An OpenAI researcher is leaving the ChatGPT maker to launch a new startup focused on using artificial intelligence for drug discovery, and he is in talks to raise around $200 million at a $2 billion valuation, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans.
Miles Wang, whose work at OpenAI includes research on using AI to accelerate scientific and biological discovery, is speaking with investors about the funding round, TechCrunch reported on July 14, 2026. Venture firm Lightspeed is in discussions to lead the round, though talks are ongoing and the deal may not be final. For more context on this story, see our ongoing more AI stories.
Several other OpenAI researchers are expected to join the new company, according to four people with knowledge of Wang's plans. Wang disputed the story's funding figures and description of the company when contacted by TechCrunch but did not specify the correct numbers or details.
A Booming Corner of AI
The reported funding discussions highlight intensifying investor interest in applying AI to the life sciences. Drug discovery has emerged as one of the most promising and heavily funded applications of artificial intelligence, with several startups raising large rounds in recent months.
Chai Discovery, a two-year-old startup developing AI models that predict molecular interactions to identify new drugs, announced on July 14 that it raised $400 million at a $3.8 billion valuation. Chai Discovery co-founder Josh Meier, like Wang, previously worked as a researcher at OpenAI. Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs, which also builds AI models for drug discovery, raised a $2.1 billion Series B in May 2026.
Wang's new startup is believed to be working on AI models that help find new uses for existing drugs, and possibly those that previously failed in clinical trials, sources told TechCrunch. Finding new applications for medicines that are already FDA-approved can lead to significantly faster time to revenue than developing entirely new drugs from scratch, because the compounds have already been tested for safety.
A Young Founder's Path
Wang joined OpenAI in 2024 after dropping out of Harvard University, where he was pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science. During his time at OpenAI, he co-authored research papers examining how AI models can automate and accelerate scientific discovery.
His move to strike out on his own reflects a broader pattern in which investors are once again comfortable backing young founders who have not completed college, particularly those with experience inside leading AI labs. Talent flowing out of companies such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic has become a major engine of startup formation in the AI sector.
A Flood of Drug Discovery Funding
The potential $2 billion valuation for a company that has not yet publicly launched underscores how aggressively investors are pricing AI drug discovery startups, even at the earliest stages. The logic is that AI models capable of predicting how molecules interact could dramatically shorten the time and cost of bringing new medicines to market, a process that traditionally takes over a decade and costs billions of dollars per drug.
The Economics of Repurposing Drugs
The strategy of focusing on repurposing existing drugs reflects a pragmatic calculation. Developing a new drug from discovery to market approval typically takes ten to fifteen years and can cost well over a billion dollars, with the vast majority of candidates failing along the way. AI models that can sift through vast chemical and biological datasets to identify promising new uses for compounds that have already cleared safety hurdles could bypass much of that cost and risk.
Startups pursuing this approach can also reach revenue faster, because repurposed medicines may qualify for streamlined regulatory pathways. That economic logic helps explain why investors are willing to assign multibillion-dollar valuations to companies that are barely off the ground, betting that even a single successful drug repurposing could generate enormous returns.
A Pattern of Lab Departures
Whether Wang's startup can deliver on that promise remains to be seen, and the reported deal could still change. But the level of interest surrounding the round signals that venture capitalists view AI-driven drug discovery as one of the highest-stakes opportunities in the current artificial intelligence boom, and they are willing to pay premium valuations to secure a position before competitors emerge.
For the broader AI industry, Wang's departure from OpenAI also illustrates the continued brain drain from the largest AI labs, as researchers with deep expertise in applying AI to science leave to build their own companies. The trend has accelerated as funding remains abundant for founders with pedigrees from organizations like OpenAI, and as the potential applications of frontier models expand well beyond chatbots into chemistry, biology, and materials science.
If the round closes at the reported terms, Wang's company would join a small but fast-growing group of AI drug discovery startups commanding valuations in the billions, a signal that investors see the convergence of artificial intelligence and pharmaceuticals as one of the defining technology bets of the decade.
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