Partnership aims to accelerate drug development
Eli Lilly and Nvidia have announced a partnership to build what they describe as the pharmaceutical industry’s most powerful AI-driven supercomputer and “AI factory.” The goal is to transform how drugs are discovered and developed by reducing both time and cost. The new system is expected to be operational by January 2026, with potential returns projected toward the end of the decade.
The effort represents a significant step forward for the use of artificial intelligence in life sciences. Drug development typically spans about ten years from the first human dose to commercial availability. With Nvidia’s advanced GPUs and Eli Lilly’s proprietary data, both companies hope to accelerate that timeline by several years.
New computing tools to expand research capacity
The supercomputer, operated and owned by Eli Lilly, will use more than 1,000 of Nvidia’s latest Blackwell Ultra GPUs. These are connected through a high-speed, unified network designed to power an “AI factory,” a system that develops, trains, and deploys large-scale AI models specifically for pharmaceutical use.
“This is like an enormous microscope for biologists,” said Thomas Fuchs, Chief AI Officer at Eli Lilly. The new system allows researchers to train AI on millions of simulated experiments, expanding the potential for discovering new treatments and molecules previously out of reach.
While there are currently no AI-designed drugs on the market, the number of candidates entering clinical trials is growing. The project may lay the foundation for wider adoption across the pharmaceutical sector in the coming years.
Sector-wide collaboration through Lilly’s TuneLab
Beyond internal use, Eli Lilly is offering access to its AI models through the TuneLab platform, launched in September. This initiative allows biotech companies to use AI models trained on Eli Lilly’s research, valued at $1 billion. In return, participating companies contribute data to further train and refine the models using federated learning, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure.
“Startups often spend years building what TuneLab can now offer from day one,” said Nvidia’s Vice President of Healthcare Kimberly Powell. She emphasized that the initiative could shorten the development cycle for smaller companies, making cutting-edge research tools more accessible.
Precision medicine and future impact
The supercomputer will also support Eli Lilly’s ambitions in precision medicine — an approach that customizes treatment based on a person’s genetics, lifestyle, and environment. AI-driven tools will help researchers gain clearer insights into disease progression and identify new biomarkers for tailored treatments.
“We want to deliver on the promise of precision medicine,” Powell said. “Without a strong AI infrastructure, that future remains out of reach.” Eli Lilly views this project as a foundation for longer-term innovation, even if the most meaningful outcomes may not be visible until 2030 or beyond.
As AI capabilities advance and partnerships like this mature, the pharmaceutical industry could see fundamental changes in how medicines are developed, tested, and brought to market.
