Anthropic launches Bay Area wet lab to blend AI with hands-on drug research

Anthropic has set up a physical biology laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area, marking its first step beyond purely computational drug research. Eric Kauderer-Abrams, head of life sciences, said that the company is conducting wet-lab work in-house and with external partners, mirroring typical biotech practices. While a spokesperson said the lab is not solely for drug discovery, the effort aligns with Anthropic’s broader ambition to tackle rare diseases that larger pharmaceutical firms overlook.

The firm plans to leverage its Claude AI to direct robotic systems, yet stresses that human supervision will remain critical for safety. CEO Dario Amodei’s personal experience—his father’s death from an untreatable disease—drives the mission, and the company has recently acquired Coefficient Bio and added Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan to its board. Anthropic is also hiring specialists in protein and nucleic-acid analysis to accelerate its life-science projects, all while navigating public concerns about AI safety and preparing for a potentially $2 trillion IPO.