AI for Science and Drug Discovery to Have Greatest Impact, Says Nvidia CEO
- tech360.tv
- Jul 20, 2025
- 2 min read
Artificial intelligence will have its most profound impact in science and drug discovery, according to Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang.
Speaking at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing on Thursday, Huang said AI’s application in science surpasses its use in human-related tasks due to the complexity of biology, which is created by nature and harder to manipulate.
Huang explained that while AI applied to human tasks is easier because it uses human-created language, biology requires deeper understanding. AI can help decode proteins, chemicals, cells, and life itself, enabling the design of drugs that help people live longer.
“AI for science is where we will make the greatest impact,” said Huang during a fireside chat with Alibaba Cloud founder Wang Jian.
Alibaba Cloud, the AI and cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group Holding, has been investing heavily in AI for science through its research division, Damo Academy.
Zhou Jingren, chief technology officer at Alibaba Cloud, said in January that the company is using AI to tackle global challenges, including climate risks and access to healthcare and education.
Biology has become a key focus for Alibaba’s AI efforts. In October, the company partnered with Sun Yat-sen University and the University of Sydney to unveil a deep-learning algorithm that detects viruses.
Damo Academy also developed AI tools Grape and Panda to detect early signs of gastric cancer and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Grape, which analyses 3D CT scans, has outperformed radiologists in accuracy and identified cases missed by human experts.
AI-driven biomolecular research and drug discovery are advancing rapidly, with Chinese firms aiming to rival Google’s DeepMind, whose AlphaFold models lead the field.
Hong Kong start-up IntelliGen AI recently announced that its IntFold model achieved accuracy comparable to AlphaFold 3 in several tasks.
Other Chinese tech giants, including ByteDance and Baidu, are also entering the space. ByteDance launched its Protenix model in January, while Baidu introduced HelixFold 3 last year.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AI will have the greatest impact in science and drug discovery
Biology is harder to manipulate than human-created language, making AI’s role more significant
Alibaba Cloud and Damo Academy are advancing AI tools for virus detection and cancer diagnosis
Source: SCMP
