Odyssey ML Raises $310 Million at $1.45 Billion Valuation Led by Amazon, Nvidia, and AMD

AI startup Odyssey ML, which builds "world models" to simulate the physical world, has raised $310 million in a Series B round at a $1.45 billion valuation. The round saw investment from Amazon, Nvidia, and AMD. Founded by autonomous vehicle pioneers, Odyssey will use AWS as its preferred cloud provider and optimize its models for Amazon's Trainium chips, signaling a deep partnership with the tech giant.

Series B funding round

• ▪Odyssey ML has raised a total of $337 million to date
• ▪The funding round values Odyssey ML at $1.45 billion
• ▪AI startup Odyssey ML raised $310 million in a Series B funding round

World model AI technology

• ▪To gather data for its models, Odyssey sent people out with cameras strapped to their backs, an approach similar to how Google Earth gathered data
• ▪Prominent AI figures like Meta's Yann LeCun and Google Deepmind's Demis Hassabis view world models as a key step toward more advanced AI
• ▪Odyssey ML builds "world models," a type of AI that simulates the physical world in 3D, including physics, dynamics, and spatial relationships

Founder backgrounds

• ▪CEO Oliver Cameron was the co-founder and CEO of autonomous vehicle startup Voyage, which was acquired by GM's Cruise
• ▪Odyssey ML was founded in 2023 by CEO Oliver Cameron and CTO Jeff Hawke, who both have backgrounds in autonomous vehicles
• ▪CTO Jeff Hawke was previously an engineer at the U.K. self-driving startup Wayve
• ▪Odyssey ML has a 55-person team working from London, Zurich, and Palo Alto

Product applications

• ▪Odyssey ML's world models are used for applications that include video-game creation and robotics
• ▪The company is known for producing rich, interactive video from text prompts

AWS partnership

• ▪Odyssey ML will optimize its models to run on Amazon's Trainium chips
• ▪As part of its funding deal, Odyssey ML will use AWS as its preferred cloud provider

Investor roster

• ▪Other investors in Odyssey ML include Nvidia's venture arm and the CIA-linked fund IQT
• ▪The Series B round was led by Natural Capital, with participation from Amazon, AMD Ventures, and GV (formerly Google Ventures)
• ▪Angel investors in Odyssey ML include Google's chief scientist Jeff Dean, Elad Gil, Garry Tan, Guillermo Rauch, and Cruise founder Kyle Vogt