Novartis CEO says AI could cut drug discovery timelines from 14 to 8 years

UBS Wealth Management says artificial intelligence is moving beyond text generation into scientific research, opening investment opportunities across AI infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, nuclear fusion, industrial materials and utilities. The shift was highlighted by OpenAI's recent mathematical proof related to the Navier-Stokes equations, a centuries-old fluid dynamics problem and one of seven Millennium Prize Problems, which OpenAI tackled using 10,000 autonomous AI agents working in parallel for 88 hours before formalizing the proof with Lean, a system for machine-checked mathematical validation. In pharmaceuticals, multi-agent AI systems can simulate millions of protein variations in the cloud, and more than 170 AI-designed programs are already in development or clinical evaluation, including Phase III trials. In nuclear fusion, reinforcement-learning systems can predict plasma disruptions around 200 milliseconds before they occur and adjust magnetic coils thousands of times per second, while AI models in materials science can test millions of elemental combinations daily in search of properties for lighter, higher-density batteries, lower-heat computing hardware and potential room-temperature superconductors. The broader investment case centers on AI becoming a tool for automating scientific research rather than simply generating content, with companies exposed to AI infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, industrial materials and utilities positioned to benefit as these technologies move toward commercial applications.

NAVER D2SF, NAVER's in-house corporate venture arm, has invested in Silicon Valley precision medicine company ImpriMed, joining ImpriMed's $10 million Series A2 bridge round. The round was led by LB Investment, with participation from new investors NAVER D2SF, Samsung Securities, and Alois Ventures, plus follow-on investments from existing investors BonAngels and Han River Partners; it follows ImpriMed's $23 million Series A in 2023. ImpriMed combines ex vivo analysis of patient-derived live cancer cells with genomic, immunophenotypic, and clinical data through its xCellSense platform, and is developing AI models trained on more than 3.5 million data points. The company is preparing to commercialize products for blood cancers and blood infection, targeting FDA clearance and CLIA certification by Q1 2027 for an initial U.S. launch, while in South Korea its multiple myeloma prognosis and therapy-response software has been designated an Innovative Medical Device by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. ImpriMed was co-founded by CEO Sungwon Lim and CTO Jamin Koo, and its human healthcare expansion is supported by veterinary precision oncology work covering more than 27,000 tests for canine and feline lymphoma, used by over 600 veterinary hospitals across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and South Korea.