Kevin Weil has started a company called Warp Sciences. He led the science team at OpenAI before he left in April. Investors have put $215 million into his new company. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the group of investors. With this new money, the company is worth $865 million.
Warp will not find new medicines itself. Researchers first find a substance that could become a medicine. Then they make hundreds or thousands of different versions. They want it to work better and cause fewer unwanted effects. Drug companies often pay Chinese businesses, especially WuXi AppTec, to do this work. These businesses cost less and work faster. But some drug companies worry about sharing private information with them.
Warp wants to do this work in the US. It is building a lab where machines will do the work. Its team has about 20 people and has bought robot arms and special computer chips for AI. Its scientists will wear cameras and gloves that measure pressure during experiments. The company will use this information to train its AI.
