“When machines are endowed with spatial intelligence, it will transform how we create and interact with real and virtual worlds - revolutionizing storytelling, robotics, scientific discovery, and beyond.” - Fei-Fei Li
The vision behind World Labs
Fei-Fei Li - the Chinese-American computer science pioneer often referred to as the “Godmother of AI” - is best known for her seminal work in computer vision, particularly the creation of ImageNet, which helped catalyze the deep learning revolution in the 2010s. Building on decades of research and leadership in artificial intelligence, she co-founded World Labs, a startup dedicated to advancing a new frontier: spatial intelligence. ( worldlabs.ai )
Spatial intelligence refers to a machine’s ability not just to understand language or recognize images, but to perceive, reason about, generate, and interact with three-dimensional environments - the way humans do in the physical world. This, Li believes, is the next major evolution for AI, expanding its utility far beyond text and 2D vision into truly immersive, actionable understanding of space and structure.
World Labs: From concept to creation
Founded with substantial backing - including a $230 million funding round - World Labs sprang from Li’s belief that current AI systems remain “untethered” from the real world because they lack spatial grounding. While large language models can handle abstract knowledge, Li argues true intelligence requires world models - systems that can simulate and navigate realistic environments.
World Labs is building this capability with multimodal models that go beyond language and images to understand the geometry, layout, physics, and interactivity of real and virtual spaces.
Marble: A leap into 3D world generation
The latest and most significant launch from World Labs is Marble, a generative 3D world model now publicly available after months in beta.
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Multimodal Input: Marble can create detailed 3D environments from text, static images, video, or even coarse 3D layouts, giving unprecedented flexibility to users.
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Editable & Expandable Worlds: Users aren’t limited to static outputs — they can edit, expand, or combine worlds, tailoring environments to specific needs or creative visions.
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Creative and Practical Uses: Generated environments can be exported in various formats — from meshes to videos — for use in cinema, gaming, design, VR/AR, robotics simulations, and more.
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Marble Labs Workspace: World Labs also introduced Marble Labs, a collaborative workspace where creators, engineers, and designers can explore workflows, case studies, and tutorials to push the boundaries of world modeling.
This launch marks one of the first commercially accessible steps toward models that understand spatial structure — a foundational shift from flat, 2D content to true 3D intelligence.
Strategic Partnerships and Industry Impact
World Labs’ approach has drawn interest from major players. For example, Cisco Investments has put strategic capital behind the startup, highlighting its potential to transform how AI interacts with physical environments - from robotics to industrial applications.
By focusing on spatial intelligence, World Labs positions itself at the forefront of a broader race in AI research and industry — one where understanding space and structure will become central to next-gen applications.
Summary
Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs represents a bold leap forward in the evolution of artificial intelligence — from language and image processing to spatial reasoning and world modeling. With the launch of Marble, World Labs delivers one of the first commercially available tools that can create rich, editable 3D worlds from simple inputs like text, images, or video. By enabling machines and humans alike to generate and interact with virtual environments, World Labs is redefining what intelligent systems can do — powering creativity, simulation, robotics, and scientific discovery. Under Li’s visionary leadership, spatial intelligence may soon become the next defining frontier in AI.
Food for thought
Are enough guardrails in place, as robots with 3D understanding are unleashed on the world?
AI concept to learn: Marble AI
Marble AI, developed by Fei-Fei Li’s
World Labs, is a generative 3D world model that creates rich, editable
environments from text, images, or video. Users can expand and customize
these worlds for use in gaming, design, VR/AR, and simulations. Marble
bridges the gap between flat AI and true spatial intelligence, enabling
immersive, interactive 3D content creation.
[The Billion Hopes Research Team shares the latest AI updates for learning and awareness. Various sources are used. All copyrights acknowledged. This is not a professional, financial, personal or medical advice. Please consult domain experts before making decisions. Feedback welcome!]
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