UK AI Startup Emulate Launches Funding Round Targeting $700M at ~$3.7B Valuation

On September 16, UK-based AI startup Emulate announced a new funding round targeting up to $700 million, at a post-money valuation of approximately $3.7 billion. The round is led by Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Founded in August 2026 by former Google DeepMind researchers Jack Parker-Holder and Matthew McGill, the company had been operating in stealth mode. The founders previously worked on DeepMind's Genie world model, which generates realistic videos and interactive 3D environments from short prompts and caused a stir in the video game industry when it was released in January.

Emulate is the third UK "neo-lab" to emerge from DeepMind's London office this year and secure hundreds of millions in funding. Earlier examples include Ineffable Intelligence, founded by former DeepMind researcher David Silver, which raised about $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation, and Recursive Superintelligence, formed by former DeepMind and OpenAI engineers, which raised over $600 million at a $4 billion valuation.

Such startups often rely on founders' reputations to command high valuations before shipping products. Their two largest costs are financing computing power for AI model development and hiring top researchers in a competitive market.