For centuries, scientific progress has relied on a familiar process of observation, experimentation, and human reasoning. While artificial intelligence has already begun accelerating research across fields ranging from biology to materials science, most AI systems today still operate within frameworks designed long before the digital age. London based AI research company Inherent believes the next breakthrough will come not from simply applying AI to existing scientific methods, but from fundamentally rethinking how discoveries are made. The company has now emerged from stealth mode with significant funding and an ambitious goal, building what it describes as a new model for AI native science.
Inherent has raised $50 million in seed funding through a round co led by Index Ventures and Radical Ventures.
The funding will support development of Faraday, the company’s flagship AI system designed to enable collaboration between human researchers and self improving artificial intelligence.
A Team Drawn From Leading AI Institutions
Inherent was founded by a group of researchers and technologists with backgrounds spanning some of the most influential organisations in artificial intelligence.
Co founders Tantum Collins, Edward Hughes, and Louis Kirsch previously worked at DeepMind, while co founder Kaloyan Aleksiev brings experience from Reka AI and Microsoft.
Collins has also contributed to AI policy development through work at the White House during the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
The company has additionally attracted support from prominent figures within the technology and startup ecosystem, including Matt Clifford, who serves as an advisor.
Building Faraday
At the centre of Inherent’s vision is Faraday, an AI system named after pioneering scientist Michael Faraday.
The company describes Faraday as a platform designed to allow human researchers and self improving AI systems to work together on some of science’s most complex and difficult challenges.
Rather than simply automating individual research tasks, Faraday is intended to participate more actively in the discovery process itself.
According to Inherent, the platform aims to support a deeper integration between human expertise and machine intelligence, enabling new forms of scientific exploration that would be difficult to achieve through traditional methods alone.
Rethinking the Scientific Method
One of the company’s most ambitious goals is what it calls writing the playbook for AI native science.
Inherent argues that many current applications of AI in research still rely heavily on scientific processes developed centuries ago.
The company believes artificial intelligence creates an opportunity to rethink how hypotheses are generated, experiments are designed, knowledge is organised, and discoveries are validated.
Investors supporting the company share this vision. According to Danny Rimer, Faraday is designed not as an AI layer added onto existing scientific workflows but as a system built to help humans and AI collaborate on genuine scientific discovery from first principles.
Exploring the Frontiers of Discovery
Inherent says it intends to explore the frontiers of scientific research across multiple disciplines while developing new methodologies for AI driven discovery.
The company’s broader ambition is to establish frameworks that allow self improving AI systems and researchers to work together more effectively in solving complex scientific problems.
As artificial intelligence continues moving beyond productivity tools and software automation, a growing number of researchers believe its greatest impact may ultimately be in accelerating humanity’s ability to understand the natural world.
With a highly experienced founding team, substantial early funding, and a mission focused on transforming scientific discovery itself, Inherent is positioning itself at the forefront of this emerging field of AI powered research.