Latent Labs web-based AI model transforms protein design
Biotech is entering a new era, and Latent Labs web-based AI model is leading the charge. Just six months after raising $50 million in stealth, the company has unveiled LatentX—a browser-accessible AI tool that empowers scientists, biotech startups, and academic researchers to design entirely new proteins. Unlike AlphaFold, which predicts protein structures based on known data, LatentX can generate never-before-seen proteins with atomic-level precision. This breakthrough democratizes protein engineering, allowing organizations without advanced AI infrastructure to build therapeutics faster and more efficiently. For many in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, this could be a game-changer in drug discovery and synthetic biology.
Image Credits:Latent Labs
How Latent Labs’ web-based AI model works
The Latent Labs web-based AI model is built on a foundation of years of research in computational biology. Led by Simon Kohl—former co-leader of DeepMind’s AlphaFold protein design team—Latent Labs has created an AI system that achieves state-of-the-art results in lab-tested protein viability. LatentX goes far beyond simply predicting known structures. It creates entirely novel molecules with accurate atomic details, enabling breakthroughs in therapeutic development and industrial enzyme design. Kohl explains that most of the proteins generated by the model are not only theoretically promising but also prove viable when synthesized and tested in the lab, reducing costly trial-and-error cycles traditionally required in wet labs.
Why LatentX is different from AlphaFold and drug discovery rivals
While DeepMind’s AlphaFold revolutionized protein structure prediction, it didn’t offer the ability to generate new proteins. That’s where LatentX stands apart. Rather than relying on existing biological data, LatentX can generate entirely new, functional protein structures from scratch—something AlphaFold cannot do. Unlike AI-powered drug discovery companies like Xaira, Recursion, or Isomorphic Labs that build proprietary pipelines to develop drugs in-house, Latent Labs offers its model as a platform. The Latent Labs web-based AI model is openly accessible, enabling universities, pharmaceutical giants, and startups alike to license and use the technology without needing to build internal AI systems from the ground up. This approach aligns with growing demand for modular AI tools in science and medicine.
Latent Labs’ vision: open access now, premium tools later
Currently, LatentX is free to use—anyone can start designing proteins with the model directly in their browser. But the company has plans to introduce paid tiers with advanced capabilities in the future. According to Kohl, this freemium model ensures wide accessibility now while building a sustainable business around cutting-edge features later. Latent Labs is already backed by some of the most prominent names in tech and VC: Radical Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, Google’s Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei, and Eleven Labs CEO Mati Staniszewski. These endorsements not only validate the company’s mission but signal confidence in its future scalability. Alongside companies like Chai Discovery and EvolutionaryScale that offer open-source models, Latent Labs is part of a new movement reshaping the biotech landscape with AI-first tools that are flexible, scalable, and open.
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