Dulo raises $130 million to build AI for hardware engineering
Sebastian Thrun and Adrian Aoun’s startup is developing foundation models that could automate parts of engineering design and validation.
Dulo, a new startup from Google AI and autonomous-driving pioneer Sebastian Thrun and entrepreneur Adrian Aoun, has raised $130 million in seed funding. The founders say the company is building “foundation models for hardware design” under a broader goal of engineering superintelligence.
The round is unusually large for a seed investment. Backers named by Aoun include Eric Schmidt, John Doerr, Yuri Milner, Ram Shriram, Marc Benioff, Construct Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Bling Capital, BoxGroup, SV Angel, Haun Ventures and Scribble Ventures. The Information first reported the financing, and Aoun confirmed the amount and investor list.
Dulo’s public description remains sparse. The startup aims to create models that can help automate engineering design and validation, potentially generating valid designs for physical products from specifications. It has not disclosed a product, launch timeline, customers or valuation.
Thrun led Google’s self-driving project before it became Waymo and helped start Google X and Google Brain. His involvement, the size of the round and the focus on physical engineering make Dulo a notable bet that foundation-model economics will extend beyond software into the design of machines and hardware.
