Jeff Dean, Google's former chief scientist, is raising a new funding round for his AI startup, Discovery Loop, with a target valuation of approximately $50 billion. This development comes only a few weeks after the company was reportedly in discussions to raise $1 billion at a valuation of around $10 billion.
The rapid, five-fold increase in valuation highlights intense investor interest in the new venture, which aims to automate scientific and engineering discovery. Dean is joined by other high-profile former Google AI researchers, positioning Discovery Loop as a potentially formidable new player in the artificial intelligence sector. Alphabet, Google's parent company, is a founding investor in the startup.