Key Takeaways:
- Eli Lilly and NVIDIA are investing up to $1 billion over five years to establish a new AI co-innovation lab for drug discovery.
- The lab will bring together Lilly’s biology and scientific experts with NVIDIA’s AI model builders and engineers to advance drug development.
- The partnership aims to accelerate closed-loop discovery and create AI models to improve clinical development.
- The collaboration will also explore opportunities to apply AI across Lilly’s businesses, from manufacturing to commercial operations.
- The partnership is expected to fundamentally reinvent drug discovery by converging Lilly’s pharmaceutical expertise with NVIDIA’s cutting-edge AI and computing capabilities.
Introduction to the Partnership
The US drugmaker Eli Lilly and tech giant NVIDIA have announced a significant partnership to advance drug discovery through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The two companies will jointly invest up to $1 billion over five years to establish a new AI co-innovation lab, which will be based in the San Francisco Bay area. This lab will serve as a hub for Lilly’s biology and scientific experts to work alongside NVIDIA’s AI model builders and engineers, with the goal of accelerating drug development and improving clinical outcomes.
The Co-Innovation Lab
The co-innovation lab will provide a unique environment for collaboration and innovation, bringing together the best minds in biology, science, and AI to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in drug discovery. According to Kimberly Powell, vice president of healthcare at NVIDIA, the lab will focus on achieving accelerated, closed-loop discovery and creating AI models to improve clinical development. The partnership will also explore opportunities to apply AI across Lilly’s businesses, from manufacturing to commercial operations. This collaboration has the potential to revolutionize the drug development process, making it faster, more efficient, and more effective.
The Potential of AI in Drug Discovery
The use of AI in drug discovery is a rapidly evolving field, with significant potential to transform the way new medicines are developed. AI and protein modeling advancements are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in drug design, while other technologies, such as robotics, are helping to streamline other areas of drug development. By combining Lilly’s vast scientific knowledge and data with NVIDIA’s computational power and model-building expertise, the partnership aims to reinvent drug discovery as we know it. As Lilly’s CEO, David Ricks, stated, this collaboration could fundamentally change the way drugs are developed, making it possible to bring new medicines to market faster and more efficiently.
Reaction to the Partnership
The partnership between Eli Lilly and NVIDIA has been welcomed by analysts, who see it as a significant development in the field of drug discovery. Citi analysts commented that the strategic alliance aims to fundamentally reinvent drug discovery by converging Lilly’s deep pharmaceutical expertise with NVIDIA’s cutting-edge AI, accelerated computing, and infrastructure capabilities. This partnership is seen as a major investment in the future of drug development, with the potential to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes.
NVIDIA’s Other Initiatives
NVIDIA is also working with other companies to advance drug discovery and development. In October 2025, the company announced that it was building a new supercomputer with Eli Lilly to accelerate drug discovery and shorten development cycles. The supercomputer, powered by over 1,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), will serve as an "AI factory," managing the entire AI lifecycle. Additionally, NVIDIA announced at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026 that it is working with Thermo Fisher Scientific to build an autonomous lab infrastructure, aiming to transform scientific research labs into scalable, automated data factories.
Lilly’s Other Developments
Eli Lilly has also been making headlines in recent days, with media reports linking the company to a potential $15 billion acquisition of Abivax, a French biotech developing anti-inflammatory drugs. This potential acquisition is seen as a significant development in the field of biotechnology, and could further strengthen Lilly’s position in the market. The company’s partnership with NVIDIA is just one of several initiatives aimed at driving innovation and growth in the field of drug discovery and development.
Conclusion
The partnership between Eli Lilly and NVIDIA is a significant development in the field of drug discovery, with the potential to revolutionize the way new medicines are developed. By combining the best of biology, science, and AI, the co-innovation lab aims to accelerate closed-loop discovery and create AI models to improve clinical development. With a joint investment of up to $1 billion over five years, this partnership is a major commitment to the future of drug development, and is expected to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes. As the pharmaceutical industry continues to evolve, partnerships like this one will be crucial in driving progress and bringing new medicines to market.