World model maker Odyssey nabs $1.45B valuation backed by Amazon and other big names
Amazon — world models are the next big thing in AI beyond LLMs and, with this round, Odyssey has cemented itself as one of the startups to watch.
They gather data from the physical world and simulate it with accurate physics. In Odyssey’s case, it has mimicked how Google Earth gathered data; the startup sent people out with cameras strapped to their backs. (Google drives camera-equipped cars around.) That approach makes sense given the backgrounds of the founders. Cameron was the co-founder and CEO of autonomous vehicle startup Voyage, which was acquired by GM’s Cruise, where he later became VP of product; Hawke was an engineer at buzzy U.K. self-driving startup Wayve. Odyssey, founded in 2023, now offers a handful of world models for a variety of use cases, from video-game creation to robotics. It is perhaps best known for producing rich, interactive video from text prompts. With the backing from Amazon, the startup says AWS is now its preferred cloud provider and it will optimize its models to run on AWS’s Trainium chips, a competitor to Nvidia’s AI chips. In addition to the VCs that participated in this unicorn-crowning round, Odyssey has corralled an impressive list of angel investors as well. These include Jeff Dean, Elad Gil, Garry Tan, Guillermo Rauch, and Cruise founder Kyle Vogt. The company has now raised $337 million to date. Get an inside look at what it takes to scale and succeed from leaders at Mach Industries, Founders Fund, and Shinkei Systems. Through candid fireside chats and high-impact networking, you’ll walk away with valuable insights and new connections. Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.
