Fundamental Research Labs, the applied AI company formerly known as Altera, has raised $33 million in Series A funding led by Prosus, with participation from Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. The round brings the company’s total funding to over $40 million, following a previous seed round co-led by First Spark Ventures and Patron, with backing from a16z Speedrun and Eric Schmidt.
Founded by former MIT faculty member Dr. Robert Yang, the company operates across multiple AI verticals, including gaming, productivity, core research, and platform tools. Its products include Fairies, a general-purpose AI assistant that integrates with apps and executes complex workflows, and Shortcut, a spreadsheet-based autonomous agent used by analysts for financial modeling.
Already revenue-generating, Fundamental Research Labs is leveraging consumer-facing tools as a proving ground for broader AI capabilities, with long-term ambitions to extend into robotics and embodied intelligence. The startup is intentionally structured outside the traditional startup mold, focusing on long-term, foundational AI research with immediate utility.
Featured Image: Credit: Fundamental Research Labs
