Google Cloud and Ai2 have partnered with the Cancer AI Alliance, a coalition of leading research institutions and tech companies focused on using AI to combat cancer. The two companies announced they are investing $20 million to support the effort and provide access to needed technology to accelerate scientific discovery.
“The Cancer AI Alliance represents a major advancement in harnessing AI to transform cancer discovery and research,” Google’s Director for State and Local Government and Education, Reymund Dumlao, said in a statement. “Google Cloud’s planet-scale AI infrastructure and analytics combined with Ai2’s mission to make open models more accessible will help accelerate research breakthroughs and drive improvements in patient outcomes.”
Medical research and pharmacology are likely two sectors where AI is proving to have valuable applications. Leveraging advanced models and immense computing power offers the technology necessary to accelerate the discovery of new treatments. Drug discovery is typically time-intensive and complex, relying on trial-and-error experimentation. However, the expectation is that incorporating AI can shake things up and spur faster breakthroughs.
Under the terms of this deal, Google Cloud will provide the AI infrastructure and security, while Ai2 will deliver the training and development of cancer models.
Established in 2024, the Cancer AI Alliance is a consortium of four renowned U.S. cancer centers—the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins—and four technology companies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Deloitte, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Its mandate is to pool its collective power and apply AI responsibly to surface insights while keeping the data secure.
“The potential for AI to advance healthcare is immense, and CAIA represents a significant step toward applying AI to some of the most challenging problems in cancer and AI research,” Ai2 Chief Executive Ali Farhadi stated. “For the first time, cancer centers are bringing their data together, and it’s imperative we architect data preparation and model training in a way that protects patient privacy while demonstrating the advancements we make by sharing data effectively and securely. Our open yet privacy-protected distributed approach allows researchers and clinicians to build on and learn from AI models without the need to directly share data.”
The addition of Google Cloud gives the Cancer AI Alliance access to three major cloud computing providers. That assumes Microsoft and AWS are offering similar support. But because science requires enormous processing power, it’s good that the coalition can utilize this infrastructure.
Ai2’s involvement is notable because of its open-source advocacy and development of tools to help fine-tune models and identify where the data is coming from in responses. The non-profit organization also has a history of working in the science field. Farhadi once told me his team is building a research assistant agent for scientists.
“[Google’s and Ai2’s] generous contribution of AI and computing expertise and resources, when combined with the technical and scientific prowess of our collective partners, will play a key role in creating the world’s most advanced cancer AI laboratory and dramatically accelerate cancer research and improve patient outcomes,” Jeff Leek, the chief data officer at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, remarked.
The Cancer AI Alliance previously received more than $40 million in funding.
Featured Image: An AI-generated image of medical scientists consulting AI to aid in drug discovery. Credit: Imagen 3
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