A month-old British start-up founded by former Google DeepMind researchers is close to raising hundreds of millions in funding at a nearly $4bn valuation. Emulate, incorporated in August, is in advanced talks to raise up to $700mn led by Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company was founded by Jack Parker-Holder, Matthew McGill, and Philip Ball, who previously worked on Genie world models.

Genie generates realistic videos and 3D environments from text prompts, impacting the gaming industry upon its January unveiling. Emulate’s fundraising follows Sir Demis Hassabis stepping down as DeepMind CEO to become chair. The startup is the third UK neo-lab from DeepMind’s London offices this year to secure major funding.

Similar ventures include David Silver’s Ineffable Intelligence ($1bn at $5bn) and Recursive Superintelligence ($600mn at $4bn). Key costs remain compute financing and top talent recruitment. Index, Lightspeed, and Emulate declined to comment.