Ex-DeepMind's Danijar Hafner builds stealth startup teaching humanoids to plan in unseen rooms
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-08
MIT Technology Review profiles Danijar Hafner, 31, a former Google DeepMind researcher running a stealth robotics startup in San Francisco's SoMa, filled with humanoids imported from China. His startup continues his work on agents that navigate environments unseen in training—key to putting robots in homes—using model-based reinforcement learning: world models simulate physical reality, letting agents learn inside them and "dream" about future outcomes. He was named to TR's 2026 Innovators Under 35 list.
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