Former OpenAI Exec Raises $215 Mn to Build AI-Powered Drug Research Labs

Warp Sciences, a startup founded by former leaders from OpenAI, Meta, Terremoto Biosciences and Devoted Health, has raised $215 million to build chemistry research facilities in the US. The startup uses AI and robotics to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies develop medicines.

The company will operate as a chemistry contract research organisation (CRO), making and testing molecules for drug discovery programmes. It plans to combine chemists, AI models and robotic automation to speed up experiments and generate data that can improve future research.

The funding round was led by Lightspeed, with participation from Premji Invest, Mayfield, IVP, Lux, Conviction, Menlo Ventures, 01 Advisors and other investors. The company also received backing from angel investors, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica and Figma CEO Dylan Field.

Warp Sciences was co-founded by Kevin Weil, former Chief Product Officer and Vice-President of Science at OpenAI; Solomon Reisberg, who held medicinal chemistry leadership roles at Terremoto Biosciences; Manohar Paluri, Former Vice-President at Meta Superintelligence Labs; and DJ Patil, a founding executive at Devoted Health and the first US Chief Data Scientist at the White House.

“AI has dramatically accelerated software engineering and mathematics, but it has yet to make the same impact in the physical sciences,” Weil said.

“Chemistry and biology move forward when you make something, test it and learn from the result. If we want to build more capable AI for science, we need to generate real-world data at scale,” he added.

Warp’s initial offering will focus on lead optimisation through analogue synthesis. This involves producing molecular variations so researchers can compare properties and identify potential drug candidates.

The startup’s chemists will guide experiments as AI and robotics increasingly automate laboratory work. Warp also plans to train AI models on data generated through physical experiments, creating a feedback loop between molecular design, laboratory testing and subsequent research.

The company said it would not develop its own drug pipeline. Instead, its customers will decide which molecules to pursue and retain control of their drug discovery programmes.

“Every experiment should make the next one smarter,” said Paluri, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Warp Sciences. He said connecting experiment design, execution and analysis would help build AI systems that can better determine what to make and how to make it.

Warp’s launch comes amid concerns about the biotechnology industry’s reliance on overseas research services. 

Warp plans to offer US-based chemistry services with a focus on research speed, intellectual property protection and pricing. It said its facilities would give pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies greater control over where sensitive research takes place.

“I’ve worked with overseas chemistry partners that delivered speed and value, but I still worried about protecting the intellectual property behind our programs,” Reisberg said.

“We’re building Warp to give drug hunters that same calibre of chemistry services in the US, with IP protection at the centre of the relationship, and without the price premium that US boutique CROs currently demand,” he added.

Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Patil said the company would support customer-led drug discovery rather than pursue its own medicines.

“We’re not developing drugs of our own. We’re building the infrastructure for the people who do,” he said.