Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz has agreed to lead a $200 million investment in Periodic Labs, a new startup building artificial intelligence for material science, according to people familiar with the matter.
The agreement values Periodic Labs at $1 billion before the investment, an impressive price for a months-old company, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
OpenAI had previously agreed to lead the investment, but Periodic Labs decided that Andreessen Horowitz could offer more resources, one of the people said. OpenAI is still expected to participate in the financing and potentially team up with the company, the person said. The round hasn’t closed, and terms of the deal could change.
Andreessen Horowitz didn’t respond to a req