OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, announced this Thursday (13th) that it will invest in a startup focused on preventing malicious actors from creating biological weapons through artificial intelligence (AI).
OpenAI is the lead investor in Red Queen Bio’s $15 million seed funding round and aims to ensure that the AI industry’s defenses grow at least as fast as those of those who seek to exploit its models to harm humans, said startup co-founder Hannu Rajaniemi.
This investment is part of OpenAI’s broader efforts to invest in startups seeking to counter the risks posed by AI. Last month, the company backed New York-based biosafety software startup Valthos. Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, said the company will consider investing in other startups focused on similar problems. “We want to increase the resilience of the entire ecosystem,” Kwon said in an interview. “One of the best ways to address risk mitigation is to leverage more technology.”
Researchers and safety advocates say AI technology could soon accelerate drug development and the development of new vaccines. However, these same features could also facilitate the development of powerful new biological weapons by malicious actors.
Red Queen Bio was formed from Helix Nano, a clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company that is increasingly using AI in drug design. Helix Nano also worked with OpenAI to create a test to determine the biorisk of AI, Kwon said. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and board member Nicole Seligman, who previously invested in Helix Nano, will receive Red Queen Bio stock as part of the deal. Kwon was an indirect investor through Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley startup incubator. OpenAI says your stake is worth less than $2,500.
A company spokesperson said executives did not participate in approving OpenAI’s investment in Red Queen Bio. OpenAI’s Chief Compliance Officer and independent board members reviewed and approved the investment
Red Queen Bio relies on traditional laboratory experiments as well as AI models to identify new risks and develop new defenses. The startup’s name comes from a scene from Lewis Carroll’s book “Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.” “It was clear that biological capabilities were advancing faster than we expected,” Rajaniemi said. “We felt like we needed to start developing our defense.”
Other investors in Red Queen Bio include Cerberus Ventures, Fifty Years, and Halcyon Futures.
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