Founded in 2023, Lila aims to create “scientific superintelligence” by combining specialized AI models with automated laboratories. Existing investors such as Flagship Pioneering—where Lila originated—General Catalyst, and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority also participated in the round.
The fresh funding will accelerate the development of “AI Science Factories,” facilities equipped with robotic instruments controlled by AI to run experiments continuously. Lila recently signed a 235,500-square-foot lab lease in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the largest lab deals in Greater Boston this year.
Lila plans to open its platform to commercial customers, providing access to its AI models and automated laboratories through enterprise software. The company said firms in energy, semiconductors, and drug development have already shown interest, though no specific clients were named.
Unlike AI labs that train models on internet data—a resource many experts consider nearly tapped—Lila focuses on generating proprietary scientific data through novel experiments. According to the company, the future of AI in science will depend more on owning the largest automated lab than just the largest data center.
Co-founder and CEO Geoffrey von Maltzahn emphasized the potential impact:
“What’s so exciting about Lila is that we’re going to use those resources very productively in a way that I feel benefits almost everyone on the planet. It will set in motion the scientific method in a new form.”
The company claims its platform has already made thousands of discoveries in life sciences, chemistry, and materials, though Lila will not conduct clinical trials or scale new energy solutions itself. Instead, these developments will be carried out by partners and startups using the Lila platform.
Lila joins a growing wave of AI startups targeting scientific discovery, a sector attracting increasing venture capital investment. For comparison, Periodic Labs, founded by researchers from Google DeepMind and OpenAI, raised $300 million last month to build an AI scientist.
This latest funding positions Lila at the forefront of automated AI-driven research, signaling a shift in how scientific breakthroughs could be achieved in the coming years.