So it’s no surprise that tech giants like Microsoft and Google are increasing their investments to use the power of artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery. Just as we went to virtual press, Microsoft announced a new initiative called Microsoft Discovery. This new platform transforms the entire research experience. This announcement comes as pharma-tech AI companies such as Exscientia and BenevolentAI are facing their own obstacles. They are getting crushed by very public, high-profile clinical trial failures.
Kyle Wiggers is TechCrunch’s AI Editor, and lives in Manhattan with his partner, a music therapist. His perspectives underscore just how fast AI is reshaping the landscape of scientific research. They call out a clear and compelling need for innovation, particularly in sectors that have been left behind. Most recently, BenevolentAI’s AI-enabled drug failed in a mid-phase eczema trial, highlighting the purpose of such robust research-funded methodologies.
Microsoft Discovery promises to supercharge research with an all-in-one solution that combines everything in one complete plug-and-play scientific process. The company described the platform as “an enterprise agentic platform that helps accelerate research and discovery by transforming the entire discovery process with agentic AI — from scientific knowledge reasoning to hypothesis formulation, candidate generation, and simulation and analysis.”
Google has done a lot in this space. The company recently announced a new tool, Discovery Engine, that helps scientists generate hypotheses and research plans. Google’s own AI, known as GNoME, has successfully synthesized about 40 new materials as of 2023, they reported. This accomplishment underscores the promise of AI-powered research tools.
The emergence of these new AI-infused platforms is indicative of the increasing awareness of AI’s capacity to disrupt and revolutionize traditional scientific approaches. Organizations such as Exscientia and BenevolentAI have experienced recent disappointments. Both Microsoft and Google remain committed to pushing innovative AI applications forward in academia.