SAN FRANCISCO, USA – As funding for women-founded tech companies declines across the venture capital landscape, Fei-Fei Li, often referred to as the Godmother of AI, has successfully raised $230 million for her AI startup World Labs, which officially launched on Friday, September 13, 2024.
The company, described as a “spatial intelligence AI company,” was co-founded by Li and a team of top-tier technologists: Justin Johnson, Christoph Lassner, and Ben Mildenhall.
The funding round, which cements World Labs’ growing momentum, was led by major investors Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and Radical Ventures.
Other high-profile backers include Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and NVentures, the venture capital arm of chipmaker Nvidia.
The central focus of World Labs is the development of “large world models” (LWMs). These models will utilize data, including images, to generate three-dimensional “worlds” that users can interact with and control.
The company believes these 3D models will be valuable to professionals in creative fields such as artists, engineers, and architects, allowing for dynamic engagement with spatial environments.
“We aim to lift AI models from the 2D plane of pixels to full 3D worlds—both virtual and real—endowing them with spatial intelligence as rich as our own,” the company said in its statement.
The startup’s innovative approach has already garnered significant attention.
As of July, World Labs was reported to be valued at $1 billion, signaling strong confidence from both the market and investors in its future prospects.
Li, a pioneer in the field of AI, is well-known for her foundational work on ImageNet, a landmark dataset that advanced the development of computer vision and deep learning, widely considered to have sparked the current AI revolution.
Her illustrious career includes serving as the co-director of Stanford’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute, as well as former roles as director of Stanford’s AI Lab and vice president of AI/ML at Google and Google Cloud.
Beyond her work in AI research and entrepreneurship, Li has also championed diversity in technology.
She is a co-founder and chair of AI4ALL, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting diversity in AI by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in AI education and leadership.
In addition to her leadership at World Labs, Li joined the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board under the Department of Homeland Security in April.
Alongside other industry leaders, she will advise on safeguarding the use of AI within critical infrastructure, such as the power grid and transportation systems.
The successful launch of World Labs comes at a time when female-founded companies are facing an increasingly difficult funding landscape.
According to recent reports, venture capital deals for women-led tech startups have seen a sharp drop in 2024, highlighting the significance of Li’s achievement in raising substantial capital for a cutting-edge AI company.
World Labs’ vision to push the boundaries of spatial intelligence AI represents the next chapter in Li’s storied career and reinforces her position at the forefront of artificial intelligence innovation.
