Ex‑Anthropic team raises $175M
A group of ex‑Anthropic researchers has raised $175 million at a $1 billion valuation for Mirendil, a startup focused on applying AI to biology and materials science, according to a social post reported. That round highlights continued investor appetite for AI plays that target specialized, science‑heavy verticals and suggests a fresh pipeline for tech M&A and VC advisory.
Mirendil was founded by Behnam Neyshabur (CEO) and Harsh Mehta (CTO), according to reporting that first surfaced this week. the-decoder.com The company incorporated in California as Mirendil Inc. on December 10, 2025, per state business filings. bizprofile.net Neyshabur is described as having co‑led Anthropic’s Discovery / scientific reasoning efforts and previously spent more than five years at Google DeepMind, while Mehta served as a senior research scientist — background details laid out in profiles and reporting. neyshabur.net Several outlets say Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins are in talks to co‑lead the startup’s investment, though press coverage notes terms remain under negotiation. theinformation.com Neyshabur’s public statements frame Mirendil’s technical goal as building an “AI Scientist/Engineer” that can perform long‑term scientific reasoning across the model stack. neyshabur.net Reporting on the team indicates hires from other notable labs, including ex‑xAI and OpenAI staff, signaling cross‑lab talent aggregation around science‑first AI work. mlq.ai Observers place Mirendil alongside the so‑called “neo‑lab” wave of AI companies focused specifically on biology and materials science, a pattern flagged in multiple recent pieces. the-decoder.com
