OpenAI researcher Miles Wang plans AI drug discovery startup

Miles Wang, an OpenAI researcher, is leaving the company to launch a new startup focused on developing AI models for drug discovery, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. Several other OpenAI researchers are expected to join the new company, the people said.

Wang is in talks to raise about $200 million at a $2 billion valuation, two of the people said. Lightspeed is in discussions to lead the funding round, according to people with knowledge of the plans. Talks are ongoing, the deal may not be final, and details could change. Wang disputed the story’s funding figures and the description of the company.

The startup may be working on AI models that help find new uses for existing drugs, and possibly those that previously failed in trials, according to a couple of sources. Repurposing drugs already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for safety could offer a faster path to revenue than developing new drugs from scratch.

The funding talks point to investor interest in applying AI to breakthroughs in life sciences. Chai Discovery, a startup developing AI models that predict molecular interactions to identify new drugs, announced on Tuesday that it had raised $400 million at a $3.8 billion valuation; its co-founder, Josh Meier, is also a former OpenAI researcher. Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs, which also develops AI models for drug discovery, raised a $2.1 billion Series B in May.

Wang joined OpenAI in 2024 after dropping out of Harvard, where he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science. While at OpenAI, he co-authored research papers on how AI models can automate and accelerate scientific discovery, work that informs the drug discovery focus of his planned startup.

Why it matters

The valuations and pace of funding for early AI drug discovery startups signal investor conviction that AI can accelerate and de-risk life sciences research.