Anthropic has established a wet lab in the San Francisco Bay Area to conduct hands-on biological research, extending its life-sciences efforts beyond computer simulations and traditional pharmaceutical development. Eric Kauderer-Abrams, who leads the division, said physical experiments remain the ultimate validation method for biological research. The company acquired Coefficient Bio in a stock transaction valued at about $400 million, introduced the Claude Science software platform and welcomed Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan to its board. Its hiring and partnerships with Genentech, Bristol Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk reflect the expansion, although Anthropic says it will not directly commercialize drugs or conduct clinical trials at this stage. CEO Dario Amodei has linked the effort to his father’s death from a disease for which effective treatment arrived only years later. The initiative is unfolding alongside warnings from Anthropic researchers about existential AI risks, the company’s claims about possible biological-weapons applications of its systems, Amodei’s calls to slow AI progress and plans for a potential public offering at a valuation analysts suggest could reach $2 trillion. Anthropic envisions Claude directing robotic laboratory systems with limited human involvement, while stressing that human supervision remains necessary.