GenAI Daily - February 20, 2026: World Labs Secures $1B for Spatial AI, Inertia Raises Record Fusion Capital, ServiceNow Warns of Software Shakeout
Top Story
Fei-Fei Li's World Labs Raises $1 Billion for Spatial Intelligence Revolution
World Labs, the spatial intelligence startup founded by AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, raised $1 billion in new funding from investors including AMD, Nvidia, software firm Autodesk, Emerson Collective, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Sea.
Autodesk invested $200 million in World Labs and will serve as an adviser to the startup, marking one of the largest enterprise AI partnerships this year.
The company's first product, Marble, enables users to create 3D worlds from images, video or text, targeting applications in gaming, visual effects, virtual reality and robotics.
While World Labs did not disclose a valuation, Bloomberg News reported in January that the startup was in funding discussions at a valuation of about $5 billion.
Why it matters:
Spatial intelligence represents a breakthrough approach to AI that enables reasoning about how the 3D world works - rather than relying on 2D data like flat images or text. The Autodesk partnership signals enterprise demand for AI that can understand and manipulate 3D environments, potentially transforming design workflows across architecture, engineering, and manufacturing.
Key Developments
ServiceNow COO Warns of AI-Driven Software Industry Consolidation
ServiceNow COO Amit Zavery warned that consolidation within the software industry could occur when some software firms fail to transform their businesses for AI adoption.
US software stocks fell Thursday after SAP's underwhelming cloud outlook and a post-earnings slide in ServiceNow deepened concerns that traditional providers are being outpaced by AI players, with SAP plunging more than 16% and ServiceNow dropping 11% despite forecasting annual subscription revenue above Wall Street estimates.
Impact: Enterprise software leaders face mounting pressure to demonstrate AI transformation strategies as investors question which legacy vendors can adapt versus those vulnerable to displacement by AI-native platforms.
Samsung Accelerates Google Gemini AI to 800 Million Devices
Samsung confirmed at CES 2026 that the company plans to double the number of Gemini-powered mobile devices it makes this year, bringing the total to 800 million, up from about 400 million mobile products that had rolled out Gemini-backed AI features by last year.
Samsung CEO TM Roh expects AI adoption to accelerate, as Samsung's surveys show awareness of its Galaxy AI brand jumped to 80% from about 30% in just one year.
Impact: Samsung's 800 million device target creates massive distribution for Google's Gemini AI, potentially establishing it as the dominant mobile AI platform while placing pressure on Apple's more limited Intelligence rollout.
Fusion Energy Startup Inertia Raises Record $450 Million Series A
Inertia Enterprises announced a $450 million Series A investment led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from GV (Google Ventures), Modern Capital, Threshold Ventures, and others.
Inertia's co-founders include Jeff Lawson, who co-founded Twilio; Annie Kritcher, who led the successful fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility; and Mike Dunne, a Stanford professor who helped Lawrence Livermore develop a power plant design.
The milestone-based funding will advance Inertia's plans to build the world's most powerful laser, Thunderwall, and a production line to mass manufacture fuel targets at scale.
The NIF is the site of the world's only controlled fusion reactions that have reached scientific breakeven, in which the reaction releases more energy than it took to start.
Impact: This represents one of the largest fusion energy investments to date, validating the commercial potential of inertial confinement fusion and marking a shift from research toward infrastructure-scale development.
Product Launches
- NVIDIA Vera Rubin Platform:
NVIDIA launched its Rubin platform, comprising six new chips designed to deliver one incredible AI supercomputer, setting a new standard for building, deploying and securing the world's largest and most advanced AI systems at the lowest cost -
Promises 10x reduction in inference token costs and aims to slash the cost of generating tokens to roughly one-tenth that of the previous platform (NVIDIA)
- Alibaba Amap 3D Restaurant Showcases:
Alibaba launched an AI-driven service through its mapping unit, Amap, helping restaurants create immersive 3D digital showcases by utilizing Alibaba's "Tongyi Wanxiang" visual generative model to generate high-quality 3D tours from standard photos or videos (Crescendo AI)
Funding & Deals
- World Labs - $1 Billion Series C:
World Labs, founded by AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, raised $1 billion to pursue spatial intelligence AI development - Led by Autodesk ($200M), with participation from AMD, Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz, Emerson Collective, Fidelity, and Sea (Bloomberg)
- Inertia Enterprises - $450 Million Series A:
Commercial fusion energy company building laser-powered fusion reactors based on National Ignition Facility physics - Led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from GV, Modern Capital, Threshold Ventures (TechCrunch)
Tomorrow's Watch List
- Google I/O 2026 dates confirmed for May 19-20, expected to showcase major Gemini updates across Android, Chrome, Cloud, and developer tooling
- India AI Impact Summit continues through February 20 in New Delhi, focusing on inclusive AI development in the Global South
- Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 rumored for February 25 in San Francisco
Related reading: Check out this week's Deep Insights analysis for strategic context on the AI infrastructure buildout and enterprise software transformation.
