Chai Discovery, a biotech startup with backing from OpenAI, announced an $130 million Collection B spherical at a $1.3 billion valuation on Monday.

The spherical was led by Normal Catalyst and Oak HC/FT, the corporate stated. Different members embody Menlo Ventures, OpenAI, Dimension, Thrive Capital, Neo, Yosemite enterprise fund, Lachy Groom, SV Angel, and new traders Glade Brook and Emerson Collective. The agency’s complete funding now stands at over $225 million.

The corporate is one in a growing industry that sees AI as a sooner route in direction of drug growth. In August, Menlo Ventures announced it was main Chai’s $70 million Collection A spherical. The investor described Chai as a startup that was constructing basis fashions tuned for drug discovery, particularly to foretell interactions between biochemical molecules so that they could possibly be reprogramed for cures.

Chai says that its ambition is to “construct the “pc aided design suite” for molecules.” Final yr, the startup announced the Chai 1 AI mannequin and is now providing Chai 2, it’s newest mannequin. The corporate says Chai 2 is reaching vital enhancements in success charges over different strategies for de novo antibody design, which means constructing customized antibodies from scratch, not modifying present ones.

“Our newest fashions can design molecules which have properties we’d need from precise medicine, and deal with difficult targets which were out of attain,” Josh Meier, Chai’s co-founder and CEO stated in a ready assertion.

Beforehand, Meier, who’s background is in machine studying, labored in analysis and engineering at Fb and, previous to that, labored for OpenAI, according to his LinkedIn. Chai Discovery was based in 2024, the profile notes.