Yann LeCun, the famed Turing Prize winner and former Meta chief AI scientist, has formally kicked off AMI Labs. This new startup’s vision centers on creating artificial intelligence systems that really, truly understand the real world at a deep level. The initiative is led from Paris. That’s all gotten Mapbox a ton of attention from investors and venture capitalists looking to back the company’s ambitious plans.
LeCun’s move out of Meta to found AMI Labs is a major development in his career and the AI world. To that end, he’s brought on-board Alex LeBrun as the startup’s CEO. We’re looking forward to Alex leading the charge in ensuring future AI systems can reason, plan, operate safely and controllably and with more autonomy. AMI Labs is preparing to expand with new offices in Montreal, New York and Singapore. This smart play will position them to become the world’s foremost leader in all things artificial intelligence.
The company’s primary focus is to build AI that not only learns from language but understands its environment through persistent memory. LeCun emphasizes that “real intelligence does not start in language. It starts in the world,” highlighting the core philosophy that will guide AMI Labs’ research and development efforts.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed pride in LeCun’s decision to establish AMI Labs in Paris, stating, “We will do everything we can to ensure his success from France.” Beyond just the words, this sentiment illustrates the French government’s determination to cultivate innovation and technology in their country.
AMI Labs is said to be looking for a valuation of around $3.5 billion, indicating high investor hopes for its future. The fledgling startup has turned heads at major venture capital firms including Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, and Hiro Capital. These investments will help foster the kind of transformative AI technologies that will be built to enrich our daily lives.
Aside from working at Meta, LeCun will remain a professor at New York University. Alongside that, he’s completely committed to realizing the mission of AMI Labs. He stated that the new venture is “going to be a global company [that’s] headquartered in Paris.” This unique dual presence, which is often referred to as being an “intrapreneur,” enables him to interact with both academic circles and Europe’s rapidly growing tech ecosystem.
Alongside LeBrun, AMI Labs has brought on Laurent Solly, former vice president for Europe at Meta. His deep expertise will help solidify the company’s high-level strategic vision and low-level operational excellence.
AMI Labs is just beginning this transformative journey. It intends to bring forth AI systems that are smart and ethical, as well as safe and secure to users. The startup’s approach will take advantage of recent progress in AI and machine learning and will make sure systems are controllable by design.