Ex-DeepMind researcher raises $55M at $300M valuation for visual AI startup

Andrew Dai, a former Google DeepMind researcher whose work informed ChatGPT's development, raised a $55M seed round at a $300M valuation for his startup Elorian, months after leaving Google and before shipping a product. The valuation-to-capital ratio is more aggressive than Mira Murati's Thinking Machines. Elorian targets visual understanding and reasoning, which Dai calls one of AI's next major frontiers. He chose strategic backers Nvidia and Menlo Ventures over higher-priced offers, aiming for what he calls visual AGI.

View full digest for July 17, 2026