Tony KulesaScience needs to go faster. New science is how we are going to solve the most important challenges facing the world.
Imagine if breakthroughs as big as calculus, evolution, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics, or the discovery of the structure of DNA, or the invention of computers arrived by the year? By the month?
The biggest lever we have on the speed of science is going to be AI.
That’s no surprise, AI has been exploding everywhere the past few years. But here’s what’s interesting: many top AI people are getting restless. They’re tired of optimizing clicks. They want to solve real problems: cancer, climate change, aging, agriculture.
We’ve seen this firsthand at Pillar VC. Over the years, we’ve had a steady stream of AI talent reaching out. Their message? “We want to bring deep learning to deep science. Can you introduce us to some scientists?”
Here’s our thesis: if we systematically connect top AI talent with cutting-edge scientific labs, magic will happen. Breakthroughs will accelerate. Important problems will get solved. New companies will form.
Last summer, we tested this idea in just one domain of science: we hosted a course for AI people interested in biotech. We sourced real problems from biotech labs and companies and let the AI folks loose on them. The response? Overwhelming with 500+ applications, and a ton of fresh ideas.
Now, we’re taking this to the next level. And we’re doing it in the UK.
There’s a common thread running through all those discoveries above, calculus, evolution, … computing. It’s their origin in UK science. And now the UK has also become an AI powerhouse.
DeepMind, world-class universities, and a growing startup scene. The ingredients are all there.
Over the next three years, we’ll place 30 top AI people as fellows in leading UK research labs. Fellows will spend 1 year embedded in labs focusing on neuroscience, robotics, climate, and more. They’ll be supported with a competitive stipend and compute resources, and they’ll have the opportunity to work on some of the most pressing scientific challenges of our time.
We’re building this program together with ARIA, the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency. ARIA supports scientists to take ambitious risks on everything from programming plants to scalable neural interfaces. It is one of the boldest experiments in science worldwide.
You might wonder: why are we – Pillar VC – doing this?
We believe the next generation of world-changing companies will come from the intersection of AI and science. Through this program, we will accelerate that.
We’ve been spending an increasing amount of time in the UK, across the pond from our native Boston, and we’ve been so impressed with the scientists and entrepreneurs we’ve met. We’ve already made 3 investments – Latent Labs, Portal Biotech, and Modern Synthesis – and that’s just the beginning.
Bridging AI and scientific research will come with challenges. Different cultures, methods, and expectations will need to be navigated. But the potential benefits far outweigh these hurdles.
The next chapter of science is being written. We think this program is going to be a big part of that.
Get in touch with us if you are:
- An academic researcher that would like to host top AI talent in your lab
- An AI person that wants to work on the world’s hardest problems
- Someone who wants to help us build this program (we are hiring!)
Visit https://www.pillar.vc/aria-fellowship/ to learn more about our program and how to apply. Let’s get started.