OpenAI-Backed Chai Discovery Raises $130M Series B to Advance AI-Driven Drug Design

The round was co-led by Oak HC/FT and General Catalyst, with participation from Thrive Capital, Menlo Ventures, and other investors.

Chai Discovery, a generative AI-driven drug discovery startup backed by OpenAI, has raised $130 million in a Series B funding round, valuing the company at $1.3 billion just months after emerging from stealth. The round was co-led by Oak HC/FT and General Catalyst, with participation from Thrive Capital, Menlo Ventures, and other investors.

The fresh capital underscores growing investor interest in AI-led platforms aimed at rethinking traditional drug development, which is often marked by long timelines, high failure rates, and multibillion-dollar costs. Chai’s proprietary models are designed to predict biochemical interactions and generate novel drug candidates, including for disease targets that have historically been considered “undruggable.”

The company’s platform combines generative and predictive AI systems that model interactions between biological molecules, allowing scientific cycles to be compressed from years to weeks. According to CEO Josh Meier, challenges that previously required several years of research are now being addressed in a matter of weeks due to rapid advancements in Chai’s models.

Chai recently introduced Chai 2, a zero-shot generative model focused on de novo antibody design. The company reported double-digit experimental success rates with the platform, representing a 100-fold improvement compared to earlier computational approaches used in antibody engineering.

Beyond molecule discovery, Chai’s AI systems are built to optimize drug “developability,” a critical factor in ensuring that designed candidates can be manufactured, remain stable, and function effectively in human biology. This allows the company to pursue complex disease targets that have resisted conventional small-molecule or biologic approaches.

As part of the funding round, Oak HC/FT’s Annie Lamont and General Catalyst’s Hemant Taneja will join Chai Discovery’s board. Both investors highlighted drug development as a major frontier for AI-driven transformation, with Chai aiming to build a computer-aided design platform for therapeutics.

With more than $225 million raised to date, Chai Discovery plans to further expand its model capabilities and platform infrastructure as it scales programmable drug discovery efforts.

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