Warp Sciences Raises $215M to Robotize Labs

Kevin Weil just secured $215 million to build robots that will run drug labs. The new startup, Warp Sciences, aims to automate wet-lab work for drug discovery. It raised the cash at an $865 million valuation, with Lightspeed leading the round. IVP, Premji Invest and Lux Capital also joined as investors. Weil wants to bring the chemistry back home, away from China's contract labs. He says the supply-chain risk from geopolitics is a major driver. Human chemists will wear cameras and sensor gloves to teach robots each task. The robots can then mix, test and analyze compounds around the clock. If it works, drug discovery could speed up dramatically and stay insulated from global disruptions. Weil summed it up: "We're building the future lab, safe from supply shocks."