David Silver, a former researcher at DeepMind, has launched a new startup called Ineffable Intelligence with a record-breaking $1.1 billion seed round. The London-based company aims to achieve superintelligence by using reinforcement learning, allowing AI to learn through its own experiences rather than relying on human-generated datasets. This method is intended to enable original discoveries in science and mathematics, moving beyond mere imitation of existing human knowledge.
The massive investment round was led by prominent venture capital firms Sequoia and Lightspeed, with additional support from the British government. Ineffable Intelligence plans to build a "superlearner" capable of independently rediscovering and eventually surpassing humanity's most significant inventions.
Silver, known for his pioneering work in reinforcement learning at DeepMind, stated that the new venture focuses on creating AI that can generate novel insights without being constrained by pre-existing human data. The startup's approach is seen as a potential pathway to artificial general intelligence (AGI) and beyond.