Liam Fedus, OpenAI’s Vice President of research for post-training, is departing the company to establish a new startup focused on materials science AI.

The Information was the first to report on Fedus’ plans. He subsequently confirmed the news on X, providing additional context.

In his statement, Fedus expressed his enthusiasm for applying AI technology to the field of physics, his undergraduate major. He noted that “AI for science is a strategically crucial area for OpenAI, and a key step towards achieving artificial superintelligence,” and that OpenAI plans to invest in and collaborate with his new venture.

Fedus’ new company will enter a competitive landscape, with established players like Google DeepMind and Microsoft already active in the AI materials science space. In 2023, DeepMind announced that its AI system, Gnome, had discovered new crystals with potential applications in materials science. More recently, Microsoft introduced MatterGen and MatterSim, two AI tools designed for materials discovery.

However, some experts have raised doubts about the ability of current AI systems to make genuinely groundbreaking scientific discoveries.