Former Google DeepMind researcher's AI startup raises record $1.1 billion seed funding to pursue superintelligence

A former Google DeepMind researcher has secured an unprecedented $1.1 billion seed round for an artificial intelligence startup explicitly focused on building superintelligent systems, marking a dramatic shift in how venture capital is willing to bankroll the race toward increasingly powerful AI. The funding haul—among the largest ever raised before a company has generated revenue or released a product—reflects investors' conviction that the path to transformative AI lies outside the walls of Big Tech, even as it raises questions about whether a startup can safely navigate the existential risks that come with the territory. The bet underscores a widening schism in Silicon Valley over who should lead humanity's most consequential technology.

CNBC·2d ago