TLDR
- Anthropic opened a human-staffed biology wet lab in the Bay Area, running quietly since spring 2026.
- The lab paired AI agent Claude with human scientists to search DNA sequences for new enzyme functions.
- Researchers found a new enzyme system called array-associated reverse transcriptases, or ART, which shares traits with CRISPR.
- The discovery came after 950 AI agents scanned over 200,000 candidate enzymes in a single day.
- Anthropic says it will not run clinical trials and does not plan to compete with pharmaceutical companies.
Anthropic has confirmed it built a wet lab dedicated to biology research. The lab is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and has been running since the spring of this year.
Today we announced the Claude-led discovery of a molecular machine that we suspect could represent a new gene editing mechanism. Its precise function, biotechnological utility (if any), or level of significance is not yet clear, but at minimum it is work I would have been proud… https://t.co/hyzhzirNJe
— Dario Amodei (@DarioAmodei) September 23, 2026
The company kept the project quiet until this week. It then announced that the lab had already made its first discovery.
Anthropic’s AI model Claude was used to search massive databases of DNA sequences. The goal was to find proteins and enzymes that scientists had not yet studied closely.
How The Discovery Was Made
The process started with a simple prompt asking Claude to look for new reverse transcriptase functions. Reverse transcriptase enzymes write RNA into DNA.
Anthropic used 950 AI agents to run this search over one day. Together, they gathered more than 200,000 candidate enzymes.
The list was narrowed down to the 20 most promising candidates. One of these had already been studied before, but the AI agent noticed something new about it.
The enzyme contained a repeating pattern of DNA code. This kind of pattern is linked to how CRISPR systems cut and paste genetic material.
Anthropic named the new enzyme system array-associated reverse transcriptases, or ART for short. The company published a technical report on the finding, though it has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Eric Kauderer-Abrams, Anthropic’s head of life sciences, spoke with Reuters about the project. He said the lab still looks like a typical molecular biology lab.
He explained that the main difference is what happens before the physical testing starts. Claude does the early work of scanning sequences and narrowing down candidates.
Human scientists then test the top candidates in the lab. Kauderer-Abrams said final testing still needs to happen in real lab conditions, not just on a computer.
What Anthropic Says Comes Next
CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang, who works at MIT and the Broad Institute, commented on the discovery. He said the finding was an example of how AI agents can help with biology research.
Zhang added that the link between the enzyme and RNA repeat arrays is worth studying further. The full function of ART is still unknown.
Anthropic said its research program is separate from drug development. The company stated it will not run clinical trials tied to this work.
Kauderer-Abrams told Reuters that Anthropic does not see itself as competing with pharmaceutical and biotech companies. He said those firms focus on bringing drugs to market, which is not Anthropic’s goal.
The company has pharma partners including Roche, Genentech, and Bristol Myers Squibb. These companies may use Anthropic’s AI tools, though Anthropic’s own lab has resources that outside academics do not have access to.
Some researchers have raised concerns about funding. The Scientist reported in July that academics worry about choosing between paying for AI tokens or supporting trainees.
The ART discovery involved six named human scientists working with Claude. The project used 210 million tokens to complete the search and analysis.
Other companies are also working on AI-driven biology research. Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs and OpenAI have both published work in this space in recent months.
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