Biodefense startup Valthos emerged from stealth on Friday with $30 million in funding backed by ChatGPT creator OpenAI to develop artificial intelligence systems that detect and counter biological threats in real time. The company develops AI platforms that update medical countermeasures to match the speed of biological threats, allowing researchers and government agencies to identify and respond to pathogens as fast as they emerge.
Leadership and Vision
Founded in New York last November, Valthos is led by Kathleen McMahon, formerly Head of Life Science at Palantir Technologies; Tess van Stekelenburg, a former researcher of computational neuroscience at the University of Oxford; and Victor Mao, a founding AI engineer who previously worked as a research engineer at Google DeepMind.
"In this new world, the only way forward is to be faster. So we set out to build the tech stack for biodefense," the founding team stated. "Our team of computational biologists and software engineers applies frontier AI to identify biological threats and update medical countermeasures in real-time."
Technology Platform
Valthos's software uses biological data from commercial and government sources, including air and wastewater monitoring, to identify emerging threats and assess risks using AI tools. The platform analyzes biological sequences and adapts existing medicines or treatments in response—technology the company claims could shrink the time between identifying a new threat and developing a response from months to hours.
"The only way to deter an attack is to know when it's happening, update countermeasures, and deploy them fast," said McMahon. The company is also working on AI systems to update medical countermeasures for evolving threats and plans to partner with pharmaceutical firms for manufacturing and distribution.
Investment and Strategic Backing
Joining the OpenAI Startup Fund in the $30 million investment are Lux Capital and Founders Fund. OpenAI's Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon said Valthos is the first biosecurity investment that OpenAI has considered making, hinting at more such investments in the future.
"Technology is moving fast. One of the best ways to keep up is with more technology, more research, more startups and more entrepreneurship," Kwon said. "An industrial ecosystem of builders, companies and solutions further democratizes AI to provide broad resilience, and ensures the U.S. continues to lead as AI increasingly powers everything around us."
Market Context and Future Outlook
Defense tech has become a popular area for venture capital investment, with Silicon Valley investors pouring billions into autonomous drones, advanced nuclear systems, and other national security projects. However, funding for biotech, including bioweapons defense, has hit its lowest level in over a decade, even as well-funded AI research raises the stakes for innovation in biotechnology.
Traditional defense measures rely on vaccines, detection networks, and drug stockpiles, but those are often too slow for a world where synthetic biology can rapidly create new or modified organisms. "Today, it's faster to weaponize biology than to advance new cures," Valthos stated. "Our future hangs in the balance."
As the US government will be a major customer for Valthos, McMahon said the startup will apply many of the same principles she learned at Palantir about working with officials as well as commercial customers. "We need to meet operators where they are," she said. The company is currently hiring engineers and researchers to expand its platform for government and life sciences partners.
Lux Capital partner Brandon Reeves predicts Valthos will be one of many companies focusing on biosecurity tools in the future, as the intersection of AI and biotechnology continues to evolve rapidly.
