Chai Discovery, the AI company developing a computer-aided design platform for molecules, has announced a strategic collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company to accelerate the discovery of next-generation biologic therapeutics. Under the agreement, Lilly will leverage Chai’s advanced AI platform, including its proprietary custom models, to design novel biologics targeting multiple disease pathways. As part of the partnership, Chai will develop a purpose-built AI model exclusively for Lilly, trained on large-scale, proprietary data from the pharmaceutical giant and specifically tailored to align with Lilly’s drug discovery workflows. This follows a prior evaluation period in which several molecular designs generated by Chai’s existing models were assessed by Lilly’s research team. “Our collaboration with Lilly combines Chai’s expertise in frontier AI with Lilly’s deep capabilities in drug development and patient impact,” said Josh Meier, CEO of Chai Discovery. “Beyond access to our core models, training custom AI systems on Lilly’s data opens new possibilities for pushing the boundaries of early-stage drug discovery, making it faster, more precise, and more efficient.” Chai-2, the company’s flagship platform, is the first zero-shot antibody design system to achieve double-digit experimental hit rates while generating molecules with strong drug-like properties. This breakthrough enables discovery timelines to shrink from months to weeks—dramatically accelerating the path from concept to candidate. The collaboration comes shortly after Chai Discovery closed its Series B funding round in December 2025, co-led by Oak HC/FT and General Catalyst, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. To date, Chai has raised nearly $230 million in total funding. “Drug discovery is one of the most promising frontiers for AI transformation, and Chai is at the forefront of building the next generation of models to redefine the field,” said Annie Lamont, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Oak HC/FT. “This partnership between Chai and Lilly brings together two of the most innovative leaders in their domains and signals a pivotal moment—where novel medicines may be designed on a computer within this generation.” Chai Discovery is on a mission to transform biology from a science into an engineering discipline. The company’s team includes researchers and engineers from leading AI and technology organizations such as OpenAI, Meta FAIR, Stripe, and Google X. Chai is backed by top-tier investors including OpenAI, Thrive Capital, Menlo Ventures, and Dimension. For more information, visit https://www.chaidiscovery.com/