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Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs AI Out Of Stealth With $230 Million, New Snap Specs, Neuralink Targets Blindness
Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs comes out of stealth with $230M in funding. The former head of AI at Google Cloud, Li is often called “the godmother of AI.” She has officially launched her new startup, World Labs, with $230 M in funding. The company aims to develop AI systems that understand and interact with the 3D physical world, moving beyond traditional 2D AI models. World Labs is focused on building what they call "large world models" (LWMs) that can perceive, generate, and engage with three-dimensional environments, similar to human spatial intelligence. The funding came from prominent investors, which include notables like Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and Radical Ventures, alongside contributions from industry figures like Marc Benioff and Nvidia's NVentures. This substantial investment, quietly raised over two funding rounds, has already valued World Labs at over $1 billion. The company expects to release its first products by 2025, with potential applications in various industries, from robotics to games.
Snap introduces Spectacles 5.0. For now they’re just for developers of Snap Lenses, who pay $99/month to “rent” the new AR specs. The new glasses are extraordinary in two ways: first, they are see-through; the AR is laid on top of your view of the physical world; they do not work like Quest3 and Vision Pro, which see the world through cameras; and, second, they are stand-alone, untethered from a smartphone, with batteries in their fat unsightly wings that can run the dual Qualcomm processors for about forty minutes. The only other stand-alone see-through headset is the Microsoft HoloLens, which is on shaky ground. The other see-through HMD, Magic Leap, has turned away from hardware and is licensing its technology instead. Snap’s take on glasses here is that you’ll bring them with you and pop them on for location based entertainment. You can also share 3D space with your friends, even if they are remote from you.
Neuralink received the FDA's "breakthrough device" designation for its experimental implant, Blindsight, which aims to restore vision for people with severe impairments. This cutting-edge brain implant is designed to connect directly to the visual cortex, potentially allowing even those who have lost their eyes or optic nerves to see. Musk highlighted that the initial vision quality would be low resolution but could eventually surpass natural vision, offering capabilities like seeing in infrared or ultraviolet. The FDA’s "breakthrough device" designation accelerates the development and review process for medical devices addressing life-threatening conditions, positioning Neuralink’s technology closer to real-world applications.
Source URL : Forbes