Who Owns World Labs?
World Labs is the brand of World Labs, Inc., the San Francisco AI company founded in 2024 by Fei-Fei Li and three computer vision researchers. The brand covers the company's large world models and its Marble product. AMD acquired the company in September 2026 for approximately $8.2 billion.
Parent Company
Acquired
2026
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
World Labs Timeline
GlobalOfficial Website
Who Owns World Labs?
- Parent Company: World Labs, Inc.
- Ownership Type: Subsidiary
- Acquisition Year: 2026
- Company Type: Privately Held
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| World Labs | World Labs, Inc. | Subsidiary |
History of World Labs
- Founded: 2024
- Founders: Fei-Fei Li, Justin Johnson, Ben Mildenhall, Christoph Lassner
- Acquired by World Labs, Inc.: 2026
World Labs was founded in April 2024 and reached a $1 billion valuation within four months. The company announced itself publicly in September 2024 with $230 million in funding, one of the largest seed-stage rounds for an AI research startup.
The brand's main product milestone was Marble, launched in November 2025 as a commercial large world model for generating 3D environments. Adoption came from gaming, simulation, robotics, and design teams.
In September 2026, AMD acquired the company, less than two and a half years after founding. The speed of the exit reflected both the team's research reputation and AMD's urgency to build software capability.
About World Labs, Inc.
What does World Labs do?
World Labs builds large world models, AI systems that understand and generate three-dimensional environments. Its main product is Marble, which creates explorable 3D worlds from text and image prompts.
Is World Labs publicly traded?
No. World Labs was a private company until AMD acquired it in September 2026. AMD is publicly traded on Nasdaq under ticker AMD.
Who founded World Labs?
Fei-Fei Li, Justin Johnson, Ben Mildenhall, and Christoph Lassner founded the company in April 2024. Li is a Stanford professor and former Google Cloud AI chief.
Where is World Labs headquartered?
World Labs is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.
Who owns World Labs?
AMD owns World Labs following the approximately $8.2 billion acquisition completed in September 2026. Before the deal, the company was owned by its founders and venture investors including Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and Radical Ventures.
How much did AMD pay for World Labs?
AMD paid approximately $8.2 billion for World Labs in September 2026. Fei-Fei Li joined AMD as chief scientist as part of the transaction.
- Founded: 2024
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
- Company Type: Privately Held
Where Is World Labs Made / Based?
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
World Labs Categories & Tags
World Labs Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Elite research founding team in computer vision and neural rendering
- +First-mover product in the world model category
- +AMD backing provides compute resources and distribution
- +Clear strategic value in robotics, gaming, and simulation
Considerations
- -Commercial adoption of world models is still early
- -Integration into a large chipmaker may reduce research independence
- -Competition from better-capitalized AI labs
- -Product market fit beyond demos is not yet proven
Frequently Asked Questions About World Labs
Sources & Further Reading
Competitors to World Labs
No direct competitors found in the same category. This could be because World Labsoperates in a unique market segment or we're still building our competitor database.
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Jobs at World Labs, Inc.
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