AI labFlapping Airplanesjust landed $180 million in seed funding from the likes of Google Ventures, Sequoia, and Index to do something most labs have quietly given up on: making models learn like humans instead of vacuuming up the internet. The founding team, made up of brothers Ben and Asher Spector and co-founder Aidan Smith, is betting that radically more data-efficient training could open the door to entirely new AI capabilities.
Today on TechCrunch’sEquitypodcast, TechCrunch AI editor Russell Brandon sits down with all three founders to discuss why investors wrote such a large check for a lab with no product, what becomes possible with radically more efficient AI, and whythey’reprioritizing creativity over credentials.
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
- Why the Flapping Airplanes team is focused on research first, commercialization later
- What the “neolabs” generation means for AI development
- How they plan to make AI models 1,000x more data efficient. A hint? The team thinks the brain is “the floor, not the ceiling” for AI capabilities
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Russell Brandom has been covering the tech industry since 2012, with a focus on platform policy and emerging technologies. He previously worked at The Verge and Rest of World, and has written for Wired, The Awl and MIT’s Technology Review.
He can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at 412-401-5489.
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing [email protected].