In mid-2022, Pim de Witte reached out to several major AI labs to explore their interest in using data from Medal, his video game clipping platform, for training AI agents. Following his outreach, it became evident that Medal’s data was regarded as more valuable than anticipated. De Witte noted that the company received numerous acquisition offers shortly thereafter, including a notable report of a $500 million offer from OpenAI. Initially, while intrigued by these offers, de Witte acknowledged that this interest stemmed from a lack of understanding of the true potential of their data.
De Witte cited a Google DeepMind research paper illustrating the educational value of gaming data for AI learning in 3D environments. He recognized that Medal’s significant volume of uploads—approximately 2 billion annually—positions it to develop unique foundational AI models for real-world applications.
Recently, de Witte announced the launch of a new AI lab named General Intuition, which successfully raised $133.7 million in seed funding. The primary investor is Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, who previously backed OpenAI. Other participating investors include General Catalyst and the Raine Group. Khosla expressed belief in General Intuition’s potential impact within the AI sector.
General Intuition focuses on developing world models that enhance AI’s spatial understanding, a vital step toward achieving capabilities akin to human perception. In this domain, AI can learn to predict physical interactions, such as an object falling. Prominent figures like Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis advocate for these models as critical to advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI).
The competitive landscape includes various startups working on similar technologies. De Witte aims for his models to control devices that utilize traditional input methods like keyboards and game controllers, with initial applications expected in search and rescue operations. He believes that training with gaming environments may improve AI’s performance in the real world. However, industry experts caution that the trajectory for world models is debated, with the value of various data types remaining unclear. As interest in this area grows, de Witte anticipates an increase in acquisition interest directed at gaming companies from AI labs.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/column/801370/ai-world-models-general-intuition-medal