Meta’s LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up

Artificial intelligenceAdd to myFTGet instant alerts for this topicManage your delivery channels hereRemove from myFTMeta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-upTuring award winner is in early talks to raise €500mn ahead of January launchYann LeCun’s new venture will focus on creating a new generation of AI systems which can understand the physical world and have wide applications, such as in robotics and transport © Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty ImagesMeta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on x (opens in a new window)Meta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on facebook (opens in a new window)Meta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on linkedin (opens in a new window)Meta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Meta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on x (opens in a new window)Meta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on facebook (opens in a new window)Meta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on linkedin (opens in a new window)Meta’s Yann LeCun targets €3bn valuation for new AI start-up on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Ivan Levingston and Melissa Heikkilä in LondonPublishedDecember 18 2025Jump to comments sectionPrint this pageStay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox.Meta’s chief artificial intelligence scientist Yann LeCun is in early talks to raise €500mn for his new start-up, in a move that would value the AI company at about €3bn before it has officially launched. LeCun, who recently announced he would be leaving Meta at the end of the year, has also lined up the founder of French health tech start-up Nabla, Alexandre LeBrun, as chief executive, according to people familiar with the matter. LeCun, a French-US scientist and Turing award winner who is considered one of the pioneers of modern AI, is targeting a €3bn valuation but discussions were still in the early stages and could change, the people added.Details of the new venture, called Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs, will be announced in January and LeCun will serve as an executive chair. LeCun declined to comment. LeBrun did not respond to an immediate request for comment. “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,” said Nabla co-founder Delphine Groll in a statement. Nabla has also entered into a strategic research partnership with AMI Labs. Groll, who is Nabla’s chief operating officer, will lead the company while the board searches for a permanent chief. LeBrun will retain a role as Nabla chair and chief AI scientist.The funding talks come just a month after the Financial Times revealed LeCun was planning to leave the social media giant after 12 years to found his own AI start-up.It marks the latest high-profile AI fundraise this year. In April, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever raised $2bn for his AI start-up Safe Superintelligence in a deal that valued the year-old company at $32bn before it even had a product.LeCun’s new venture will focus on creating a new generation of superintelligent AI systems by building so-called world models, which are able to understand the physical world and have a wide range of applications, such as robotics and transport. The start-up will build on work LeCun did while at Meta, on new AI architecture that can learn about the world through videos and spatial data rather than just language, and has persistent memory, can reason, and plan complex action sequences.Meta is not an investor in the company but will form a “partnership” with LeCun’s start-up which will grant the tech giant access to the technology that they can commercialise.LeCun’s impending departure comes as Mark Zuckerberg shakes up Meta’s AI strategy in a bid to challenge rivals such as OpenAI and Google in developing more powerful forms of AI.Zuckerberg has pivoted away from the longer-term research work of Meta’s Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR), which LeCun set up in 2013. In October, Meta laid off about 600 people from its AI research unit in a bid to cut costs, eliminate bureaucracy and release products more quickly.LeCun’s exit marks the latest in a string of departures and leadership and organisational reshuffles at Meta. In May, vice-president of AI research Joelle Pineau left and recently joined Canadian AI start-up Cohere.Reuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments sectionPromoted Content Follow the topics in this article US companies Add to myFT European companies Add to myFT Technology sector Add to myFT Artificial intelligence Add to myFT Meta Platforms Add to myFT Comments