Li Feifei, often hailed as the "Godmother of AI," is steering her startup, World Labs, through negotiations for a fresh round of funding. The company is targeting a valuation of roughly US$5 billion. After emerging from stealth mode in 2024, World Labs successfully completed a funding round of US$230 million, achieving a valuation of approximately US$1 billion at that time. Among its current investors are prominent names such as Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and Radical Ventures, with NVIDIA’s venture capital division also participating. This upcoming funding round is anticipated to inject around US$500 million in new capital into the company, though the agreement remains pending finalization.

World Labs is dedicated to creating AI tools based on the "Large World Model" and unveiled its inaugural product, Marble, in 2024. As investors seek advancements in next-generation AI technologies, the area of world models has attracted considerable interest. Earlier reports indicated that AMI Labs, established by former Meta researcher Yann LeCun, is also in the midst of fundraising.

Li Feifei has made significant contributions to the field of AI and continues to serve as a professor at Stanford University. Beyond the aforementioned investors, World Labs has secured backing from additional investors, including individual participants in the 2024 funding round. As for the latest developments in funding, neither Li Feifei nor World Labs has issued a statement yet.