Yann LeCun's second venture into creating a VC fund successfully raises $100 million, with Gemini's co-lead joining as a partner.

      **Summary:** Yann LeCun and Oriol Vinyals are joining 224 Ventures, a new AI fund with over $100 million in assets. The fund focuses on early-stage AI investments, making checks between $1 million and $5 million, with the University of Illinois as the anchor investor.

      Yann LeCun has become part of a venture capital fund that is set to launch. The former chief AI scientist at Meta has teamed up with Oriol Vinyals, who recently left Google DeepMind where he was co-technical lead for Gemini. Shaun Johnson, co-founder of AI-focused AIX Ventures, will manage the firm.

      The timing is notable, as Vinyals announced his exit from DeepMind alongside other high-profile colleagues to start a new venture called Discovery Loop, aiming to automate science and engineering, while also joining 224 Ventures as an investment platform.

      The fund aims to raise $81 million for its early-stage focus, having secured around $30 million to date. Additionally, it has invested over $60 million in growth-stage AI companies through specialized vehicles. Johnson estimates that once the early-stage fund is fully raised, total assets could exceed $150 million. The University of Illinois is the primary investor.

      224 Ventures plans to invest between $1 million and $5 million in startups valued at less than $100 million without leading funding rounds. Its primary focus will be on early-stage AI applications, particularly those that emphasize capital-efficient model development, with interests in robotics and AI infrastructure as well. The firm has already made several undisclosed investments.

      Both LeCun and Vinyals have previously engaged as angel investors, supporting notable AI startups like Perplexity. LeCun also invested in Groq, which Nvidia later acquired in a significant deal. Johnson, before leaving AIX Ventures in December, had invested in Perplexity and voice tech company Wispr AI.

      The investor base for the fund is notably unique, comprised mainly of individuals in the AI field, including leading researchers, startup founders, and executives from Fortune 500 companies. This network is central to the fund’s value proposition, emphasizing access to deal flow and support from practitioners in AI, rather than just financiers. LeCun’s previous venture, Extelligence Invest, collapsed shortly after launch due to unspecified "exclusive relationships" with other funds, which he later attributed to miscommunication. 224 Ventures seems to have addressed any such issues.

      LeCun will maintain his position as executive chairman at AMI Labs, a startup focused on world models that recently raised $1 billion. He sees 224 Ventures as an opportunity to collaborate with Vinyals and back founders while keeping abreast of emerging AI trends. All three partners will invest solely through the firm, collaborate on investment decisions, and share profits equally.

      **Published August 5, 2026 - 7:21 pm UTC**

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