Google DeepMind, Meta and Isomorphic Labs invest $300m in Zuckerberg-backed Biohub

Google DeepMind, Meta and AI drug discovery startup Isomorphic Labs are jointly investing $300 million into Biohub, according to The Verge, which cited Reuters. Biohub is a nonprofit biomedical research organization founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The Verge published the report on 7 October.

The funding is part of a $1.8 billion initiative to build AI datasets that could allow researchers to 'ask, predict, and answer biological questions digitally', The Verge reported. According to the report, the datasets could help find new ways to prevent and manage diseases.

Biohub was founded in 2016 and aims to combat diseases through the creation of a 'virtual cell' that researchers can use to carry out simulations, according to The Verge. To support the effort, the US Department of Energy will invest more than $500 million over the next five years, the report said. The National Institutes of Health will contribute datasets, repositories and knowledge bases stemming from previous federal investment totalling over $500 million.

Alex Rives, Biohub's head of science, said in a press release that an accurate predictive model of biology could 'dramatically accelerate scientific discovery by enabling scientists to perform experiments digitally'. 'The creation of a virtual cell is one of the most important challenges for the next era of science,' Rives said. He said it will require coordinated data generation efforts at a national and international scale.