OpenAI backs startup that focuses on blocking AI-enabled bioweapons

SAN FRANCISCO — ChatGPT maker OpenAI on Thursday said it will invest in a startup focused on blocking bad actors from creating biological weapons powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

OpenAI is the lead investor in a $15-million seed round in Red Queen Bio, which is trying to make sure the AI industry’s defenses are growing at least as rapidly as those who seek to exploit models to harm humans, the startup’s co-founder Hannu Rajaniemi said.

The investment is part of OpenAI’s broader effort to invest in startups that seek to contain the risks posed by AI. Last month, the company backed Valthos, a New York-based biosecurity software startup. OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon said OpenAI would consider investing in other startups focused on similar problems.

“We want to increase the overall resilience of the overall ecosystem,” Mr. Kwon said in an interview. “One of the best ways you can deal with the risk mitigation is more technology.”

Researchers and safety advocates say AI technology could soon accelerate drug development or design new vaccines. But those same capabilities could make it easier for bad actors to develop new and powerful biological weapons.

Red Queen Bio was spun out of Helix Nano, a clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company that has been using AI more in drug design. Helix Nano has also worked with OpenAI to create tests to determine AI’s biorisks, Mr. Kwon said.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and board member Nicole Seligman, who had previously invested in Helix Nano, will receive shares in Red Queen Bio as part of the transaction. Mr. Kwon was indirectly an investor through Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley startup incubator. His stake is valued at less than $2,500, OpenAI said.

The executives did not take part in approving OpenAI’s investment in Red Queen Bio, a company spokesperson said. OpenAI’s chief compliance officer and unconflicted members of OpenAI’s board reviewed and approved the investment.

Red Queen Bio will rely on AI models as well as more traditional laboratory experiments to uncover new risks and develop new defenses. The startup’s name comes from a scene in Lewis Carroll’s book, Through the Looking-Glass.

“It was clear that biological capabilities were advancing faster than we anticipated,” Mr. Rajaniemi said. “We felt we needed to start developing defenses.”

Other investors in Red Queen Bio are Cerberus Ventures, Fifty Years and Halcyon Futures. — Reuters