Common Sense Machines
Category: Generative Media (Image / Video)
Generative AI platform that converts 2D images, text, and sketches into production-ready 3D assets and simulations. Common Sense Machines was founded in 2020. The company is led by Tejas Kulkarni. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $10.1M. Latest round: Acquired. Key investors include AI Grant, Andreessen Horowitz, Blindspot Ventures, Glasswing Ventures, ISV Startup Springboard, Intel Capital, Toyota Ventures, Metropolis.
- Founded
- 2020
- Headquarters
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $10.1M
Value proposition
CSM builds AI models that translate the world into 3D — turning 2D images/video into high-fidelity, production-ready 3D assets in minutes, dramatically cutting traditional 3D modeling time and cost.
Products and solutions
CSM 3D generation platform (image-to-3D, text-to-3D, sketch-to-3D), integrations with Meta's Segment Anything Model 2 (SAM 2) for 2D-to-3D translation, synthetic world/data generation for robotics and perception, adaptive digital twins.
Unique value
Small, research-heavy team (MIT/DeepMind pedigree) leveraging open-source foundation models (e.g., Meta SAM2) to deliver production-ready 3D generation competitive with much larger-funded rivals.
Target customer
Game studios, e-commerce/retail (product visualization), robotics and simulation teams, metaverse/AI world-building companies.
Industries served
Gaming, e-commerce/retail, robotics, metaverse/entertainment, product visualization
Technology advantage
Deep generative 3D modeling research lineage from DeepMind/MIT; tight integration with Meta's Segment Anything Model 2; focus on production-ready (not just preview-quality) 3D asset output.
How they differentiate
Focus on production-ready, simulation-grade 3D outputs rather than just visual previews; strong research pedigree and open-source tool integration allowing a small team to compete with better-funded rivals like Luma AI and Meshy.
Main competitors
Meshy AI, Tripo3D, Luma AI (Genie), Hyper3D Rodin
Key partnerships
Meta (Segment Anything Model 2 integration), 3D Cloud (product visualization, announced Feb 2025), Google Cloud gaming AI partner cohort (alongside nunu.ai, ElevenLabs, announced at GDC 2025), acquired by Google/Alphabet (deal closed Jan 24, 2026) for Gemini 3D capabilities.
Major milestones
2020: Founded by Tejas Kulkarni and Max Kleiman-Weiner. Integrated Meta's Segment Anything Model 2 for 2D-to-3D translation. Feb 2025: Partnership with 3D Cloud for product visualization. Mar 2025: Announced as Google Cloud gaming AI partner at GDC. Jan 24, 2026: Acquired by Google (Alphabet) to enhance Gemini's 3D generation capabilities, last private valuation $15M. Confirmed as current CEO by Tracxn 2026 profile.
Market positioning
Research-driven challenger in the generative 3D AI space, positioned toward production/enterprise use cases (gaming, robotics, retail) rather than consumer novelty tools.
Geographic focus
Primarily US-based competition, with global reach via cloud-delivered SaaS platform.
About Tejas Kulkarni
Ex-Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind; PhD in Computational Cognitive Science from MIT. Co-founded multiple AI companies prior to CSM, with successful exits.
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Official website: https://csm.ai