Former OpenAI Product Chief Kevin Weil Launches Warp Sciences with $215M Funding to Build AI-Driven Automated Drug Labs
Former OpenAI product chief Kevin Weil founded Warp Sciences, securing a $215 million Series A led by Lightspeed to build automated chemical research services in the US using AI and robotics.
On Thursday (October 22), Kevin Weil, former Head of Products at OpenAI, officially announced the launch of Warp Sciences, a biotech startup that has completed a $215 million Series A funding round led by Lightspeed. According to Bloomberg, the company's post-money valuation is $865 million. Weil joined OpenAI as Head of Products in 2024, later shifting focus to scientific research and contributing to the development of the Prism platform before leaving OpenAI in April this year to found Warp Sciences as its CEO.
Warp Sciences combines artificial intelligence, robotics, and medicinal chemistry. The company plans to establish automated chemical contract research organizations (CROs) in the United States to help biotech and pharmaceutical companies synthesize and test molecules required for drug discovery. Its initial services will focus on lead optimization—synthesizing variants of promising molecules for researchers to compare and screen candidate drugs. The long-term goal is to create self-learning automated laboratories where AI designs experiments, robots execute chemical operations, and real-world experimental data trains models to improve future efficiency.
Weil stated that while AI has significantly boosted efficiency in software engineering and mathematical research, its application in chemistry and biology remains limited due to the need for physical experimentation. Warp aims to build facilities capable of generating large volumes of experimental data to enhance AI's capabilities in scientific research. Additionally, the company seeks to bring more medicinal chemistry research services back to the US. A 2024 survey by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) found that 74% of surveyed biotech firms have contracts with Chinese companies for preclinical or clinical services. With the US signing the BIOSECURE Act in December 2025 to restrict federal procurement from certain foreign biotech entities, Warp intends to offer competitive speed, quality, and pricing through AI and automation while strengthening intellectual property protection.