Former DeepMind researchers have secured $50 million to develop AI that determines which scientific questions are worth exploring.

      Inherent, an AI lab based in London, has raised $50 million in a seed funding round co-led by Index Ventures and Radical Ventures to develop self-improving AI aimed at scientific discovery. The investment also saw participation from NVentures, Ex/Ante, Metaplanet, Macroscopic Ventures, and Mythos Ventures, marking one of the largest seed rounds for AI in Europe in 2026.

      The founding team includes talent from DeepMind, Microsoft, and Reka AI, with Tantum Collins and Edward Hughes previously working together on collaborative AI research at DeepMind. Co-founder Louis Kirsch has a background at DeepMind, while Kaloyan Aleksiev previously worked at both Reka AI and Microsoft. Notably, Collins brings a policy perspective uncommon among AI lab founders, having previously been involved in AI policy at the Biden White House before co-founding Inherent. Additionally, Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneurs First and former UK AI tsar, serves as an adviser.

      Inherent is developing a platform called Faraday, named after the scientist, which focuses not on answering questions more quickly but on identifying which questions are worth pursuing initially. Danny Rimer from Index Ventures pointed out that while most AI today is designed to answer questions, it lacks the ability to discern which ones are truly valuable—an aspect that Faraday aims to address.

      Faraday will integrate human researchers with AI agents that can iteratively enhance themselves while tackling challenging scientific issues. Inherent describes this as "AI-native science," which is envisioned to differ significantly from the established scientific method of the last 400 years. Index Ventures characterized this approach as “messier” and less straightforward but capable of producing remarkable outcomes, suggesting that the primary value of advanced AI lies not in automating existing processes but in facilitating breakthroughs that human researchers alone could not achieve.

      Established as a public benefit corporation, Inherent is legally required to consider its societal impact in addition to shareholder profits, a structure that is uncommon among venture-backed AI labs. This indicates that the founders perceive governance as a potential competitive advantage.

      European AI startups are increasingly demonstrating their capability to secure funding at levels previously exclusive to Silicon Valley. Inherent’s $50 million seed funding complements other significant European raises, such as Peec AI’s $10 million in six months, Lovable’s $100 million in a month, and Mistral’s $300 million ARR, highlighting a narrowing gap in funding between Europe and the U.S. for companies developing genuinely innovative technologies.

      Anthropic’s Glasswing project has shown that advanced AI can identify vulnerabilities more rapidly than humans can address them. Inherent believes a similar principle applies to scientific discovery, where AI agents can explore hypothesis spaces quicker than human researchers, who will provide necessary judgment, intuition, and ethical oversight.

      With a combination of DeepMind research expertise and White House policy experience, the team is well-positioned to appeal to both the scientific community and government bodies that support basic research. The success of Faraday in fulfilling the vision of AI-native science will take time to assess, but the $50 million funding allows the team the opportunity to explore this potential.