“We Got Funded!” UAE-Based Investment Firm Shorooq Joins US$1.03 Billion Funding Round for Ex-Meta Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun’s New Venture
Shorooq joined a global group of investors backing Yann LeCun’s Paris-based AI startup AMI Labs in a US$1.03 billion seed round aimed at developing next-generation “world model” artificial intelligence.
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UAE-based investment firm Shorooq has participated in a US$1.03 billion funding round for AMI Labs (Advanced Machine Intelligence), a Paris-headquartered artificial intelligence company founded by former Meta Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun.
It has been reported that the round is one of the largest seed financings ever raised by an AI startup and values AMI Labs at approximately US$3.5 billion pre-money.
“AMI Labs represents one of the most ambitious efforts to redefine the foundations of artificial intelligence,” Dr. Bilal Baloch, partner at Shorooq, said.
“Yann LeCun’s vision for world-model architectures could fundamentally expand what machines are capable of understanding and executing in the physical world,” added Baloch.
The financing was co-led by Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, and Bezos Expeditions. Shorooq participated alongside a global group of investors, including Temasek, Nvidia, SBVA, Mark Cuban, Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel, and other institutional backers.
AMI Labs is developing a new class of artificial intelligence based on “world models.” These systems are designed to learn from spatial and real-world data rather than purely predicting text or images. By modeling environments and interactions, world-model AI aims to enable machines to reason, plan, and develop a more robust understanding of cause and effect, allowing AI agents to operate in more complex and dynamic real-world scenarios.
UAE-based investment firm Shorooq has participated in a US$1.03 billion funding round for AMI Labs (Advanced Machine Intelligence), a Paris-headquartered artificial intelligence company founded by former Meta Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun.
It has been reported that the round is one of the largest seed financings ever raised by an AI startup and values AMI Labs at approximately US$3.5 billion pre-money.
“AMI Labs represents one of the most ambitious efforts to redefine the foundations of artificial intelligence,” Dr. Bilal Baloch, partner at Shorooq, said.
“Yann LeCun’s vision for world-model architectures could fundamentally expand what machines are capable of understanding and executing in the physical world,” added Baloch.
The financing was co-led by Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, and Bezos Expeditions. Shorooq participated alongside a global group of investors, including Temasek, Nvidia, SBVA, Mark Cuban, Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel, and other institutional backers.
AMI Labs is developing a new class of artificial intelligence based on “world models.” These systems are designed to learn from spatial and real-world data rather than purely predicting text or images. By modeling environments and interactions, world-model AI aims to enable machines to reason, plan, and develop a more robust understanding of cause and effect, allowing AI agents to operate in more complex and dynamic real-world scenarios.
