NEW YORK: Thomas Reardon, who led the work on Meta Platforms Inc’s Neural Band, is raising funds for a new startup called Flourish to develop energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI), according to people familiar with the matter.
The company is in discussions with investors to raise capital at a US$2.5bil valuation, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly.
The terms may change as the talks are not yet finalised.
Lux Capital, where Reardon works as a venture partner, and Google Ventures have agreed to be major investors in the company, the people said.
Investors have already committed US$500mil to the company, one of the people said.
Reardon said at an event last week that he was starting a new company to build AI that can operate using less power, according to people familiar with his remarks.
Existing AI tools consume massive amounts of electricity, which is driving up energy costs around the United States.
Inspiration for such technology may come from the architecture of the human brain, which creates consciousness and controls the body using the amount of power required to illuminate a light bulb.
Notably, that is far less power than current AI systems consume.
Neuroscience has always inspired AI, and recent advances in science and technology are helping researchers understand the brain’s structure and function at a more detailed level than ever before.
Some researchers think that this new knowledge will help them build AI that more closely mimics the mind’s capabilities, as opposed to current technology that is only loosely based on the brain.
Reardon declined to comment through a spokesperson.
One person familiar with the discussions said Flourish may seek a valuation of as much as US$3.5bil.
Flourish has been recruiting AI researchers and neuroscientists and expressing interest in connectomics, a field of research that involves mapping the brain and identifying how individual neurons are connected to each other, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Brain technology has attracted more interest in recent years from investors and wealthy individuals who want to build a more direct link between the human nervous system and computers.
Reardon has been central to that effort. He founded CTRL-Labs, which Meta bought in 2019 for between US$500mil and US$1bil.
The social media giant used that technology to build the Meta Neural Band, a wristband that enables users to control augmented reality glasses by gesturing with their hands. Dozens of other companies are building brain implants or external devices to further connect humans and machines. — Bloomberg
