The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is restructuring its philanthropic strategy to concentrate primarily on AI-driven biological research, marking a significant shift in its mission a decade after its founding. The organization, launched by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan in 2015, announced that its Biohub network will now be its primary focus and will receive the majority of its resources.
Since its inception, CZI has supported disease research, education programs, and community-focused initiatives. The organization highlighted its scientific work — particularly the establishment and growth of the Biohub network — as its most substantial contribution to date. The founders stated that advances in artificial intelligence have opened a path to accelerate progress in understanding and treating diseases dramatically.
CZI plans to develop Biohub into what it describes as the first research organization integrating frontier AI models with cutting-edge biological experimentation. The model centers on collaborative labs where engineers and scientists jointly develop new tools, produce large-scale biological datasets, and train AI systems capable of simulating cellular processes and immune responses.
To support this expansion, CZI has recruited leading AI researchers known for developing protein language models, who will work alongside scientific teams at Biohub locations in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. The organization has also built a large GPU computing cluster tailored for biological applications and has assembled what it says is the largest dataset of human cell types currently available.
While CZI will continue other philanthropic programs, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will now primarily operate as infrastructure supporting Biohub activities.
In a statement announcing the shift, Zuckerberg and Chan expressed confidence in the potential of AI to accelerate the timeline for preventing and curing disease, saying they believe goals once viewed as long-term may now be achievable sooner than expected.
