Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to make significant strides in various fields—and startup Orbital Materials is breaking new ground by applying AI to the manufacturing of physical materials. Led by Jonathan Godwin, a former senior researcher at DeepMind, Orbital Materials is pioneering the development of GenAI technology to revolutionize materials science.
Traditional methods of discovering new materials have often relied on time-consuming trial-and-error processes in the lab, resulting in years of experimentation before achieving success. Recognizing the potential of AI in accelerating materials research, Godwin founded Orbital Materials to bridge the gap between AI expertise and materials science.
Orbital Materials’ AI-powered platform, driven by its proprietary model called Linus, is designed to discover and create a wide range of materials, from batteries to carbon dioxide-capturing cells. Scientists using Linus can input natural language instructions, and the system generates 3D molecular structures that meet specified criteria. Through iterative refinement, Linus produces materials that satisfy the desired properties, saving both time and money in the materials design process.
While Orbital Materials is not the first to apply AI to materials research and development, what sets it apart is its unique approach and proprietary AI model. Inspired by the successes of large language models like AlphaFold, Orbital’s Linus model has been trained on a diverse dataset of simulations and materials, enabling it to generate innovative solutions for various applications.
Despite the immense potential of GenAI technology, challenges remain, and Orbital acknowledges that its AI model is not infallible. However, the company has already achieved notable success, developing a cheap and reliable filter for capturing carbon dioxide from the air. With plans to bring more advanced materials to market, Orbital recently raised $16 million in a Series A funding round, signaling investor confidence in its groundbreaking technology.
Looking ahead, Orbital Materials aims to continue expanding its data science and wet lab teams, leveraging AI to accelerate materials discovery and commercialization. Just as AlphaFold has revolutionized drug discovery, Orbital Materials’ GenAI technology holds the promise of transforming the materials industry, enabling the rapid design and deployment of advanced materials for diverse applications.
Image credit: Unsplash
