Yann LeCun leaves Meta to found an AI startup

Background

Yann LeCun was one of the central figures in Meta's AI research. He had been the first director of FAIR, Meta's AI research lab, from 9 December 2013, and later became Meta's chief AI scientist.^[1] FAIR, the Fundamental AI Research group, was the lab that carried out much of the company's basic research. Basic research studies questions without an immediate product in view.

What happened

On 19 November 2025 Yann LeCun confirmed that he would leave Meta after ten years to found his own company.^[1] He announced the move on Threads, saying he would leave at the end of 2025.^[2]

Key details

The new company. The startup focuses on Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI). AMI means systems that understand the physical world, have persistent memory, reason and plan complex actions.^[2] Persistent memory means the system keeps what it has learned over time, rather than starting from nothing in each conversation.

Partnership. Meta was to be a partner of the new company.^[2]

Teaching. LeCun's teaching position at New York University was reported to be unaffected by the move.^[2]

Funding. In March 2026 his company, AMI, announced that it had raised $1.03 billion at a $3.5 billion pre-money valuation.^[1] A pre-money valuation is the value of the company before the new investment is added. A chief AI scientist is a senior role that sets the scientific direction of a company's AI research.

Impact

LeCun's departure ended a long period in which he led Meta's basic AI research, which began when he became FAIR's first director in 2013. His new company set out a research goal centred on systems that understand the physical world, and Meta stayed connected to it as a partner rather than as its owner. The 2026 funding round was announced at a $3.5 billion pre-money valuation.^[1][2]