A startup focused on data efficiency, Flapping Airplanes, is exploring innovative methods to train AI models with reduced data requirements. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company is in discussions to secure funding that could value it at $5 billion. Prominent venture capital firms Index Ventures and Lux Capital are spearheading the funding round, joined by Kleiner Perkins, with expectations that the amount raised could reach hundreds of millions.
Flapping Airplanes has yet to respond to inquiries from Forbes, and the involved VC firms have opted not to provide comments.
Founded in 2025 in San Francisco by brothers Ben and Asher Spector, along with Aidan Smith, the startup is garnering attention for its groundbreaking approach to AI training. Earlier this year, Flapping Airplanes successfully closed a $180 million seed funding round that featured Sequoia partner David Cahn, who praised the startup in a blog as the “young person’s AGI lab.”
This designation reflects both high expectations and considerable ambition. Flapping Airplanes aims to tackle one of the significant technical challenges facing the current AI landscape, where leading models typically require massive datasets for effective training. In contrast, human learning occurs with far less information. The company’s website indicates that it is working on methods that reduce data dependency for training AI models.
Part of a rising trend of “neolabs,” Flapping Airplanes is among companies that raise substantial funding to pursue cutting-edge research without immediate plans for product development or revenue generation. Other organizations in this space, like Ineffable Intelligence—a venture founded by Google DeepMind researcher David Silver—are similarly focused on solving data challenges, with Ineffable Intelligence securing $1.1 billion to develop AI that learns independently of human data.
The website for Flapping Airplanes highlights its long-term goals, emphasizing that while commercialization is not the current focus, its research has the potential to create immense value across various industries, including enterprise solutions, robotics, trading, and scientific research.
The talent behind Flapping Airplanes is noteworthy. Ben Spector, who previously managed an incubator at Stanford called Prod, has helped foster acclaimed AI startups such as Cursor and Decagon. Aidan Smith, a Thiel Fellow, gained valuable experience at Neuralink while studying at Georgia Tech. In April, Flapping Airplanes was listed as a noteworthy candidate on Forbes' AI 50 brink list.
