Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, a specialist in bioengineering, made significant strides in next-generation drug development solutions by presenting promising advancements on Tuesday. The announcement was well-received by investors, leading to a surge in the company’s stock price, which closed more than 9% higher, outperforming the stagnant S&P 500 index.
The positive news from Ginkgo centered on its initiatives in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Despite a cooling interest in AI technology among investors in recent months, there remains substantial intrigue around its potential. The company introduced two new AI-related products during the announcement.
The first product is a protein large language model (LLM), developed in collaboration with Alphabet’s Google Cloud Consulting unit. This model aims to provide researchers and enterprise companies with enriched insights from Ginkgo’s proprietary data, thereby facilitating the development of new medicines.
Additionally, Ginkgo launched a model application programming interface (API), which has been made publicly accessible on the company’s website. This API is intended to enable researchers to interact effectively with biological AI models, fostering enhanced research capabilities.
While Ginkgo did not disclose financial specifics such as costs or pricing for these new offerings, the market’s reaction underscored investor enthusiasm for the company’s aggressive AI initiatives and its ongoing focus on leveraging technology to bolster drug development. Shareholders are hopeful that these endeavors will soon translate into significant revenue streams.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, serves on the board of directors for The Motley Fool. Eric Volkman, the author of the original article, holds no position in the mentioned stocks. The Motley Fool has holdings in and recommends Alphabet and operates under a disclosure policy.
