Story perspectives

Sara Hooker Raises $50M to Revolutionize AI Learning

2/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

Sara Hooker, a former AI researcher at Cohere and Google DeepMind, launched Adaption Labs after raising $50 million in seed funding.
Adaption Labs will develop AI systems that learn continuously and adapt in real time, challenging the belief that larger models yield better results.
Hooker argues traditional scaling methods are reaching their limits and Adaption Labs is hiring for ten roles globally to pursue gradient-free learning.

History

Historical Context

The Dartmouth Conference in 1956, organized by John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon, is recognized as the founding event of artificial intelligence (AI). This workshop catalyzed research and funding in AI, leading to significant advancements, including machine learning. Today, initiatives like Sara Hooker's Adaption Labs, backed by $50 million, signify a shift towards innovative AI development focused on adaptability.

1 of 2

Story summary

Sara Hooker, a former AI researcher at Cohere and Google DeepMind, launched Adaption Labs after raising $50 million in seed funding.
Adaption Labs will develop AI systems that learn continuously and adapt in real time, challenging the belief that larger models yield better results.
Hooker argues traditional scaling methods are reaching their limits and Adaption Labs is hiring for ten roles globally to pursue gradient-free learning.

1 / 2