The facts
Poetiq at a glance.
Read Oct 20, 2026. Valuations and amounts are copied as each source states them; a figure that is only reported (talks, or people familiar with the deal) is labeled as reported.
- Kind of company
- AI that improves AICompanies trying to automate AI research itself, so AI helps build better AI.
- Founded
- 2025VKTR, Feb 2, 2026
- Last closed-round valuation
- No valuation reported
- What it has shipped
- Research only so far
Founders
- Shumeet Baluja: co-CEO; former Google DeepMind researcher (as the source describes the founding team) (VKTR, Feb 2, 2026)
- Ian Fischer: former Google DeepMind researcher (as the source describes the founding team) (VKTR, Feb 2, 2026)
Raised $45.8M seed to run its recursive improvement loops around the clock; early access via request form. Jan 29, 2026
Poetiq, Jan 29, 2026
What it has built
Shipped, or not yet.
“Research only so far” is what our search found: something the public can use or buy, a model or API, research only, or nothing public.
Blog results on recursive self-improvement for coding, Humanity's Last Exam and an LLM router built by its 'metasystem' (undated)
Source1 round
Funding, as reported.
Every round we found, with the amount, valuation and investors as the source states them.
| When | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors named | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 29, 2026 | Seed | $45.8M | Not stated | Surface (co-lead), FYRFLY (co-lead), Y Combinator, 468 Capital, Operator Collective, NeuronVC, HICO | Poetiq |
Outside checks
What others have found.
- Poetiq says ARC Prize 'officially verified' 54% on ARC-AGI-2 at $30.57 per problem on the semi-private set; we could not load ARC Prize's own leaderboard data to confirm. (Poetiq, Dec 5, 2025)
Our note: Six-person team at the time of the seed (VKTR). VKTR is not on our trusted-outlet list; funding is confirmed on Poetiq's own post. Country/HQ not stated in pages fetched.
More ai that improves ai