San Francisco. OpenAI announced yesterday that it will invest in a startup dedicated to stopping malicious actors from creating bioweapons powered by artificial intelligence.
OpenAI is the lead investor in a $15 million seed funding round in Red Queen Bio, which is trying to make sure the AI industry’s defenses are growing at least as fast as those trying to exploit models to harm humans, said the startup’s co-founder Hannu Rajaniemi.
The investment is part of a broader effort by OpenAI to invest in startups trying to contain the risks posed by AI. Last month, the company backed Valthos, a software biosafety company based in New York. OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon noted that they would consider investing in other emerging businesses focused on similar problems.
“We want to increase the overall resilience of the entire ecosystem,” Kwon said in an interview. “One of the best ways to address risk mitigation is more technology.”
New vaccines
Researchers and safety advocates say AI technology could soon speed up drug development or design new vaccines. But those same capabilities could make it easier for bad actors to develop powerful new biological weapons.
Red Queen Bio was created from Helix Nano, a clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company that has made greater use of AI in drug design. Helix Nano has also collaborated with OpenAI to create tests to determine the biorisks of AI, according to Kwon.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and advisor Nicole Seligman, who had previously invested in Helix Nano, will receive shares in Red Queen Bio as part of the transaction. Kwon was an indirect investor through Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley business incubator.