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Overworld, based in Providence, Rhode Island, has raised $4.5 million in pre-seed funding to develop local-first diffusion world models. The funding round was led by Kindred Ventures and included participation from Amplify.LA, Garage Capital, Northside Ventures, Vital Stage, East Sunshine, and angel investors such as Logan Kilpatrick, along with leaders from Snowflake and Roblox.

The company plans to use the funds to enhance its AI-native world models technology, which facilitates open-ended, human-directed digital environments that operate entirely on-device. Co-founded by CEO Louis Castricato and Chief Science Officer Shahbuland Matiana, Overworld is focused on creating real-time AI systems that function on local GPUs to mitigate data center latency and reduce environmental impact. A research preview of its system has shown that diffusion models can create interactive environments on standard consumer hardware.