Warp Sciences Raises $215M to Automate Drug Discovery Labs

Warp Sciences launches with $215 million in funding Kevin Weil, formerly OpenAI’s science lead, has launched Warp Sciences, an AI startup focused on automating lab work for drug discovery. Weil announced the company and its funding round on X, saying it had raised $215 million at an $865 million valuation. Warp Sciences trains robots to make and test promising compounds identified by researchers. Its approach centers on automating wet-lab work, with the aim of accelerating drug discovery. The company’s human chemists will wear cameras and sensor gloves as they train robots to carry out a range of laboratory tasks. Those robots are intended to operate around the clock. The launch comes as biotech companies have outsourced labor-intensive compound synthesis to contractors in China, including WuXi AppTec. Weil hopes Warp Sciences can bring that work back to the United States and help insulate drug development from geopolitical supply-chain risks. Investors backing the startup Warp Sciences’ $215 million funding round was led by Lightspeed, with participation from IVP, Mayfield, Lux Capital, Premji Invest, and Menlo Ventures. The startup’s founder, former OpenAI science lead Kevin Weil, announced the company and the funding on X. The round values Warp Sciences at $865 million, according to Weil. The financing will support Warp Sciences’ effort to automate wet-lab work for drug discovery. The company trains robots to make and test promising compounds identified by researchers. Human chemists wearing cameras and sensor gloves train the robots to perform a range of laboratory tasks. By automating that work, Warp Sciences aims to accelerate drug discovery with robots that can operate around the clock. The investor group brings together firms backing the new startup as it develops this approach to lab work. The funding announcement places the round at the center of Warp Sciences’ launch, alongside its plans to use trained robots in compound synthesis and testing. Robots trained to handle wet-lab work Warp Sciences plans to automate wet-lab work by teaching robots to perform laboratory tasks. The startup’s human chemists will wear cameras and sensor gloves as they carry out the work, providing the robots with a way to learn how tasks are performed. The robots are intended to make and test promising compounds identified by researchers. Automating these hands-on steps could help accelerate drug discovery, the company says, while allowing robots to operate around the clock. This approach puts human chemists in the role of trainers and robots in the role of carrying out lab work continuously. Rather than limiting operations to the hours when people are on shift, the robots are designed to keep working around the clock as they make and test compounds selected by researchers. Reshoring labor-intensive compound synthesis For years, biotech companies have relied on contractors in China to carry out one of the most labor-intensive parts of drug discovery: synthesizing thousands of variations of molecules. WuXi AppTec is among the contractors doing this work. The process produces a range of compounds that researchers can then test as they pursue promising candidates. Kevin Weil hopes Warp Sciences can bring that synthesis work back. The startup trains robots to make and test compounds identified by researchers, automating wet-lab tasks that have traditionally required hands-on work. Weil’s goal is not only to change how this stage of drug development is performed, but also to reduce the industry’s reliance on overseas contractors. Reshoring the work could help insulate the drug development process from geopolitical supply-chain risks, according to Weil’s plan for Warp Sciences. The company’s approach pairs human chemists with robots: chemists wear cameras and sensor gloves to train the machines to perform laboratory tasks. Warp Sciences aims to use automation to accelerate drug discovery, with robots able to operate around the clock.