OpenAI backs a lab making drugs for viruses that do not exist.
Red Queen Bio uses AI to design antibodies against pathogens that nobody has built yet. The company has raised $36 million on the premise that AI will one day design viruses. OpenAI led its first round, and Sam Altman holds shares in the startup.
Why it mattersBiosecurity is where the worst case for AI stops being a debate and becomes a purchase. A defence built for invented viruses also works on the ones that evolve alone.