Researchers from four national laboratories and industry are collaborating to unleash the full potential of biology for manufacturing fuels, chemicals, and consumer goods, and to harness biological systems as tools for agriculture and critical mineral recovery. The Orchestrated Platform for Autonomous Laboratories to Accelerate AI-Driven BioDesign (OPAL) project is using robotic systems, AI agents and models, and standardized data-sharing platforms to accelerate the biotechnology pipeline all the way from gene discovery to commercialized technology.
As part of the Genesis Mission, the OPAL team is beginning a project to develop powerful, general-purpose biology AI models, called foundation models, that can be tailored for specific applications with additional training and eventually control AI agents to manage investigations autonomously.
The Genesis Mission is a new national initiative led by the Department of Energy (DOE) to advance AI and expedite discovery, providing solutions for challenges in science, energy, and national security. A cornerstone of the Genesis Mission is the Transformational AI Models Consortium (ModCon), which will build and deploy self-improving AI models by harnessing DOE’s unique data, facilities, and expertise. The OPAL team’s effort is one of three ModCon projects that Berkeley Lab leads or plays a key role in.
