Google DeepMind, Meta and Isomorphic Labs are investing $300 million in Biohub’s initiative to build datasets for AI-assisted biological research.
Google DeepMind, Meta and Isomorphic Labs are jointly investing $300 million in the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub’s Virtual Biology initiative, according to The Verge’s October 7, 2026 report. Biohub, the nonprofit biomedical research organization founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, is leading the effort to build datasets intended to support digital investigation of biological questions.
The funding is part of a broader $1.8 billion initiative. Its stated aim is to create resources that could help researchers ask questions about biology, make predictions and test ideas digitally. The virtual-cell effort is intended to support a high-accuracy predictive model of a cell, which researchers could use to run simulations. The project is a research program, not a completed virtual cell or a treatment that is ready for clinical use.
The initiative also draws on public-sector contributions. The U.S. Department of Energy is set to invest more than $500 million over five years, while the National Institutes of Health will contribute datasets, repositories and knowledge bases built through more than $500 million in previous federal investment. Together, those inputs are meant to provide biological data for the research effort; the article does not describe a finished system or a delivery date for one.
Biohub’s head of science, Alex Rives, said in the project announcement that an accurate predictive model could let scientists conduct experiments digitally and potentially accelerate scientific discovery. Achieving that goal will require coordinated data generation, he said. The initiative therefore combines private investment with government funding and existing public research resources, while placing Biohub in the coordinating role.
The partners’ contribution is specifically reported as investment in Biohub’s Virtual Biology initiative. The Verge updated its article on October 7 to clarify that relationship. The reported funding supports the effort to create datasets and predictive tools; it does not establish that researchers can already simulate whole-cell behavior reliably or that the project has demonstrated disease-fighting outcomes.