# Ex-OpenAI Science Chief Kevin Weil Launches Drug-Discovery Startup Warp Sciences With $215 Million

> Weil, who left OpenAI in April, raised the Series A at an $865 million valuation to build a US-based automated lab for a drug-development step pharma companies have long outsourced to Chinese firms.

- Source: Principle Post
- Canonical URL: https://principlepost.com/article/kevin-weil-warp-sciences-openai-drug-discovery-215-million
- Author: Principle Post Staff
- Section: Business
- Published: 2026-10-22T18:31:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-22T18:31:00.000Z
- Tags: Kevin Weil, Warp Sciences, OpenAI, drug discovery, venture capital

---

Kevin Weil, who ran OpenAI's science unit until leaving the company in April, has launched a new startup called Warp Sciences aimed at using AI to speed up a key step in drug development. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the company's $215 million funding round, with participation from IVP, Premji Invest and Lux Capital, valuing Warp at $865 million after the new investment.

## Bringing an outsourced step back to the US

Warp is building an automated lab in the United States for a stage of drug development that pharmaceutical companies have long outsourced to Chinese contract-research firms such as WuXi AppTec. Weil is chief executive, joined by a co-founding team that includes Manohar Paluri, a former vice president at Meta's Superintelligence Labs; DJ Patil, who served as the White House's first chief data scientist; and Solomon Reisberg, a former executive at Terremoto Biosciences.

The startup also drew a notable group of angel investors, including OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, Instacart's Fidji Simo, Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong, Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. The roster reflects the broader wave of senior AI talent and capital moving from foundation-model labs into applied, industry-specific bets like drug discovery.

---

Originally published by Principle Post. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://principlepost.com/article/kevin-weil-warp-sciences-openai-drug-discovery-215-million.