OpenAI Researcher Miles Wang in Talks for $2B AI Drug Startup
▼ Summary
– Miles Wang, an OpenAI researcher, is leaving to start a startup focused on AI models for drug discovery, with several other OpenAI researchers expected to join.
– Wang is in talks to raise about $200 million at a $2 billion valuation, with Lightspeed in discussions to lead the funding round, though the deal is not final.
– The funding talks reflect investor interest in AI for life sciences, as seen with Chai Discovery raising $400 million and Isomorphic Labs raising $2.1 billion.
– Wang’s startup may develop AI models to find new uses for existing drugs or those that failed in trials, potentially speeding time to revenue.
– Wang joined OpenAI in 2024 after dropping out of Harvard, where he co-authored research on AI automating scientific discovery.
Miles Wang, a researcher at OpenAI known for applying artificial intelligence to scientific and biological breakthroughs, is preparing to depart the company and launch a new venture centered on AI-driven drug discovery, according to four sources familiar with his plans. Several other OpenAI researchers are expected to join the startup.
Wang is in discussions to raise approximately $200 million at a valuation of $2 billion, two of the sources said. Venture capital firm Lightspeed is reportedly in talks to lead the funding round. However, the negotiations are still ongoing, the terms are not finalized, and the details could shift.
Wang disputed the article’s reported funding figures and description of the company but declined to provide corrected numbers or specifics. Lightspeed did not respond to a request for comment.
The fundraising talks highlight the growing investor appetite for applying AI to life sciences in pursuit of major breakthroughs. Chai Discovery, a two-year-old startup building AI models to predict molecular interactions and identify new drugs, announced on Tuesday it had raised $400 million at a $3.8 billion valuation. (Co-founder Josh Meier also previously worked at OpenAI as a researcher.) Separately, Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs, which develops similar AI models for drug discovery, closed a $2.1 billion Series B in May.
Wang’s new startup may focus on developing AI models to repurpose existing drugs or find new uses for drugs that previously failed in clinical trials, according to a couple of sources. Repurposing FDA-approved drugs can lead to significantly faster revenue generation than developing entirely new treatments, since these medicines have already been proven safe.
Wang joined OpenAI in 2024 after dropping out of Harvard, where he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science. (In recent years, investors have grown more comfortable backing young founders who have not completed college.)
While at OpenAI, Wang co-authored research papers that explored how AI models could automate and accelerate scientific discovery, laying the groundwork for his entrepreneurial leap.
(Source: TechCrunch)
