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Prominent artificial intelligence researcher Yann LeCun has officially acknowledged the creation of his latest venture, Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs, though he clarified that he will serve only as executive chairman rather than chief executive.
The announcement, which had been widely anticipated in technology circles, came via a concise LinkedIn update from LeCun on Thursday. He noted that Alex LeBrun, previously the head of medical transcription artificial intelligence firm Nabla, has taken the helm as CEO of the new entity.
Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs, or AMI, focuses on developing world model artificial intelligence systems. These models aim to help machines comprehend their surroundings, enabling them to forecast results by simulating scenarios and causal relationships, potentially overcoming the tendency of large language models to generate inaccurate information.
The startup is pursuing significant funding, with reports indicating an effort to secure 500 million euros, equivalent to roughly 586 million dollars, at a 3 billion euro valuation prior to any product launch. Such ambitions align with the robust investor interest in artificial intelligence initiatives led by established experts, as highlighted in recent coverage by the Financial Times citing sources close to the negotiations.
For context, Thinking Machines Lab, founded by former OpenAI executive Mira Murati, achieved a 12 billion dollar valuation in its initial funding round last year, underscoring the high stakes in this sector despite LeCun’s extensive credentials.
LeCun, an adjunct professor at New York University and until recently Meta’s vice president and chief artificial intelligence scientist, received the A.M. Turing Award for contributions to reinforcement learning, cementing his status in the field.
Efforts in world model development extend beyond AMI to include projects at Google DeepMind and World Labs, the company established by computer vision pioneer Fei-Fei Li. World Labs emerged from stealth in August 2024 with 230 million dollars raised at a 1 billion dollar valuation, a figure that seems modest amid today’s accelerated pace of artificial intelligence investments.
LeBrun’s transition from Nabla prompts the Paris-based company to seek a permanent successor, with co-founder and chief operating officer Delphine Groll assuming interim leadership. Nabla, known for its artificial intelligence tools aiding healthcare professionals, also revealed an agreement to integrate AMI’s forthcoming models into its operations.
The firm has amassed 120 million dollars in funding from prominent investors, including a 70 million dollar Series C round in June. Among its backers are LeCun himself, along with entities such as Tony Fadell’s Build Collective, HV Capital, Highland Europe, and Cathay Innovation.
LeBrun brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having contributed to multimodal artificial intelligence at Nuance Communications in the early 2010s, a key player in early voice technologies later acquired by Microsoft. He launched and exited several natural language processing ventures, including one sold to Facebook, and later oversaw that company’s artificial intelligence efforts before starting Nabla in 2018.
In his departure statement, LeBrun emphasized Nabla’s strong performance, reporting more than tripled annual recurring revenue this year and ambitions to reach 1 billion dollars. He plans to continue involvement as chairman and chief artificial intelligence scientist, with Nabla offering no additional details and AMI not responding to inquiries.
