Radical AI Self-Driving Lab

Radical AI, Inc. develops AI-driven materials discovery built around self-driving laboratories. Its website lists company news from 2025 to 2026, including a USD 55 million funding announcement in July 2025, and press items place the team in New York.

The platform generates experiments with AI, runs them in an automated lab and feeds standardized data back to the models so that candidate materials are tested physically rather than only simulated. Automated sample preparation was developed with Makino, and results have been validated with partners such as Sandia National Laboratories and Purdue Applied Research Institute.

• AI experiment generation: AI proposes experiments aimed at set performance goals.
• Self-driving lab: automated experiments are run and results are used to refine the next round.
• Lab-AI software link: software connects AI models to lab equipment so simulated results are tested physically.
• Standardized data: experimental data is collected in a uniform format to feed back into the AI.
• Automated sample preparation: a machine developed with Makino prepares samples automatically.

Joint development of heat-resistant alloys for aerospace or industrial equipment suppliers. Screening of catalysts or purification materials for hydrogen and clean energy projects. Collaboration with Vietnamese universities and materials manufacturers on new coatings or alloys.

Shortens the loop between AI prediction and physical testing of new materials. Standardized data collection improves the quality of data returned to the models. A Purdue test reported a 125x increase in environmental survivability compared with the aerospace alloy C103. Partnerships with national laboratories provide external validation.

Materials R&D is moving from manual trial and error toward AI combined with automated experimentation. Demand is strong in aerospace, energy and hydrogen applications. For Vietnam and Southeast Asia, interest in new alloys, catalysts and battery materials may lead to research collaborations rather than product sales.

Radical AI, Inc. Partners listed on the site: Sandia National Laboratories, Purdue Applied Research Institute, Makino. Company news lists USD 55 million new funding (July 2025), a U.S. Air Force contract (August 2025), an MoU with the U.S. Department of Energy (December 2025) and a TIME Best Inventions 2026 listing for its self-driving lab (October 2026).