Anthropic launches AI drug discovery program, joining tech giants in betting on healthcare

CEO of Anthropic Dario Amodei attends a working lunch with G7 leaders, G7 outreach partners and global tech CEOs on innovation and AI, during the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026, in Évian-les-Bains, France. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images Anthropic is starting an internal drug discovery program as part of an effort to develop artificial intelligence tools designed for drugmakers, becoming the latest company to try and crack the healthcare market. At an event in San Francisco on Tuesday, Anthropic's life sciences head Eric Kauderer-Abrams said the company will focus on discovering treatments for "neglected" diseases that traditional biopharmaceutical companies wouldn't consider attractive targets. "We're doing this because we believe first and foremost that to build the right models, products and tools to accelerate the industry, we need to live it along with all of you," Kauderer-Abrams said. "We believe in the power of tight feedback loops, and there's no substitute for having our own experiences alongside you all in the trenches trying to develop drugs." Kauderer-Abrams didn't say what Anthropic would do if it finds any promising drug candidates. Traditional biopharmaceutical companies would typically test them in clinical trials. Tech giants have long taken aim at healthcare, though with mixed results. …