In September 2025, a new AI company called Periodic Labs secured a $300 million seed round to revolutionise the process of scientific discovery through automation. Founded by former researchers from OpenAI and DeepMind, the startup aims to accelerate breakthroughs by delegating labour-intensive tasks such as hypothesis generation, experiment design and data analysis to AI systems.
According to TechCrunch, this represents one of the largest seed investments ever recorded in the AI sector, with the company’s mission described as “automating the full research cycle.” The founders stressed that the scientific community currently produces more than 2 million new papers annually, and AI could play a decisive role in consolidating and synthesising this knowledge. The funding was provided by major venture capital firms that believe Periodic Labs’ tools could not only speed up research but also lower its costs significantly.
The $300 million seed round stands out as a milestone, given that typical seed investments are usually limited to a few million dollars. The founders emphasised that AI-driven research automation is not intended to replace scientists, but to expand their capacity, particularly in fields such as medicine, materials science and biology. In the long run, Periodic Labs’ project suggests a structural transformation of the research ecosystem through the integration of AI.
Sources:
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Julie Bort
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TechCrunch
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