Warp Sciences, a startup founded by former OpenAI science lead Kevin Weil, is developing robotic systems to carry out hands-on laboratory work for drug discovery. The company has raised $215 million at an $865 million valuation.
The funding round was led by Lightspeed, with IVP, Premji Invest and Lux Capital also participating. Warp Sciences trains robots to synthesize and test promising compounds identified by researchers, aiming to make this work faster and more scalable.
Human chemists use cameras and sensor-equipped gloves to demonstrate laboratory procedures, helping the robots learn tasks involved in wet-lab research. The systems are designed to operate around the clock, potentially expanding the pace and capacity of early-stage drug discovery.
By bringing robotic automation deeper into laboratory workflows, Warp Sciences could help researchers explore more candidate compounds and shape a more continuous approach to future drug development.
