Insider Brief
- Causal Labs raised $6M in seed funding, led by Kindred Ventures, to develop AI-powered physics models that improve weather forecasting and decision-making across industries.
- Unlike traditional supercomputers, Causal Labs’ AI physics models predict atmospheric behavior in minutes, enabling better responses to extreme weather and climate risks while paving the way for broader applications in aviation, energy, and space.
- Co-founded by Kelsie Zhao and Dar Mehta, experts in self-driving and AI research, the company aims to shift AI from LLMs to physics-based models to tackle civilization-scale challenges with real-world impact.
PRESS RELEASE — Causal Labs, the AI company pioneering physics-based models to address civilization-scale challenges, is announcing it has raised $6 million in seed funding, led by Kindred Ventures with participation from Refactor, BoxGroup, Factorial, Otherwise, Karman Ventures, and a select group of angel investors. Causal Labs plans to use the funds to expand its team, further develop its initial model, including safety and transparency mechanisms, and initiate robust pilot programs across critical industries.
Causal Labs is rethinking how we understand and respond to weather. Unlike existing approaches, which rely on expensive supercomputers that are slow to produce timely forecasts, Causal Labs uses AI physics models to simulate how the atmosphere will behave to create more accurate forecast predictions in minutes. More than just forecasting, the model redefines how weather-related decisions are made — whether through direct interventions in atmospheric conditions or operational responses to climate risks. The model will provide the tools needed to anticipate and respond to the increasing threats posed by climate change, including extreme weather events and natural disasters.
Beyond weather, Causal Labs is building towards a general, large-scale physics foundation model. At its core, the model understands cause-and-effect relationships in physical domains to determine the optimal course of action. By encoding physics-driven decision-making at scale, the model represents a step toward predicting and shaping real-world dynamics with unparalleled accuracy. Causal Labs plans to generalize this approach beyond atmospheric physics, applying it to other domains such as aviation, agriculture, energy, space, climate change, and government that rely on physics simulations, ultimately creating a versatile AI system for tackling complex, physics-based challenges across industries.
“Our model will be informed by the laws of physics, opening a world of possibilities for future use cases in the physical world,” said Dar Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Causal Labs. “We see a unique opportunity to shift the current paradigm of AI research from LLMs to physics-based models, beginning with weather — a critical and universal challenge that touches every individual, business, and community.”
“Causal Labs’ AI-driven physics model research represents a major leap forward in decision-making technology in the real world,” said Steve Jang of Kindred Ventures. “We’re thrilled to support their mission to transform how industries operate and thrive with greater intelligence and autonomy in the face of complex, physics-based challenges across many industries and regions around the planet.”
Causal Labs was founded by Kelsie Zhao and Dar Mehta, experts in building safety-critical, multi-modal AI models. Kelsie is a self-driving car veteran who built foundational components of Cruise’s core self-driving stack, while Dar has worked across Google Research, Meta, Cruise, and a YC-backed robotics startup. As Stanford and Waterloo graduates with extensive experience leading technical teams, they bring a proven track record of applying AI to solve complex, physics-driven challenges.
About Causal Labs
Causal Labs builds AI-powered physics models to transform complex data into insights that inform decisions. The company is pioneering a new paradigm in AI by integrating physics-based models to solve civilization-scale challenges. By combining cutting-edge artificial intelligence with a deep understanding of physical systems, Causal Labs is creating models that transform how industries adapt to dynamic and complex conditions. Starting with hyper-local, real-time weather forecasting, Causal Labs is redefining decision-making in sectors such as agriculture, renewable energy, and aviation — delivering optimal operations actions that empower businesses and communities to thrive in an uncertain world. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Causal Labs is backed by Kindred Ventures and other visionary investors. Learn more at getcausal.ai.
Contacts
Makenzie Spiller [email protected]
Featured image: Credit: Causal Labs
