Biohub, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health and technology companies announced an expansion of an international effort to generate open biological datasets for predictive AI models.
The effort represents $1.8 billion in funding, data, computing resources and measurement technology, according to an Oct. 7 news release. That total includes Biohub’s previously announced commitment and datasets developed through prior federal investment.
The expansion builds on Biohub’s Virtual Biology Initiative, announced in April. The initiative aims to provide data researchers can use to develop AI models that predict how cells respond to interventions, with the goal of advancing understanding of disease and identifying new approaches to prevention and treatment.
The Energy Department will invest more than $500 million over five years in cell research, including data collection, AI analysis, measurement, imaging, modeling and computing. The contribution will draw on resources across its national laboratory system, including supercomputers and autonomous laboratories.
NIH will coordinate contributions of relevant datasets, repositories and knowledge bases developed through more than $500 million in prior federal investment aligned with the initiative. Biohub will work with NIH to standardize those datasets for AI model training.
Google DeepMind, Isomorphic Labs and Meta are collectively investing $300 million in the initiative to develop technologies and datasets for predictive biological models.
Biohub’s previously announced $500 million commitment includes $400 million for technologies that expand biological measurement and experimentation, along with $100 million for research outside Biohub.
The initiative plans to expand data on how cells respond to interventions across additional cell types and conditions. It also aims to develop and validate technologies for studying cells and their interactions at greater scale, speed and accuracy.
Scientific organizations participating in the effort include the Allen Institute, Broad Institute, Gladstone Institutes, Human Cell Atlas, Human Protein Atlas and Wellcome Sanger Institute. NVIDIA will support the initiative with computing infrastructure, software and technical expertise, while Renaissance Philanthropy is helping expand funding for data generation.
Biohub is working with partners to establish shared standards, common identifiers and a single access point so their datasets can be used together.
