World model maker Odyssey raises $310M, hits $1.45B valuation with Amazon and others

Odyssey, a startup building world models for artificial intelligence, has raised $310 million in a Series B round that values the company at $1.45 billion. The round was led by Natural Capital, with participation from Amazon, AMD Ventures, GV, and other investors.

Founded in 2023 by autonomous vehicle veterans Oliver Cameron and Jeff Hawke, Odyssey develops world models—AI systems that gather data from the physical world and simulate it with accurate physics. Unlike text-based large language models, world models are considered the next big frontier in AI.

Odyssey's data collection method mirrors how Google Earth operates: the company sends people out with cameras strapped to their backs, capturing real-world environments. This approach aligns with the founders' backgrounds. Cameron co-founded and led Voyage, an autonomous vehicle startup later acquired by GM's Cruise, where he became VP of product. Hawke was an engineer at Wayve, a prominent UK self-driving startup.

The company's world models have diverse applications, from video game creation to robotics. Odyssey is perhaps best known for its ability to generate rich, interactive video from text prompts.

As part of the deal, Amazon's backing makes AWS Odyssey's preferred cloud provider, and the startup will optimize its models to run on AWS's Trainium chips, which compete with Nvidia's AI processors.

Odyssey has also attracted an impressive roster of angel investors, including Jeff Dean, Elad Gil, Garry Tan, Guillermo Rauch, and Cruise founder Kyle Vogt. To date, the company has raised a total of $337 million.