Applied AI research company Fundamental Research Labs (formerly Altera) announced the completion of a $33 million Series A funding round, led by Prosus, with Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe, also investing. The company has stood out in the industry with its unique model of diversified AI application development.

Fundamental Research Labs adopts an unusual company structure, conducting R&D work in multiple AI application areas. The company initially focused on developing game robots that could play Minecraft with users during its seed funding round. It has now evolved into a comprehensive AI company with teams dedicated to games, consumer applications, core research, and platforms.

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The company's founder, Dr. Yang, was formerly a professor at MIT. He expressed his desire to build Fundamental Research Labs into a "historic" company, not limited by traditional startup structures. This philosophy is reflected in the company's product strategy and business model, exploring different market opportunities through diverse AI applications.

Currently, Fundamental Research Labs has launched its core product, the general consumer assistant application Fairies. This app allows users to chat with AI robots, connect various applications, perform cross-platform queries within the knowledge bases of these apps, and help schedule appointments on their calendars. The app can also set up workflows for users to automatically execute repetitive tasks. Dr. Yang stated that Fairies allows the company's engineers to test various model capabilities and platform technologies.

Another important product is Shortcut, an intelligent assistant based on spreadsheets, which analysts use to create different financial models and conduct analyses. The company claims that this assistant works similarly to a junior analyst, capable of completing tasks independently. To meet the needs of professional users, Shortcut's interface is designed like Excel, retaining a large number of advanced features.

Sandeep Bakshi, a partner at Prosus, said in an interview with TechCrunch: "We've seen many early-stage startups, but what stands out here is a small and highly mission-driven team focused on digital humans with real-world use cases. Their recently launched Fairies and Shortcut are not just demo products, but have already demonstrated how AI can meaningfully enhance human labor."

Bakshi further added: "What makes Fundamental Research Labs stand out is not only the ambition of its vision, but also the quality of the team driving this vision. Their ability to attract the world's smartest talent and transform it into real products makes this a unique and compelling investment opportunity for us."

Notably, Fundamental Research Labs has started charging for its AI assistant products. Users can enjoy a seven-day free trial, after which they need to pay for continued use, indicating that the company has achieved revenue monetization. This commercial progress is relatively rare among current AI startups, as most companies are still in the technology validation stage.

The company completed a $9 million seed funding round last year, led by First Spark Ventures and Patron, with a16z Speedrun and Eric Schmidt also participating. Adding this round, the company has raised over $40 million in total, providing sufficient funding support for its diversified development strategy.

Dr. Yang revealed that the company is open to trying various application models and eventually hopes to enter the robotics field. He said: "We are currently focusing on productivity applications because that's where the greatest value can be created. By doing so, we can make a lot of money while building teams and technology. Ultimately, we want to solve physical problems and move toward embodied intelligence."

From a technical development perspective, Fundamental Research Labs has adopted a progressive strategy from software to hardware, from virtual to physical. Focusing on productivity applications not only enables rapid commercialization but also accumulates valuable AI application experience, laying the foundation for future entry into robotics and embodied intelligence.

This diversified development model is relatively unique in the AI industry. Most AI startups tend to focus on a single area or scenario, while Fundamental Research Labs, by advancing multiple projects simultaneously, can better diversify risks and explore different market opportunities.

The company's successful fundraising also reflects investors' confidence in diversified AI application companies. In the context of rapid development in AI technology, companies that can transform cutting-edge technology into practical products and achieve commercialization are more likely to gain the favor of capital markets.