Ex-Meta scientists debut gigantic AI protein design model
Nature
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Contributed by: Reid Stephan
Summary
EvolutionaryScale has introduced ESM3, a large protein language model, to design new fluorescent molecules, with applications potentially extending into drug development and sustainability. The company, founded by former Meta scientists, secured $142 million in funding to advance its work. ESM3 was trained on over 2.7 billion protein sequences and has demonstrated its capability by redesigning green fluorescent protein (GFP) variants. Although the model’s open-source version omits sensitive sequences, its extensive computational requirements place full replication beyond the reach of most academic labs. EvolutionaryScale aims to apply ESM3 to diverse scientific challenges, including plastic-eating enzymes and new protein-based drugs.
