(From right to left) MetAI co-founders Daniel Yu, Renton Hsu and Dave Liu.
Yuan Artificial Intelligence Technology
MetAI Technology, a Taipei startup that makes 3D simulations for logistics and manufacturing, said Wednesday it had raised $4 million from investors including billionaire Jen-Hsun Huang's chip giant Nvidia.
Other investors participating in the seed round include Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company Kenmec Mechanical Engineering and industrial automation software provider Solomon Technology, as well as local venture capital firms Addin Ventures, SparkLabs Taiwan and Upstream Ventures, MetAI said in a press release. SparkLabs Taiwan co-founder Edgar Chiu posted on Linkedin that MetAI is “the first Taiwanese company in Nvidia's portfolio.”
MetAI, founded in 2023, said it has developed software that uses artificial intelligence to convert 2D floor plans of automated warehouses into 3D simulations in minutes, compared with about 300 hours using other methods. This simulation, known as a digital twin, allows logistics companies to test the efficiency of their warehouses and facilities before actual deployment. MetAI's software is available on Nvidia's Omniverse digital twin platform.
MetAI said the funding will be used for research and development and recruitment. It will also expand into the United States, targeting customers such as semiconductor manufacturers, automated warehouse operators and robotics companies.
A virtual warehouse generated using MetAI technology.
Yuan Artificial Intelligence Technology
“For those looking to develop physical artificial intelligence at scale, developing accurate digital twins of entities is seen as a barrier to entry,” MetAI co-founder and CEO Daniel Yu said in a press release. “We are changing that narrative. , allowing enterprises to instantly train artificial intelligence systems (whether robotics, logistics, or manufacturing) in physical-based virtual environments with unprecedented efficiency and scalability.
MetAI said its digital twin technology can be used to build so-called “big world models” – artificial intelligence models that simulate the real world so that autonomous machines such as robots and self-driving cars can be trained and tested.
Startups seeking to build “large-scale world models” include San Francisco-based World Labs. World Labs was co-founded by Li Feifei, the former chief scientist of artificial intelligence at Google Cloud, and has received support from Nvidia's venture capital arm NVentures and other companies.
