In a significant development within the technology and science sectors, Periodic Labs has successfully raised $300 million to advance its innovative approach to research and development. This is largely how the company is able to recruit top talent from the best AI institutions. It’s using artificial intelligence to reinvent the rules of scientific experimentation. With this all-star roster of investors and deep scientific expertise, Periodic Labs is poised to change the paradigm of scientific discovery.
Kevin Weil, an OpenAI veteran and crucial figure in the founding of OpenAI, has now stepped up to take the lead for the launched OpenAI for Science unit. His move is indicative of an increased recognition of the promising power of AI to revitalize and catalyze scientific research. Peter Deng, an OpenAI alumnus who moved to investing at Felicis in early 2025. In addition to his work in the torture-testing lab, he has been instrumental in developing Periodic Labs. With Deng’s departure from OpenAI, it marks a big change in his career. He is devoted to investing in innovative ventures like Periodic Labs.
Periodic Labs is backed by a well-known group of seed investors. This dazzling list of investment firms features Felicis, Andreessen Horowitz, DST, NVIDIA’s NVentures, Accel and angel investors like Jeff Bezos, Elad Gil, Eric Schmidt and Jeff Dean. This extraordinary financial support gives the company a $25 billion war chest to execute on its audacious plans.
Periodic Labs has recruited an amazing team of more than two dozen engineers, scientists, and mappers. They have deep expertise in artificial intelligence and many scientific fields. Alexandre Passos deserves a special shout-out for his diligent work on the o1 and o3 projects. Eric Toberer, a materials scientist, is perhaps most famous for his serendipitous discoveries of superconductors. Matt Horton completes the team. In addition to improving innovative capacity, he played a role in the creation of two of Microsoft’s GenAI materials science tools.
The staff’s varied experience origins — listen to their unique backgrounds — allowed for constant exposure to, and active involvement in, these conversations at the company’s own weekly graduate-level lectures. This collaborative environment fosters continuous learning and knowledge exchange, essential for driving innovation in research. The team’s combined expertise ranges from AI to plasma physics, positioning them to address some of the heaviest scientific challenges added to the project.
The crowning achievement of Periodic Labs is an automated, robotic-powered laboratory that creates Periodic’s oral dissolving strips. This pioneering facility has since synthesized 41 novel compounds directed by recipes proposed by language models. That team went on to write a historic paper in 2023. Liam Cubuk and his smart colleague Fedus busily chronicled that groundbreaking research project through this work.
Cubuk noted the importance of timing in this moment for AI and experimental science. He offered his own observations about how recent progress has led to a unique moment for such initiatives.
“There are a few things that happened in the LLM field, in experimental science and in simulations that kind of made this the right time,” – Liam Cubuk
Deng brought the focus on actionable science rather than just talking about science. President Rosenberg’s view is of an empirically driven culture of research and experimentation as necessary levers of scientific advancement.
“Everyone talks about doing science, but in order to do science, you actually have to do science,” – Peter Deng
Beyond its entrepreneurial spirit in how it pursues research and development, Periodic Labs embraces the failed experiment as a vital learning opportunity. The company’s big bet is that data drives the best AI innovation. They are willing to consider every failed launch as an important part of the scientific journey.
Periodic Labs is leading the charge for AI-enabled scientific discovery. Moreover, it intentionally seeks to close the distance between ivory tower models and applications in the real world. Fedus articulated this vision succinctly.
“Making contact with reality, bringing experiments into the [AI] loop — we feel like this is the next frontier,” – Fedus
The company’s commitment to fostering collaboration among its talented workforce is evident in its weekly discussions on various topics related to their fields. This culture is conducive to improved knowledge sharing and to the creation of innovative solutions to today’s most complex challenges.
Deng’s excitement for Periodic Labs is infectious. And he testified to his enthusiasm for the business with great fervor.
“I committed on the spot, in the middle of the hills of Noe Valley, to write the check,” – Peter Deng
As Periodic Labs continues to grow and impact the scientific community, it showcases how AI can be integrated into traditional research methodologies. The company’s aim is not just to produce results but to redefine how experiments are conducted in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape.