- Sanja Fidler, the former head of Nvidia's Toronto AI lab, has launched a new startup called Veeda AI to tackle how robots interact with the physical world through AI.
- Veeda AI, officially incorporated in June under the name Veeda Innovation, has raised $90 million USD ($124 million CAD) in seed funding.
- The funding round was co-led by Khosla Ventures and Radical Ventures, marking one of the largest seed financings ever raised by a Canadian startup.
- Fidler announced the launch of Veeda AI alongside Zan Gojcic (CTO) and Huan Ling (chief scientist).
- Fidler left Nvidia earlier this month, stating that world models are 'where the next breakthrough lies.'
- Fidler joined Nvidia in 2018 to establish its Toronto research unit, which later became the Spatial Intelligence Lab.
- At Nvidia, Fidler and her team developed world models for physical AI, focusing on simulations of physical systems and algorithms for understanding three-dimensional data.
Sanja Fidler, previously Nvidia's Toronto AI lab leader, has launched Veeda AI, raising $90 million in seed funding to develop world models for robotics. The startup aims to create simulated environments for training AI agents, addressing the limitations of real-world learning.1689
"At Veeda, our sole mission is to build simulated reality for Physical AI. Our conviction is that this will become the critical infrastructure layer for all areas of robotics," Fidler stated. The company, incorporated in June, is backed by Radical Ventures and Khosla Ventures, marking one of the largest seed financings for a Canadian startup.4
Fidler emphasized the need for high-fidelity simulations, stating, "It’s unrealistic to think that robots can learn through trial and error in the real world... That’s why robots need high-fidelity simulated environments instead." The startup's focus on multimodal world models aims to provide scalable training for embodied AI agents, enhancing their interaction with the physical world.
Fidler's team at Nvidia previously developed software for simulating interactions of autonomous vehicles and humanoid agents, laying the groundwork for Veeda's mission. The venture capital backing reflects a growing interest in AI startups focused on world modeling, with Khosla Ventures also investing in other companies like Waabi Innovation Inc.
Fidler's vision for Veeda AI positions it at the forefront of the evolving landscape of robotics and AI, aiming to redefine how machines learn and interact with their environments.
“The round, co-led by Khosla Ventures and Radical Ventures, is one of the largest seed financings ever raised by a Canadian startup, coming just three months after Veeda was founded. Fidler, who helmed Nvidia's Spatial Intelligence Lab for eight years, argues robots need simulated reality because real-world trial and error is dangerous and doesn't scale.”
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