Interest in artificial intelligence able to generate lifelike images from text prompts has soared recently, but systems that can conjure full, cohesive three dimensional environments are only just beginning to emerge. Matthias Niessner, a leading researcher in 3D modeling from the Technical University of Munich, is stepping away from academia to pursue this opportunity as the founder of a new startup called SpAItial.
This venture recently secured a significant seed investment totaling thirteen million dollars, a notable sum for such an early stage European company. Earlybird Venture Capital led the round, joined by Speedinvest and several well known angel investors.
Despite only releasing a teaser video so far showing a 3D room generated from a prompt, SpAItial has sparked investor excitement thanks to the reputation of the founding team and their technical expertise. Ricardo Martin Brualla, with experience on Google’s 3D teleconferencing, and David Novotny, who previously led Meta’s text to 3D asset initiative, have joined as cofounders, strengthening the startup’s bench of talent.
Chasing Realism and Interactivity
Niessner’s ambitions go beyond simply building static 3D spaces, envisioning fully interactive environments that behave like the real world. He argues that few existing teams are truly aiming to let users manipulate or engage with these generated worlds outside of game scenarios.
Several other startups are active in this realm, including Odyssey, which has raised twenty seven million dollars to target entertainment, and World Labs, valued at over one billion dollars and led by artificial intelligence pioneer Fei Fei Li. Even with these competitors, Niessner believes there is plenty of room for innovation and that no company has truly solved the challenge yet.
While investors are tantalized by the notion that three dimensional digital spaces could become a massive industry, the practical paths to market remain uncertain and hard to define. Possible applications range from powering video game creation to 3D construction visualization and even use in robotics training.
To navigate the uncertainty, SpAItial plans to let developers license its models, hoping downstream partners will discover the most valuable uses. To strengthen the team’s business side, Niessner recruited Luke Rogers, a former executive at Cazoo and his former Stanford roommate, as cofounder.
Developing partnerships will be one of the first key milestones for SpAItial, especially involving companies interested in experimenting with the models’ early capabilities. The company is also prioritizing revenue much earlier in its journey than many of its artificial intelligence peers, according to Niessner.
However, growth will be measured as Niessner insists SpAItial will focus on hiring quality talent over large numbers. The company’s immediate technical goal is to build larger and more interactive 3D environment generation spaces, such as enabling virtual objects to respond realistically when manipulated.
Niessner’s vision is bold: imagine a child typing a description into a system and having a video game ready in mere minutes. While creating a simple object might seem easier, most gaming platforms closely guard what users can contribute, making SpAItial’s approach potentially more disruptive if successful. For more on the market impact, see this roundup on artificial intelligence 3D startups.
