Why AI Is About to Rewrite the Scientific Method (and Why the Name “Lila” Says It All)

Rose Odette
Oct 20
3 min read

Introduction - Rewrite the Scientific Method

Every few decades, a company doesn’t just innovate — it rewrites the playbook. That’s what Lila Sciences, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just did. Backed by NVIDIA and Flagship Pioneering (yes, the same powerhouse behind Moderna), Lila raised $550 million to create what they call AI Science Factories — fully automated, AI-directed labs that run experiments nonstop.

This isn’t science as we know it. It’s science on autopilot — discovery without downtime.

The Big Idea: What Happens When You Unleash AI on Science

Imagine this: instead of one lab running a handful of tests each week, AI now generates thousands of hypotheses, designs experiments, executes them with robotic precision, analyzes the data, and loops the results back into its own learning system — all in a single day.

This is the scientific method, supercharged. Lila’s “AI Science Factory” isn’t just a lab; it’s a living, learning organism. Every experiment feeds the next. Every discovery compounds.

And because Lila generates its own proprietary experimental data, it’s building what no large language model ever had — an original intelligence grounded in fresh, physical-world results.

Why the Name “Lila” Is Brilliant

“Lila” comes from the Sanskrit līlā, meaning divine play — the creative dance of the universe. It’s the perfect metaphor.

What Lila has built is exactly that: a system where curiosity is set free to play — testing, failing, learning, and discovering on an endless loop. They’ve turned the act of discovery itself into a kind of joyous automation.

The Backstory and the Scale

Lila was founded in 2023 inside Flagship Pioneering, the venture studio known for spawning billion-dollar bioplatforms. The CEO, Dr. Geoffrey von Maltzahn, is a serial Flagship founder, and Dr. George Church, the legendary Harvard geneticist, serves as Chief Scientist. They are Rewrite the Scientific Method. They just signed a 235,000-square-foot lease in Cambridge, Massachusetts, marking one of the largest lab expansions in the area’s history. With $550 million raised and a $1.3 billion valuation, they’re not just scaling a company — they’re scaling the very process of discovery itself.

Five Lessons for Future Builders

Create proprietary data. The future belongs to those who own original datasets.
Build self-learning systems. Whether in science or business, close the feedback loop.
Partner for power. Align with giants that amplify your reach — like NVIDIA did for Lila.
Accelerate iteration. “Perfect” is too slow. Move fast, refine fast, repeat.
Make discovery your culture. Curiosity is the most profitable mindset in any era.