Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI company led by CEO Dario Amodei, has confirmed it operates a “wet lab” in the Bay Area where it uses its AI models to conduct hands-on biology experiments involving hazardous liquids and biological samples, according to Reuters.
The disclosure lands just days after Amodei published an essay urging the AI industry to slow its pace of development in the name of safety, a call that has made him a leading voice among those warning of AI’s potential dangers.
Eric Kauderer-Abrams, Anthropic’s head of life sciences, told Reuters the company sees physical lab work as essential to validating its AI-driven biology research. “We believe that to do biology, the final test is still, and will be for a while, in real lab work,” he said. “We absolutely are doing that today.” He compared the facility’s operations to a typical biotech lab, saying Anthropic conducts some research in-house and partners with outside organizations on other projects.
In April, Anthropic acquired Coefficient Bio, a previously stealth AI biotech startup, expanding its footprint in biological research. The company says its main interest lies in fundamental biology rather than drug discovery — a distinction with some financial weight, given Anthropic’s existing business relationships with major pharmaceutical firms. The company recently announced a joint drug-discovery collaboration with Novo Nordisk.
A Safety Pitch That Doesn’t Slow Down
Amodei’s essay, published last weekend, laid out a three-step plan intended to moderate the AI industry’s pace without stopping development outright. “To be clear, pacing does not mean halting model training or technical progress, but ensuring companies take adequate time to align and safeguard their models, and for third party evaluators to confirm this,” he wrote.
Anthropic says it has already taken the first step by giving third-party evaluators employee-level access to verify its safety practices and report incidents — a move Amodei says comes without “sacrificing commercial advantage or the United States’ lead in AI.” His second step calls for AI companies in democratic countries to coordinate on shared safety standards. His third and most ambitious step asks for cooperation between democratic and authoritarian governments on AI oversight.
The juxtaposition of Amodei’s public alarm-raising with his company’s expansion into hands-on biological experimentation has drawn skepticism. Investor and AI startup founder Chamath Palihapitiya posted on X: “The group behind such hits as: ‘We’re All Going To Die’ and ‘Regulate Me Now’ are building a wet lab in SF. I do not recommend this.”
Critics, including Big Short investor Steve Eisman, have separately argued that Amodei’s push for industry-wide slowdowns and regulation serves to protect Anthropic’s market position by making it harder for competitors to catch up.
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