Absci vs Chai Discovery (2026)
Absci and Chai Discovery both design antibodies de novo with AI, and CB Insights lists Chai among Absci's top competitors, as does coverage of Chai's 2025 funding round. Their business models differ. Absci develops medicines: Origin-1 designs antibodies against chosen epitopes, its own laboratory tests them in rounds of about six weeks, and the best become internal programs such as ABS-201, now in a Phase 1/2a trial, or partnered programs. Chai licenses its models to drug companies instead of building a pipeline. Chai-2 and Chai-3 design antibodies and miniproteins from a target and epitope, the earlier Chai-1 structure model is openly released, and a November 2025 update reported 24 of 28 antigens yielding at least one clean antibody design and binders to all six G protein coupled receptors tested; Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis and argenx have announced agreements. Absci suits a partner that wants a designer and developer to carry a program; Chai suits a team that wants to run de novo design models inside its own research.
- Design, laboratory testing and development run inside one company.
- An antibody in the clinic, ABS-201, from its own platform.
- Lead optimization models for developability, half life and immunogenicity.
- Partnership deals structured around milestones and royalties.
- Licensed access to design models for use by the customer's own scientists.
- Published success rates with design counts for each target class.
- An openly released structure prediction model, Chai-1.
- Custom models trained on a customer's own data.
This comparison is published by AI Health Index, an independent research platform that compares healthcare AI vendors objectively. Absci and Chai Discovery are each graded against the same capability taxonomy, from each vendor's own public materials and the regulatory record, under the AI Health Index verification standard. No vendor pays for placement, and no vendor has reviewed this page. How this evidence is graded
Plain facts
| Fact | Absci | Chai Discovery |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Drug Discovery AI | Drug Discovery AI |
| Founded | 2011 | 2024 |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, Washington | San Francisco, California |
| Website | absci.com | chaidiscovery.com |
Side by Side
Select any grade to read the note behind it.
Each vendor in one paragraph
Written to be quoted whole. Each paragraph states what the AI Health Index verified about the vendor, with the caveats attached.
Absci is a clinical stage company that designs antibodies with its Origin-1 model and its own laboratory and develops them itself or with partners; its lead, ABS-201, is in a Phase 1/2a trial for pattern hair loss with endometriosis planned next.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
Chai Discovery licenses foundation models for antibody and miniprotein design to drug companies, letting their scientists specify a target, epitope and format and receive candidate designs, with success rates published by target class.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
Questions buyers ask
Does each sell software?
Chai licenses its design models, so a customer's scientists run them. Absci sells no software; partners receive designed and tested candidates from its own laboratory. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 12, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
What design results has each made public?
Chai's November 2025 update reports clean antibody designs for 24 of 28 antigens and binders for all six G protein coupled receptors tested. Absci reports interim Phase 1 data for ABS-201 and a 2026 mAbs paper on predicting antibody polyreactivity. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 12, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Which formats does each cover?
Chai designs full monoclonal and VHH antibodies and miniproteins. Absci's own pipeline centers on antibodies against prolactin receptor and cytokine targets. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 12, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Related comparisons
Other published head to head assessments involving these vendors or their closest peers. The full set for this category is on the Drug Discovery AI page.
Eli Lilly has an agreement with Chai Discovery and made a $40 million investment in Absci in June 2026.