Anthropic has quietly established a physical biology laboratory, known as a wet lab, in the San Francisco Bay Area to conduct hands-on experiments beyond computer simulations.

Two people familiar with the matter first reported the development, which aligns with the company's push into life sciences. Eric Kauderer-Abrams, Anthropic's head of life sciences, confirmed the facility in an interview and emphasized its role in the company's work.

"We believe that to do biology, the final test is still and will be for a while in real lab work," Kauderer-Abrams said. "We absolutely are doing that today, and I would describe our approach as being typical of what you would see in most biotech companies, where there's some amount of that that we're doing in our own facilities and some amount of that that we're working with external partners on."

The lab supports Anthropic's broader goals in life sciences, including efforts to unlock treatments for rare diseases. The company has stated it will stop short of clinical trials to avoid direct competition with pharmaceutical firms. Its focus in the new facility centers on fundamental biology rather than drug discovery specifically.

Anthropic aims to eventually have its Claude AI models direct robotic systems in lab settings, though officials described this as still in the early stages. The company also maintains external partnerships for some biological work.

Life sciences has grown into one of Anthropic's largest areas by headcount and spending. The firm acquired stealth AI biotech Coefficient Bio in April for approximately $400 million in stock. It has also launched specialized tools like Claude Science for researchers and a verification program for vetted biology users.

The development comes as Anthropic and other AI firms explore applications in drug science and related fields while stressing the need for human oversight in biological research.