No name. No product. No confirmed funding. And, possibly, a $2bn price tag. That is the shape of the newest bet in AI drug discovery.
Miles Wang, a researcher at OpenAI, is leaving to start his own company, TechCrunch reported. He is in talks to raise about $200m at a $2bn valuation, with Lightspeed in discussions to lead. Several other OpenAI researchers plan to follow him out the door.
There is a catch. Wang disputed both the funding figures and TechCrunch’s description of the company, though he did not offer corrected numbers. Lightspeed declined to comment. The talks are ongoing, and the terms could change.
Reviving dead drugs
What the startup will build is still fuzzy. Two sources told TechCrunch it may develop AI models that find new uses for approved drugs, and even for candidates that failed in earlier trials.
