Former OpenAI science lead Kevin Weil raises $215 million to put robots in drug labs
Warp Sciences trains robots to make and test drug compounds. TechCrunch reports the round values it at $865 million, according to Weil.
By Robert Harrison ·
For information only, not investment advice.
Kevin Weil, formerly OpenAI's science lead, has a new startup and a very large check. Warp Sciences, which applies AI and robotics to drug-discovery lab work, has raised a $215 million Series A led by Lightspeed, Weil said on X. TechCrunch reports the round values the company at $865 million, according to Weil. IVP, Mayfield, Lux Capital, Premji Invest and Menlo Ventures also participated, per TechCrunch, and Weil said a group of angel investors joined too.
The pitch is robots in the wet lab. According to TechCrunch, Warp's human chemists will wear cameras and sensor gloves to train robots on lab tasks, so the robots can make and test promising compounds around the clock. Weil frames it as bringing "frontier AI out of the browser and into the lab." Whether robots trained this way can actually speed up drug discovery is the company's goal, not something it has shown yet.
There's also a supply-chain angle. TechCrunch notes biotechs have long outsourced the labor-heavy work of synthesizing thousands of molecule variations to contractors in China, such as WuXi AppTec. Weil hopes to reshore that work and shield drug development from geopolitical supply-chain risks. Weil's announcement says Warp is building "scientific capacity here in America."
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Tags: funding-round · ai · venture-capital · healthcare-pharma · startup-launch