OpenAI Acquires Biotech Startup as AI Race Expands Into Drug Development
OpenAI has bought Orchestra Bio, a biotech startup that develops AI agents to help drug companies manage the process of developing new medicines.
According to TodayPress TV, which cited Axios, OpenAI will add the startup’s team and technology to Rosalind, its collection of AI models and tools made for scientists who study living things.
Orchestra Bio’s platform lets scientists give AI agents tasks such as checking on studies, tracking drug development schedules and finding possible delays.
Both companies want to help turn scientific discoveries into decisions and actions that can move possible treatments forward.
The companies have not shared how much OpenAI paid for the startup.
The race to develop artificial intelligence is spreading beyond coding and cybersecurity into scientific research. OpenAI and its competitor Anthropic are both working to find more ways to use their technology.
In April, OpenAI introduced GPT-Rosalind, a special AI model designed to help scientists solve difficult problems in biology, chemistry and drug discovery. The company has also teamed up with major drug companies Novo Nordisk and Moderna to bring AI into their research and development work.
OpenAI says that developing a new medicine usually takes between ten and fifteen years. The company hopes AI can help make this process faster.
Anthropic is also expanding its work in life sciences. In June, the company launched Claude Science, a research platform that combines scientific databases, analysis tools and AI agents designed for specific tasks.
In September, Anthropic announced a new lab for biological research. The company also said its Claude model had helped discover an enzyme system that was not known before and had similarities to CRISPR. However, Bloomberg reported that some scientists said the importance of the findings had been overstated.
These developments show how the AI race is changing. Companies are moving beyond building more powerful AI models and focusing on using AI in different industries, including medicine and drug development.
Gultaj Mehdizada