Introduction

TL;DR

Yann LeCun has officially launched AMI Labs (Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs), stepping down from his full-time role at Meta. The Paris-based startup targets a $3.5 billion valuation and aims to replace current Generative AI models with “World Models” capable of reasoning and planning.

Context

In a major shift for the AI industry, Yann LeCun, a Turing Award winner and one of the “Godfathers of AI,” is moving beyond the confines of Big Tech to pursue a vision he claims Silicon Valley ignores. On December 19, 2025, details emerged about his new venture, AMI Labs, which seeks to solve the fundamental flaws of Large Language Models (LLMs) through a physics-aware, objective-driven approach.

The Birth of AMI Labs

AMI Labs is entering the scene with massive ambition and backing. Despite being in the pre-launch phase, the startup is negotiating a fundraising round of approximately 500 million euros ($586 million), aiming for a post-money valuation of 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion).

  • Leadership: Yann LeCun assumes the role of Executive Chairman. The CEO position is held by Alexandre LeBrun, formerly CEO of the health-tech company Nabla.
  • Location: The company will be headquartered in Paris, France, reinforcing Europe’s growing status as a sovereign AI hub outside of Silicon Valley.
  • Meta Connection: While LeCun is leaving his daily operational role at Meta, he emphasizes continuity. Meta will remain a strategic partner, retaining access to some of AMI’s research breakthroughs, and LeCun will continue to advise Mark Zuckerberg.

Why it matters: LeCun’s ability to command a $3.5B valuation without a launched product highlights the immense appetite for a “Post-GenAI” architecture. It also signals a significant talent drain from US tech giants to independent, often European, ventures.

Beyond Generative AI: The World Model Vision

The core mission of AMI Labs is to build World Models, a concept LeCun has championed as the antidote to the limitations of LLMs like GPT-4 or Llama.

The Critique of LLMs

LeCun argues that current Generative AI models are fundamentally limited because they are autoregressive—they simply predict the next token based on probability.

  • No Physical Understanding: They do not understand gravity, object permanence, or causality.
  • Hallucinations: Because they are probabilistic, they cannot be fully trusted for critical tasks.
  • Inefficiency: They require massive amounts of data to learn simple concepts that humans grasp intuitively.

The AMI Solution

AMI Labs focuses on architectures (likely based on JEPA - Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture) that:

  1. Understand the Physical World: Learning from video and sensory data to model how the world reacts to actions.
  2. Reason and Plan: Simulating future states to achieve specific objectives, rather than just generating text.
  3. Persistent Memory: Maintaining a long-term context that goes beyond the sliding windows of LLMs.

Why it matters: If successful, this approach could unlock Level 5 autonomous driving, capable domestic robots, and highly reliable AI assistants—applications where current LLMs struggle due to their lack of “common sense” physics and reliability.

Strategic Implications

The launch of AMI Labs is not just a technological statement but a geopolitical one. LeCun stated, “To pursue this kind of new research, you have to go outside the Valley—to Paris,” criticizing Silicon Valley’s “hypnosis” with current GenAI models.

Additionally, the partnership with Nabla indicates an immediate go-to-market strategy in healthcare, where reliability and “do no harm” (requiring causal understanding) are paramount. Nabla will be the first to pilot AMI’s world model technologies.

Why it matters: This move diversifies the AI landscape, reducing reliance on the Transformer architecture that dominates US tech. It positions Paris as a serious contender in the race for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

Conclusion

Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs represents a high-stakes pivot from the industry’s obsession with text generation toward machine reasoning and physical intelligence. By targeting a $3.5 billion valuation out of the gate, LeCun is betting that the next revolution in AI won’t come from a bigger chatbot, but from a system that truly understands the world.

Summary

  • New Venture: Yann LeCun founds AMI Labs in Paris, targeting a $3.5B valuation.
  • Tech Focus: Moves away from LLMs to “World Models” that understand physics and causality.
  • Leadership: Alexandre LeBrun (ex-Nabla) appointed CEO; LeCun is Executive Chairman.
  • Partnership: Meta remains a strategic partner; Nabla will be the first pilot user.

References

  • (Yann LeCun confirms his new ‘world model’ startup, 2025-12-19)[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yann-lecun-confirms-world-model-192344848.html]
  • (Yann LeCun confirms his new ‘world model’ startup, 2025-12-19)[https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/19/yann-lecun-confirms-his-new-world-model-startup-reportedly-seeks-5b-valuation/]
  • (Yann LeCun AMI Labs AI startup valuation Meta departure, 2025-12-19)[https://fortune.com/2025/12/19/yann-lecun-ami-labs-ai-startup-valuation-meta-departure/]
  • (Yann LeCun new AI startup 500M funding Meta departure, 2025-12-19)[https://entrepreneurloop.com/yann-lecun-new-ai-startup-500m-funding-meta-departure/]
  • (Yann LeCun leaves Meta yet Meta keeps access to his new startup, 2025-11-20)[https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/yann-lecun-leaves-meta-yet-meta-keeps-access-to-his-new-startup-ai-breakthroughs-2822945-2025-11-20]
  • (Yann LeCun Leaves Meta to Launch New AI Startup, 2025-11-19)[https://opendatascience.com/yann-lecun-leaves-meta-to-launch-new-ai-startup-focused-on-advanced-machine-intelligence/]
  • (AI whiz Yann LeCun already has a startup, 2025-12-19)[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-whiz-yann-lecun-already-162810761.html]
  • (Yann LeCun unveils new startup hires CEO, 2025-12-19)[https://theaiinnovator.com/yann-lecun-unveils-new-startup-hires-ceo/]
  • (36Kr Report on Yann LeCun, 2025-12-19)[https://eu.36kr.com/en/p/3560775478148231]
  • (Chosun Report on Yann LeCun, 2025-12-19)[https://www.chosun.com/english/industry-en/2025/12/19/AXTUETOWXFCUXADMG5OSJVTSAY/]