AMD Partners with Absci to Power AI Drug Discovery Workloads
AMD, a semiconductor company, has announced a strategic partnership with Absci, a data-first generative AI drug-creation company, to deploy AMD Instinct accelerators and ROCm software for vital AI drug-discovery workloads. This collaboration will also support Absci’s advanced De Novo antibody-design models.
As part of the partnership, AMD is making a $20 million investment in Absci, structured as a private investment in public equity. The aim of this collaboration is to support Absci’s mission of creating better biologics for patients faster through optimized AI solutions that offer exceptional performance, reduced infrastructure costs, and faster innovation cycles.
“At Absci, we are always looking for ways to push the boundaries of what’s possible in drug discovery,” said Sean McClain, founder and CEO of Absci. “This partnership with AMD gives us the unique advantage of working closely with a partner that is deeply committed to supporting our needs while providing the most efficient, innovative AI solutions available.”
McClain highlighted that AMD high-performance computers enable the company to advance the development of next-generation antibody therapeutics. Mark Papermaster, executive vice president and chief technology officer at AMD, expressed pride in partnering with Absci to accelerate breakthroughs in therapeutics and transform the development of biologic drugs.
“Absci’s groundbreaking work with AI drug discovery is a perfect fit for AMD high-performance computing solutions and software, designed for the most demanding AI workloads,” said Papermaster.
Expanding Partnerships in Drug Discovery
In 2023, Absci announced a $247 million partnership with AstraZeneca to expedite the discovery of novel cancer treatments using genAI technology. The collaboration leveraged Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation platform and AstraZeneca’s oncology research expertise to develop improved antibody therapies against cancer.
Additionally, Absci partnered with Almirall, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in medical dermatology, to develop AI-designed therapeutics for dermatological diseases. The collaboration aims to deliver life-changing medicines to patients by combining Absci’s Integrated Drug Creation platform with Almirall’s dermatological expertise.
Furthermore, Absci and M2GEN joined forces to create new cancer medicines using Absci’s generative AI drug creation platform and M2GEN’s clinical and molecular data set, ORIEN AVATAR. This partnership aims to accelerate the development of therapeutics for various malignancies and patient profiles, leveraging AI in the fight against cancer.
