GoKawiilEx-OpenAI exec Kevin Weil raises $215M for lab-automation startup Warp Sciences
Kevin Weil, formerly OpenAI's science lead, has launched Warp Sciences, a startup that trains robots using camera and sensor-glove data from human chemists to automate wet-lab drug discovery work. The company has raised $215 million at an $865 million valuation in a round led by Lightspeed, with IVP, Premji Invest, and Lux Capital also participating, Weil announced on X.
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Much of the labor-intensive compound synthesis for drug discovery is currently outsourced to contractors in China such as WuXi AppTec, and Weil says he wants to bring that work back domestically, which could reduce biotech's exposure to geopolitical supply-chain risk. Robots capable of running around the clock could also speed up the pace of drug discovery compared to human-staffed labs, though whether the automation can match human chemists' precision at scale remains to be proven.
- Warp Sciences raised $215 million at an $865 million valuation led by Lightspeed
- The startup trains robots via camera and sensor-glove data from human chemists to automate wet-lab drug synthesis
- Founder Kevin Weil aims to reshore compound-synthesis work currently outsourced to Chinese contractors
Source: techcrunch.com — Marina Temkin, 2026-10-22
Published there as: “Former OpenAI science lead launches Warp Science to automate wet labs with robots”
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