Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs Raises $1 Billion to Build AI That Understands the Physical World

Fei-Fei Li’s spatial intelligence startup World Labs has closed a massive $1 billion funding round, bringing some of the biggest names in computing and design to the table. The investment, announced on February 18, was led by Nvidia, AMD, Autodesk, and Fidelity — a roster of backers that signals just how seriously the industry takes spatial AI.

What Spatial Intelligence Means for AI

Spatial intelligence is the ability for an AI system to reason about how the three-dimensional world works — understanding depth, physics, object relationships, and spatial layouts rather than operating purely on flat 2D data like text and images.

Think of it as the difference between an AI that can describe a room from a photo and one that can actually navigate, model, and interact with that room in three dimensions. World Labs believes this capability is the next major frontier in artificial intelligence, and their $1 billion war chest is designed to get there first.

MARBLE Turns Images Into 3D Worlds

The company’s flagship product, MARBLE, generates and edits persistent 3D environments from text, images, video, or 3D layouts. Launched commercially in November 2025 after a limited beta, MARBLE allows creators to build cohesive three-dimensional worlds without traditional 3D modeling expertise.

MARBLE is available in both free and paid tiers, with export options including meshes and video — making it practical for game developers, visual effects artists, architects, and researchers who need 3D assets at scale.

Why Autodesk Invested $200 Million

Autodesk did not just invest $200 million — the company will also serve as an advisor to World Labs. This partnership makes strategic sense: Autodesk’s tools already power much of the world’s 3D design and engineering workflows, and integrating spatial AI could fundamentally change how professionals create everything from buildings to animated characters.

A Growing Spatial AI Ecosystem

With this new round, World Labs has raised a total of $1.23 billion since its founding. The company is targeting early use cases in gaming, visual effects, virtual reality, and robotics — all fields where understanding 3D space is essential.

For researchers and builders working at the intersection of AI and the physical world, World Labs just became the best-funded player on the field.

Sources: TechCrunch, February 18, 2026; PYMNTS, February 2026; Silicon Republic, February 2026; The AI Insider, February 19, 2026