News

SandboxAQ Taps NVIDIA DGX Cloud to Advance AI-Driven Scientific Discovery

• By John K. Waters
• 04/16/2025

AI and quantum computing firm SandboxAQ announced a collaboration with NVIDIA on Monday aimed at accelerating breakthroughs in scientific discovery and industry innovation through the deployment of a new Large Quantitative Model (LQM) platform powered by NVIDIA DGX Cloud on Google Cloud.

The partnership will enhance SandboxAQ's ability to tackle complex challenges across biopharma, chemicals, advanced materials, medical imaging, financial services, and cybersecurity by delivering unprecedented speed and accuracy in large-scale simulations and AI-driven modeling. SandboxAQ, a member of the NVIDIA Inception program, says the integration of DGX Cloud technology will significantly reduce R&D timelines and expand the scale of autonomous discovery.

"Our expanded work with NVIDIA accelerates our customers' ability to innovate and lead in their fields," said Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, in a statement. "By developing our platform on NVIDIA DGX Cloud and continuing our research collaboration, SandboxAQ will deliver a level of performance and insight that gives our customers a clear edge."

Founded out of Alphabet Inc., SandboxAQ operates as a standalone AI and quantum company backed by major institutional and private investors, including T. Rowe Price, BNP Paribas, S32, and Marc Benioff.

The new platform replaces traditional "design-make-test" scientific workflows with high-performance, equation-based simulations that the company says can reduce discovery timelines from months to weeks. In drug and chemical development, it enables simultaneous multi-parameter optimization, speeding up validation and increasing confidence in outcomes.

SandboxAQ's LQMs are trained on high-fidelity, domain-specific datasets, combining biological and chemical data to improve drug efficacy predictions and reduce false positives. Its new Agentic AI Chemist can autonomously explore millions of molecular combinations, pushing the boundaries of compound discovery and optimization.

"With NVIDIA DGX Cloud, SandboxAQ is pushing the boundaries of AI-native science," said Alexis Bjorlin, Vice President of NVIDIA DGX Cloud, in a statement. "Our platform provides the scale and performance needed to accelerate real-world impact."

The announcement follows a series of joint research achievements between the two companies. In 2024, SandboxAQ and NVIDIA reported an 80x acceleration in quantum chemistry simulations using CUDA-accelerated methods, enabling accurate modeling of enzyme active sites and complex catalysts. A 2025 study published by the partners demonstrated the first orbital optimization on a system with 82 electrons and 82 orbitals—doubling the scale of prior simulations.

These breakthroughs, made possible by GPU-accelerated quantum chemistry, mark a shift in what is computationally feasible for simulations in catalysis, materials science, and high-dimensional modeling.

The enhanced LQM platform is designed to deliver strategic outcomes across multiple industries. In biopharma, the company has helped reduce preclinical timelines and optimize therapeutic candidates. In energy and materials, it enables faster validation of sustainable chemical processes and next-generation storage technologies. In cybersecurity, advanced modeling improves resilience and supports proactive defense strategies.