Artificial intelligence (AI) is often playing in the world of language and amid such a scenario a London-based startup Basecamp Research is charting a unique course. It has lately secured $60 million funding and is developing an AI model that could revolutionize the interaction with biology as well as biodiversity. Co-founder and CEO Glen Gowers believe that the current AI models are suffering from an enormous data gap and the gap limits both scope and accuracy of biological insights.
The project is about feeding biological data into a model and also about bringing in a new language of AI that is fluent in DNA and biodiversity. Natural language models like ChatGPT understand words, syntax and context while the AI of Basecamp aims to decode the nuances of the natural world. Gowers describes this as a ChatGPT for nature that is catchy as well as revolutionary. The AI model learns from books or static databases and draws on a vast library of biodiversity that is sourced through exploration around the globe.
The emphasis is on primary data collection and it highlights a critical issue in biology. Basecamp hopes to offer solutions that the biopharma industry has yet to imagine. Procter & Gamble has used the Basecamp AI models to design detergent enzymes which are capable of cleaning effectively at low temperatures.
The project is backed by Andy Conrad, who was earlier Verily Life Sciences CEO. Conrad said that the potential of the platform goes beyond current questions in biopharma and promises to raise entirely new lines of inquiry.
The $60 million project of Basecamp is an AI experiment and it is an important effort to enhance understanding of the natural world.
