Yann LeCun’s Next Act: €500 Million AI Venture Focused on World Models

Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun is in early discussions to raise about €500 million ($586 million) for a new artificial intelligence startup that could be valued at roughly €3 billion ($3.5 billion) ahead of its formal launch, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The venture, expected to be called Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI) Labs, is likely to be announced in January. LeCun, who is set to leave Meta by the end of the year after more than a decade at the company, will serve as executive chair. The funding talks are at a preliminary stage and the valuation could still change, the report said.

Earlier this month, The Left Shift reported that Meta Platforms is preparing to invest in the new AI startup founded by Yann LeCun.

LeCun has lined up Alexandre LeBrun, founder of French health-tech firm Nabla, to take on the role of chief executive. Confirming the leadership transition, the company said, “As part of a planned, board-supported transition, Nabla co-founder and CEO Alex LeBrun will transition from his role to become CEO of AMI Labs.”

LeBrun will remain chair and chief AI scientist at Nabla, while Nabla co-founder and COO Delphine Groll will lead the company during the search for a permanent CEO.

AMI Labs will focus on developing “world model” AI systems designed to understand and reason about the physical world, rather than relying primarily on language data.

These systems are aimed at applications such as robotics, transport, and healthcare. Nabla has entered a strategic research partnership with AMI Labs and will receive early access to its technology to build agentic AI systems intended to meet FDA certification standards.