WorldLabs
Category: Innovation Ecosystem Platform
Innovation platform connecting creators, entrepreneurs, and researchers for funding, collaboration, and impact. WorldLabs was founded in 2016. The company is led by Dr. Max Lehnus. Based in London, UK. Team size: 11-50 employees. Total funding raised: Undisclosed. Latest round: N/A.
AMW Analysis
WorldLabs operates an innovation ecosystem platform that connects creators, entrepreneurs, and researchers for funding and collaboration. Recent news flow indicates a significant strategic shift: the company has developed "Marble," a model that generates interactive 3D environments from text, images, or video, moving beyond text-based AI toward spatial intelligence and "world models" that understand physical space. In early 2026, Autodesk invested $200 million in World Labs as part of a $1 billion funding round at a roughly $5 billion valuation, gaining strategic advisor status to integrate spatial AI into CAD workflows. This follows reports from January 2026 that the company was raising $500 million at a $5 billion valuation, a fourfold increase from 2024, after launching the Marble API using 3D Gaussian Splatting. The trajectory shows World Labs pivoting from a general innovation platform to a specialized spatial intelligence company, positioning its technology as a backbone for robotics and digital twins, with major corporate investment validating this direction.
AMW analysis, generated from 4 tracked news signals.
- Founded
- 2016
- Headquarters
- London, UK
- Team size
- 11-50 employees
- Total funding
- Undisclosed
Value proposition
Facilitates global innovation by connecting and supporting diverse talent with resources and funding opportunities.
Products and solutions
Innovation showcase platform, Funding marketplace, Collaboration network
Unique value
Global platform for cross-sector innovation with a unique gamification system for discovering funding and collaboration opportunities.
Target customer
Innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, universities, investors
Industries served
Technology, Science, Academic research, Social impact
Technology advantage
An online platform that enables real-time collaboration, resource sharing, and community-driven innovation.
How they differentiate
Focuses on both scientific and entrepreneurial innovation with structured, gamified systems for engagement and resource allocation, rather than solely on startup funding or product launches.
Main competitors
Indiegogo, AngelList, InnoCentive
Key partnerships
King's College London, University College London (UCL)
Notable customers
King's College London, University College London (UCL)
Major milestones
Launched global innovation marketplace, Hosted multiple innovation challenges
Growth metrics
N/A
Market positioning
Niche innovation platform
Geographic focus
Global
Patents and IP
N/A
About Dr. Max Lehnus
Dr. Max Lehnus has a diverse background in science and technology, encompassing research, entrepreneurship, mentoring, and communication. He co-founded WorldLabs to support innovation broadly. Before this, he was a postgraduate mentor at the University of Cambridge, where he engaged in outreach and teaching. He also co-founded an e-health startup focused on healthcare information portals in Italy and worked on wearable healthcare monitoring tech. He has research experience at University College London and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including Alzheimer's research and microbial genetics lectures.
Latest news about WorldLabs
- Autodesk invested $200M in Fei-Fei Li's World Labs as part of a $1B round at a ~$5B valuation, marking its largest startup investment ever. World Labs' "Marble" generates interactive 3D environments f
- World Labs, founded by AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, just secured $1 billion in funding with Autodesk investing $200 million to advance spatial intelligence. This signals a major shift beyond text-based AI t
- World Labs, led by Fei-Fei Li, is reportedly raising $500 million at a $5 billion valuation, a fourfold increase from 2024. This follows the launch of Marble, an API using 3D Gaussian Splatting to cre
- Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs is in funding talks at a 5 billion dollar valuation, following the 2025 launch of its world-generating model, Marble. The company is pioneering Large World Models to give AI hu
Official website: https://worldlabs.org
