THE CRUNCH
Basecamp Research has secured $140 million in funding from investors including Nvidia and Anthropic's Anthology Fund. The London-based company trains AI models on genetic material from rainforests, oceans, and hot springs to develop antibiotics and tools for cell therapies. CTO Philip Lorenz notes that biology presents a larger challenge for AI than language, arguing that good performance on paper does not guarantee
The startup's approach involves processing vast amounts of genetic information to identify patterns that could lead to new medicines. This method contrasts with the more common focus on language data in the AI industry. By leveraging evolutionary data, Basecamp Research aims to create models that are more reliable for practical applications in drug discovery.