In one of their first ever acquisitions, Relay bets $85M cash on a new AI-based screening approach

On Friday, though, the Third Rock-spun biotech plunked down $85 million in cash and another $185 million in milestones to acquire the small, two-year-old, Google-partnered machine learning company ZebiAI. The deal will allow Relay to add a critical new technology to its early-stage discovery tools now that, with three candidates in the clinic, they’ve shown those tools can pay off, said CEO Sanjiv Patel.