded by Li Feifei, a famous artificial intelligence professor at Stanford University, has once again attracted attention. According to multiple media reports, the company completed two rounds of financing in just two months. After the latest round of financing, its valuation has exceeded US$1 billion, making it one of the unicorns.
People familiar with the matter said that World Labs’ latest round of financing was led by NEA, a well-known venture capital institution. The Financial Times previously reported that the funding round amounted to US$100 million. A person familiar with the matter revealed that this valuation has increased significantly compared with the US$200 million valuation during the first round of financing in April this year. According to Reuters, investors in the first round of financing include Andreessen Horowitz and Canadian company Radical Ventures.
Founded in April this year, World Labs has grown into a unicorn company with a valuation of over US$1 billion in just 4 months, reflecting investors’ continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence startups, especially those founded by well-known AI scientists company. Although World Labs' business model has not yet been verified by the market, its research direction has attracted much attention in the industry.
It is reported that World Labs is working on developing AI models that can accurately estimate the three-dimensional physical properties of real-world objects and environments, aiming to achieve detailed digital reproduction without the need for large-scale data collection. An investor familiar with the company said: Three-dimensional data is very scarce in the world. Self-driving car companies need to drive thousands of miles to collect this data, and in other application areas, such as coffee service, 3D data is even scarcer. Collecting this type of data is extremely expensive.
Li Feifei, known as the godmother of AI, discussed how to train machines to develop human-like spatial intelligence in a TED talk earlier this year. Industry insiders believe that once put into use, World Labs' model is expected to play an important role in areas such as gaming and robotics applications.
It is worth mentioning that Li Feifei is famous for creating the ImageNet dataset, which revolutionized the field of computer vision. Currently, Li is on leave and is expected to return to Stanford University in December 2025 and continue to serve as co-director of the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.
The rapid development and high valuation of World Labs herald unlimited possibilities in the future of the AI field. Its innovative technology is expected to bring revolutionary changes in many fields, let's wait and see!