AMD has acquired World Labs, a startup founded in 2024 by Fei-Fei Li, Justin Johnson, Christoph Lassner, and Ben Mildenhall. The company previously secured $230 million in funding, with participation from AMD. The startup focuses on developing world models designed to simulate physical environments.
World Labs released tools such as Marble, which generates 3D spaces using Gaussian splats for use in gaming and film, and Atlas. These technologies aim to create predictive simulations. The acquisition integrates these models and research talent into AMD to bolster its position against competitors like Nvidia.
Following the deal, Fei-Fei Li will join AMD as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist. Justin Johnson and Ben Mildenhall will continue to lead the World Labs team within the new organization. The team will focus on advancing frontier research in AI models.
AMD intends to leverage World Labs' expertise to address the growing demands of robotics, reasoning, and physical AI. The company aims to gain insights into evolving workloads to shape its future technology roadmaps and compete more effectively in the AI infrastructure market.
