On September 11, BioMap and BGI Tech signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two companies aim to build a proprietary cell large model, elevate the capabilities of modeling cell states and predicting perturbation responses, and establish a high-quality data infrastructure. They also plan to explore an integrated product model of "equipment + model + agent", accelerating the progress of AI4S (AI for Science).
The most intriguing aspect of this collaboration is the seamless integration of their roles. BGI Tech stands at the upstream of sequencing and laboratory automation equipment, holding the hardware entry point that generates real biological data; BioMap, on the other hand, excels in using AI to model life systems, being a rare leading player in the AI4S field. Combining "data-generating equipment" with "cell-understanding models" creates a dedicated data pipeline from the source to model training — the cell large model will no longer rely only on public or fragmented data, but instead be built on the high-quality infrastructure jointly established by both parties.
Following the product roadmap of "equipment + model + agent," the two companies aim not just for one model, but a closed-loop system that can be directly embedded into research and industrial processes: equipment generates data, the model understands cells, and the agent takes on specific tasks. For both companies, this is a clear signal to push AI4S further from papers and demos toward tangible products.
