AI startup Periodic Labs, founded by former OpenAI and DeepMind experts, aims to revolutionize materials science by creating AI-powered scientists and autonomous robotic laboratories. The company is actively negotiating with investors to raise several hundred million dollars, which could boost its valuation to an estimated $7 billion. This represents a significant increase from its $1.3 billion valuation last year during a seed round where it secured $300 million.
Periodic Labs has already attracted prominent investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Felicis, Accel, Coatue Management, DST Global, NVentures (Nvidia’s venture arm), Khosla Ventures, as well as notable private investors such as Jeff Bezos, Elad Gil, Eric Schmidt, and Jeff Dean of Google.
Based in San Francisco with approximately 40 employees, Periodic Labs is led by Liam Fedus, former VP of Research at OpenAI, and Ekin Dogus Kubruk, a former DeepMind research scientist. Unlike many similar ventures, the startup is already demonstrating commercial success, generating revenue and attracting its first clients from the semiconductor industry.
This ambitious project aligns with a broader trend of increasing investment in “neolabs” – startups that merge fundamental scientific research with commercial objectives. The strong investor interest in Periodic Labs underscores the growing demand for AI innovations and their application in accelerating scientific discoveries, particularly in materials science.
