AI Pioneer Begins New Venture Aimed at Next-Generation “World Models”
Yann LeCun, one of the founding fathers of artificial intelligence and Meta’s chief AI scientist since 2013, has announced his departure from Meta to establish a new startup focused on **Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI)**. LeCun, who is a Turing Award laureate and a foundational figure in *deep learning*, is shifting his ambitions toward building AI systems capable of understanding the physical world, not just digital information like text and images[1][2].
Vision for Advanced Machine Intelligence
LeCun revealed the company’s mission in a public LinkedIn post: to pursue the development of "world models”—AI systems that have persistent memory, robust reasoning abilities, and the capacity to plan complex action sequences. The goal is to move beyond current AI capabilities, laying the groundwork for a new generation of intelligent machines.
- Development of AI with world understanding beyond text and images
- Focus on persistent memory, reasoning, and planning
- Described as the “next big revolution” in artificial intelligence
Meta to Remain in Partnership
Although LeCun is leaving his leadership role, he confirmed that Meta will remain a partner in his new venture. He thanked CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the executive team for their ongoing support of his Advanced Machine Intelligence research program[1].
Era Ends for FAIR and Meta's AI Direction
LeCun’s exit marks the end of a pivotal era for Meta’s
Facebook AI Research (FAIR) division. LeCun directed FAIR from its inception, helping position Meta as a leader in global AI innovation. His work, alongside figures like Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, laid the foundation for *deep learning*—the technology powering today’s transformative AI systems, including
ChatGPT[1].
The timing of his departure is significant, as Meta’s AI ambitions have faced challenges. The recent release of
Llama 4 did not meet developer expectations, and Meta has made aggressive moves to strengthen its AI division, most notably investing $14.5 billion to hire Alexandr Wang from
Scale AI as Chief AI Officer[1].
LeCun’s Legacy and the Future of AI
Yann LeCun’s legacy at Meta includes fostering a culture of ambitious research and steering the company through the intense “AI talent war” of the 2010s. As he embarks on this new entrepreneurial journey, the AI community watches closely to see if his vision of world-modeling AI will catalyze the next wave of artificial intelligence breakthroughs.
