Scientist and entrepreneur Seemay Chou is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to reshape how scientific research is conducted in the age of artificial intelligence. Through her foundation, the Astera Institute, she has launched a new initiative called Radial aimed at modernizing the infrastructure behind scientific discovery. The project is expected to receive up to $500 million in funding and will focus on improving the systems used to generate, share, and analyze scientific data.
Chou argues that while AI has enormous potential in fields like biology and medicine, the current scientific system is poorly designed to take full advantage of it. According to her, outdated research practices, fragmented datasets, and slow collaboration processes prevent AI tools from delivering their full benefits. Radial therefore plans to focus on what its leaders describe as the “unsexy infrastructure” of science—such as data platforms, collaborative tools, and new ways of organizing research.
One of the goals of the initiative is to experiment with entirely new models of doing science. Instead of traditional grant systems that fund specific projects, Radial intends to support experimental approaches to research infrastructure and knowledge sharing. The initiative will openly publish both successful and failed experiments in scientific processes, hoping that this transparency will accelerate innovation and allow the broader research community to learn from the results.
Ultimately, Chou believes that artificial intelligence will push the scientific world to rethink how research is conducted. Rather than simply applying AI to existing workflows, she argues that the underlying systems of science must evolve to support the massive datasets, collaborative networks, and rapid experimentation that AI-driven discovery requires. By funding large-scale experiments in research infrastructure, Radial aims to help prepare science for this new technological era.
