Dulo raises $130M seed for AI models that design hardware

Co-founder Adrian Aoun said the seed round raised $130M to build foundation models for hardware design. The company was founded earlier in 2026 by Aoun and Sebastian Thrun, and The Information first reported the raise. Individual backers include Eric Schmidt, John Doerr, Marc Benioff, Yuri Milner and Ram Shriram, alongside Construct Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Bling Capital, BoxGroup, SV Angel, Haun Ventures and Scribble Ventures. No valuation or lead investor has been identified.

Dulo has not said which types of hardware its models will target or when a product will reach customers. The round lands while investors have grown more cautious about heavy AI infrastructure spending, which makes a seed of this size for a narrow model company stand out.

For founders, the round shows that vertical foundation models for engineering can attract capital before any product ships, especially when the founding team has deep research and operating credibility. Teams in design, manufacturing and CAD tooling should expect investors to ask for a clear data strategy and a credible first customer path.