How AI accelerates Arzeda’s ability to program biology
IMAGE: ARZEDA
Recently, Arzeda, a computational protein design company that our team has worked with for many years, was featured in the Wall Street Journal article AI Accelerates Ability to Program Biology Like Software.
Intersection of AI and biology
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing everything, and biology is no exception.
The co-founder of Arzeda, Alexandre Zanghellini, emphasized that AI has a tremendous impact on creating efficiency in biology.
“One of those companies, Arzeda, reflects the ways in which synthetic biology is moving from the laboratory to a range of commercial markets. The Seattle-based startup uses its Intelligent Protein Design Technology to design enzymes and protein sequences. The technology draws on generative AI and other forms of AI, as well as non-AI algorithms such as a physics-based model. It validates the work in its lab and develops cost-effective manufacturing processes to produce them at scale with contract manufacturing partners, according to co-founder and chief executive Alexandre Zanghellini. Arzeda sells and distributes products with partners such as Unilever that can also co-invest in R&D, he said.
“For example Arzeda said it has developed enzymes used to improve the conversion of stevia plant extract to a high purity and higher value form of the sweetener. While other companies can make this conversion using more traditional approaches, Zanghellini said Arzeda can dramatically decrease the cost of the process through its ProSweet Enzymes, scheduled to hit the market in the fourth quarter.
“Protein design is such a complex problem that no human being would be able to carry out the tasks that our AI is able to solve,” Zanghellini said.
The company is currently working with Unilever to develop performance-boosting enzymes in record time: Unilever and Arzeda use AI to develop performance-boosting enzymes in record time for Unilever’s Home Care Products
Beyond nature’s limitations
Nature has provided us with a vast array of biological systems and processes. However, there are limitations to what nature can offer. With AI, we can go beyond these limitations. We can begin to design and program biological systems in ways that were not possible before. The ability to program biology like software is helping us understand and manipulate biological systems faster and more powerfully than ever.
“It’s been dramatic. We are seeing the ability to design a lot faster. I would say it’s orders of magnitude, five times, 10 times faster in the way we can design and program biology,” Zanghellini said. “It enables us to go beyond what nature has provided us. It has a tremendous impact,” he said.
The future of AI in biology
With the ability to program biology like software, we may see significant advancements in various fields such as medicine, agriculture, and environmental science.
AI and synthetic biology offer the potential to begin to rationally engineer the outcomes we want in biology, instead of relying solely on serendipity and trial and error. More effective, safer drugs, crops that are more resistant to diseases, and bio-based solutions for environmental problems.
As we continue harnessing the power of AI, we look forward to a future where we can program biology like software, leading to breakthroughs that could transform our world.
