OpenAI Researcher Disputes $2B AI Drug Startup Report
TechCrunch reported that OpenAI researcher Miles Wang is leaving to form an AI drug-discovery startup and is in talks to raise about $200 million at a $2 billion valuation. Wang disputed the funding figures and company description, while final deal terms, named co-founders and a launch date remain outside the report.
OpenAI researcher Miles Wang is leaving to form an AI drug-discovery startup, TechCrunch wrote, but the financing under discussion remains disputed.
People familiar with the plans indicated that the company is in talks to raise about $200 million at a $2 billion valuation.
Those funding details remain unresolved after Wang challenged the figures and the publication's description of the company.
Corrected numbers, alternative company details and any response from Lightspeed remain outside the TechCrunch account.
$200 Million Funding Talks Remain Unfinished
TechCrunch described Lightspeed as being in discussions to lead the round.
Its source account also indicated that the talks are still ongoing, the deal may not close and terms could change.
The planned company would focus on AI models for drug discovery.
TechCrunch also indicated that several other OpenAI researchers are expected to join, and it characterized Wang's work at OpenAI as including AI for scientific and biological discovery.
People familiar with the plans indicated that the startup may work on models that identify new uses for existing drugs and possibly medicines that previously failed in trials.
TechCrunch noted that repurposing FDA-approved drugs can shorten the time to revenue compared with developing new drugs from scratch because those medicines have already been tested for safety.
AI Drug Discovery Funding Has Larger Comparables
The financing talks under discussion arrive alongside larger AI drug-discovery rounds.
Chai Discovery announced a $400 million raise at a $3.8 billion valuation on Tuesday, and TechCrunch noted that co-founder Josh Meier had also worked at OpenAI.
That article also pointed to Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs, which develops AI models for drug discovery and raised a $2.1 billion Series B in May.
Those figures are public comparables for investor interest, not confirmation of Wang's funding terms.
OpenAI Research Work Provides The Technical Link
TechCrunch wrote that Wang joined OpenAI in 2024 after leaving Harvard, where he had been working on a computer science degree.
At OpenAI, he co-authored papers evaluating how AI models can automate and accelerate scientific discovery.
That research background gives the startup a source-backed AI model focus rather than a general biotech financing angle.
Publicly unanswered questions include the final co-founders, signed investors, drug-development partners, corrected funding figures and a launch date for the new company.
