OpenAI, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, invests $30m in new startup to fight bioweapons

OpenAI, the company behind renowned chatbot ChatGPT, has collaborated with Founders Fund and Lux Capital to provide $30 million in funding to a New York-based biosecurity software startup.

Valthos is a biosecurity software startup based in New York City that helps to detect and counter bioweapon attacks and the latest funding provided by the tech giants will help the startup get out of its stealth mode.

The startup builds artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools to defend against AI engineered bioweapon attacks.

Kathleen McMahon and Tess van Stekelenburg co-founded the company with Kathleen currently serving as its CEO as well. 

She explained the company’s mission, stating, “The only way to deter an attack is to know when it’s happening, update countermeasures, and deploy them fast.”

The nine-person software startup aggregates biological data from commercial and government sources and then uses AI tools to identify and assess the emerging threats.

The funding indicates that some of the key members of the AI ecosystem are paying the existential risk of AI-powered bioterrorism.

OpenAI is putting money in Valthos as a proactive effort to invest in a venture that would build defenses against a disastrous misuse of the technology that it is creating.