Eli Lilly partners with Nvidia to build AI supercomputer for drug discovery

Drugmaker Eli Lilly has teamed up with artificial-intelligence chip designer Nvidia to build what the companies say will be the most powerful supercomputer run by a pharmaceutical company to boost the discovery of new medicines.

- Peter Loftus & Robbie Whelan

Lilly's supercomputer will be run by over 1,000 GPUs. REUTERS

Lilly, which makes the popular weight-loss drug Zep-bound and treatments for diabetes and cancer, said the supercomputer and its AI capabilities will allow it to identify new molecules and to speed up the typical yearslong development timelines.

Indianapolis-based Lilly also will tap the system for other functions such as improving clinical trials, manufacturing processes and sales.

The companies, which announced the partnership Tuesday, declined to disclose financial terms of the deal. Lilly said some of the Nvidia equipment arrived at the company’s Indianapolis data center over the weekend. Lilly expects the system to be online by January.

Yet the industry’s use of AI is still in the early stages, and companies have had more success using AI tools for back-office functions or designing clinical trials than for discovering new drugs and getting them to market.