Jack Parker-Holder, a Google DeepMind researcher who led the company's world models development, is reportedly nearing a $700m fundraise for a new London neolab called Emulate. According to sources, the round values the startup at $4bn. Parker-Holder, 28, previously worked on projects like AlphaZero and Genie 2.

The funding round is led by Sequoia Capital with participation from investors including Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Reid Hoffman. The startup aims to build world models for robotics and AI agents, focusing on simulation and planning capabilities.