CHICAGO — Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM), a leader in AI-driven precision medicine, has announced expanded strategic agreements with AstraZeneca and Pathos AI, Inc. to jointly develop what is expected to become the largest multimodal foundation model in oncology. The initiative aims to leverage Tempus’ extensive repository of de-identified oncology data to generate biological and clinical insights, identify new drug targets, and advance therapeutic development across the cancer treatment landscape.
The multi-year collaborations include $200 million in data licensing and model development fees paid to Tempus. Once completed, the AI-powered foundation model will be shared among Tempus, AstraZeneca, and Pathos to support each organization’s efforts in accelerating cancer research and improving patient outcomes.
This agreement deepens Tempus’ ongoing partnership with AstraZeneca, which was first established in 2021. The expanded collaboration is designed to combine Tempus’ AI-enabled platform and vast multimodal datasets with AstraZeneca’s global oncology research capabilities to drive forward new therapeutic programs.
“Generative AI and large multimodal models are the final catalysts needed to bring precision medicine in oncology to scale,” said Eric Lefkofsky, Founder and CEO of Tempus. “We’ve spent the last decade building the data infrastructure necessary for a foundation model like this to emerge, and we are excited to work alongside AstraZeneca and Pathos to harness AI-driven solutions that can improve and extend patients’ lives.”
The foundation model will integrate diverse data types, including genomic, transcriptomic, imaging, and clinical information, to unlock new insights that may transform drug discovery and clinical development. AstraZeneca sees this as a major step in enhancing its research and development pipeline.
“Cancer drug discovery and clinical development are being transformed by the ability to analyze vast amounts of rich data using artificial intelligence,” said Jorge Reis-Filho, Chief AI and Data Scientist for Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca. “Collaborating with Tempus and Pathos to develop this multimodal oncology foundation model will help accelerate research and improve the success rate of our therapeutic programs.”
Pathos AI, which focuses on applying AI in drug discovery and development, also views the collaboration as a transformative opportunity.
“As AI becomes more integrated into drug development, the possibility of building foundation models that seemed far-fetched a few years ago is now within reach,” said Mohamad Makhzoumi, Co-CEO of NEA and a Pathos Board Member. “We’re thrilled to partner with Tempus and AstraZeneca to advance these efforts and unlock new pathways for improving patient outcomes.”
Together, the three companies aim to set a new standard in oncology research by combining cutting-edge AI with robust clinical data, paving the way for breakthroughs in cancer treatment and precision medicine.
