Periodic Labs, a new startup launched by previous researchers at OpenAI and DeepMind, has come out of stealth with a record $300 million seed round. This was backed by high-profile investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, DST, Nvidia, Accel, Elad Gil, Jeff Dean, Eric Schmidt, and Jeff Bezos.
The goal of the company is to change the way research is conducted and create AI-powered laboratories where robots run experiments, collect data, and learn from the outcomes. The company aims to speed up the research timing and reduce the time taken to achieve discoveries.
Founders with Deep AI and Research Experience
Periodic Labs was founded by Ekin Dogus Cubuk and Liam Fedus, both of whom not only have a deep experience in artificial intelligence, but also have deep experience in doing scientific research. Cubuk previously led the materials and chemistry team at Google Brain and DeepMind, where he worked on GNoME, an AI tool that discovered over two million new crystals in 2023, laying the groundwork for the technologies of tomorrow.
Fedus was Vice President of Research for OpenAI, where he was instrumental in the launch of ChatGPT and in bringing the world’s first one trillion parameter neural network to the world as well. Both founders’ depth of knowledge and experience are solid foundations for the mission of Periodic Labs.
A Team Built to Innovate
Periodic Labs’ team brings together people who have been researchers on significant AI and materials science research projects somewhere. This includes laying the groundwork for OpenAI’s agent Operator, as well as being part of Microsoft’s MatterGen, a large language model for materials discovery. Team members’ diverse background is situated for re-imagining how to automate research and venture into new frontiers of AI in science.
A Vision for Science’s Future
Periodic Labs envisions a future where AI scientists run fully autonomous laboratories carrying out experiments, analyzing data, and creating knowledge that leads to new inventions and findings. The first goal of the company is to create superconductors with the same qualities as those already created but with possibly better performance and less energy required.
Periodic Labs has aspirations far beyond materials. The company wants to branch out and look into other areas, utilizing AI to explore new ideas and quicken innovation across many areas of science.
Potential Change for the Scientific Community
Periodic Labs is creating a change in how scientific research may be conducted. The introduction of AI into lab work allows experiments to be run with ease, and experimental outcomes reported at a faster and more efficient pace. The ramifications of this innovation could be quite expansive, especially in parts of the healthcare and energy industries. This type of innovation opens the door to being able to help solve the most difficult international issues and carry out research at a pace and accuracy much quicker than has ever been possible.
Looking Ahead
Periodic Labs could change the dynamics of scientific research, with enough funding and a great team of scientists. This organization is capable of introducing autonomous laboratories into the landscape of scientific research and create another new era of research.
The tale of Periodic Labs illustrates the transformative potential of artificial intelligence or AI, it presents a possible future for scientists, they will be autonomous laboratory systems that empower scientific discovery while transforming what we know and how we do science.
