Ineffable Intelligence, an AI laboratory established just a few months ago by former DeepMind scientist David Silver, has successfully secured $1.1 billion in funding with a valuation of $5.1 billion as it enters the competitive field of innovative AI models that aim to surpass large language models.

As stated on its newly launched website, Ineffable’s goal is to develop a “superlearner” that can acquire knowledge and abilities independently of human data, utilizing reinforcement learning—a method where AI systems learn through trial and error rather than from human-generated data. This aligns with Silver’s specialization.

Previously leading the reinforcement learning division at Google-owned DeepMind and having spent over ten years there, Silver is currently a professor at University College London.

During his tenure at DeepMind, Silver contributed to the creation of programs that triumphed over professional players in chess and Go, learning solely from experience and without being exposed to human strategies or game records—thus defeating the world’s leading computer systems in those games. The most prominent example was AlphaZero. In a similar vein, Ineffable Intelligence aspires for its superlearner to uncover all knowledge from its own experiences.

Although the superlearner may be inexperienced, the company’s ambition remains strong. “If we are successful, this will signify a scientific advancement of a scale akin to Darwin: where his law encapsulated all Life, our law will elucidate and cultivate all Intelligence,” the site asserts (capitals included).

Describing Ineffable Intelligence as “his life’s work” in a personal note shared on the company’s blog, Silver also mentioned to Wired that “all profits I generate from Ineffable will be directed to high-impact charities aimed at saving as many lives as feasible.”

The specifics regarding how, when, or how much revenue the venture will generate remain uncertain, yet this has clearly not obstructed fundraising efforts.

As reported by Wired, the funding round was spearheaded by Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with contributions from Index Ventures, Google, Nvidia, and others. Among these additional investors are the British Business Bank and Sovereign AI, the U.K.’s newly established sovereign venture fund focused on AI.

Accelerating to what’s termed pentacorn status — referring to companies valued over $5 billion — Ineffable Intelligence joins the ranks of AI startups initiated by prominent researchers whose names have attracted substantial seed investments so significant they’ve been humorously labeled coconut rounds (a playful exaggeration of the “seed” round). Just last month, AMI Labs, co-founded by Turing Award laureate and former Meta AI scientist Yann LeCun, raised $1.03 billion at a pre-money valuation of $3.5 billion. 

There are likely more companies of this kind. Recursive Superintelligence, co-founded by DeepMind’s ex-principal scientist Tim Rocktäschel and based in the U.K., is reported to have raised $500 million, with demand strong enough to elevate that figure to $1 billion. 

While Recursive maintains connections to the U.S., these firms indicate a growing momentum around London as an AI center. This is partly due to DeepMind’s sustained presence following its acquisition by Google in 2014. However, it isn’t only DeepMind. Jeff Bezos’ AI initiative, Project Prometheus, is allegedly negotiating for office space near Google’s AI hub. 

This evolution also fosters a powerful network of alumni, with several former DeepMind team members reportedly set to join Ineffable’s leadership.