World model companies keep their products under wraps

World model companies are attracting attention and funding while revealing little about what they plan to build, according to TechCrunch reporter Russell Brandom.

The field focuses on automating spatial intelligence. Potential applications include robotics, interactive video, and more complex self-driving systems. The leading companies mentioned are Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs and Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs.

Michael Rabbatt, AMI Labs co-founder and vice president of World Models, declined to describe the company’s projects. “We’ll talk about it when we’re ready to talk about it,” he said. In an email, he added that AMI Labs was still in a research and building phase and was not discussing product plans or a timeline publicly.

World Labs’ Marble appears to be the field’s most developed product, with demonstrations involving media creation, explorable video-game environments, and CGI effects. Robotics is another possible use, although the platform appears mainly intended to demonstrate capabilities.

Suppliers also lack clarity. Alex de Vigan, CEO of Physicl, said he knew the company’s data was useful but did not know exactly what customers were building. Brandom compares the secrecy to a “Dark Forest” scenario: companies may avoid revealing their direction because clearer plans could attract rivals, including other world model startups, OpenAI, and Anthropic.