World model maker Odyssey nabs $1.45B valuation backed by Amazon and other big names

In Brief

Odyssey, a satellite exemplary AI startup founded by self-driving conveyance pioneers CEO Oliver Cameron and CTO Jeff Hawke, has raised a $310 cardinal Series B circular astatine a $1.45B valuation led by Natural Capital with Amazon, AMD Ventures, GV and others participating.

World models are the adjacent large happening successful AI beyond text- and chat-based ample connection models. They stitchery information from the carnal satellite and simulate it with close physics. In Odyssey’s case, it has mimicked however Google Earth gathered data; the startup sent radical retired with cameras strapped to their backs. (Google drives camera-equipped cars around.)

That attack makes consciousness fixed the backgrounds of the founders. Cameron was the co-founder and CEO of autonomous conveyance startup Voyage, which was acquired by GM’s Cruise, wherever helium aboriginal became VP of product; Hawke was an technologist astatine buzzy UK self-driving startup Wayve.

Odyssey, founded successful 2023, present offers a fistful of satellite models for a assortment of usage cases from video-game instauration to robotics. It is possibly champion known for producing rich, interactive video from substance prompts.

With the backing from Amazon, the startup says AWS is present its preferred unreality supplier and it volition optimize its models to tally connected AWS’s Trainium chips, a rival to Nvidia’s AI chips.

In summation to the VCs that participated successful this unicorn-crowning round, Odyssey has corralled an awesome database of angel investors arsenic well. These see Jeff Dean, Elad Gil, Garry Tan, Guillermo Rauch, and Cruise laminitis Kyle Vogt. The institution has present raised $337 cardinal to date.

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