Broad Institute opens new $300M center to answer 1 question: What's possible when you apply machine learning to biology?

In the midst of what director Todd Golub called two revolutions — one biological one and one computational — the Broad Institute is launching a new center funded by a former Google chief to explore the intersection of machine learning and biotechnology.

The Broad on Thursday unveiled the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center, complete with a $150 million endowment from the Schmidts and a few Big Pharma partners in the wings. In addition to the Schmidts’ contribution, the Broad Foundation is throwing in another $150 million.