AI Visionaries Support Startup Developing Event Prediction Models

Sooth Labs Secures $50 Million in Funding to Develop Advanced AI Models

Sooth Labs, a new artificial intelligence lab founded by former Meta Platforms Inc. employees, is raising approximately $50 million in funding to build AI models designed to help businesses forecast the likelihood of specific geopolitical and market events taking place. The funding round, led by Felicis Ventures, would value the startup at roughly $335 million, including the money raised, according to Sooth's co-founders.

The company has secured backing from prominent industry figures, including Yann LeCun, a former Meta executive and AI pioneer, as well as Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean. Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth is also advising the firm. Sooth aims to improve upon existing forecasting algorithms by training its models on large cross-industry datasets, including data owned by its clients, and allowing that information to be easily queried.

Sooth's software is designed to enable businesses to make better decisions in areas like capital allocation and risk management. In a demonstration, the user was able to query the probability of specific events happening, including the likelihood that the World Health Organization declares another pandemic by 2028 (16%) and that Anthropic PBC goes public this year (33%). The company is in discussions with potential customers in finance, defense, insurance, and real estate.

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Sooth's team includes Ruslan Salakhutdinov, a Carnegie Mellon University professor and disciple of AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton. Salakhutdinov, frequently cited for his research in deep learning, served as Apple's first director of AI research before moving on to conduct AI research at Meta. Sooth's CEO, Yaser Sheikh, is a consulting professor at Carnegie Mellon and previously served as a vice president at Meta.

Sooth's push coincides with surging interest in prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which let people wager on everything from who the next James Bond will be to the chances of a major meteor striking Earth before 2030. Those firms have also raised billions of dollars in funding from investors.

Note: Funding figures for Kalshi and Polymarket are not specified in the original text.

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