London-based Inherent emerged from stealth with a $50m funding round to pursue what it calls AI-native science. The startup was founded by former DeepMind researchers Tantum Collins, Edward Hughes and Louis Kirsch, along with Kaloyan Aleksiev who previously worked at Reka AI and Microsoft.

Index Ventures led the round with Radical Ventures participating. Inherent's Faraday platform aims to merge human scientific inquiry with advanced AI systems to generate new inventions and innovations. The company argues that current AI excels at answering questions but lacks the open-ended curiosity needed to identify which questions matter.

Collins and Hughes previously collaborated on cooperative AI research at DeepMind, while Collins later worked on AI policy for the Biden White House. Early hires and angel investors include technical AI safety specialists, and former UK government AI tsar Matt Clifford has joined as an adviser.

The launch reflects growing investor appetite for AI applications beyond chatbots and content generation. With talent from leading AI labs and government experience, Inherent represents a shift toward AI systems that can autonomously drive scientific discovery rather than simply process existing knowledge.