The AI drug breakthrough is taking a long time to arrive for reasons that may have little to do with the technology’s limits

Ben Mabey stands on a stage with an opal-colored background. (Credit: Ronda Churchill/Bloomberg—Getty Images)

• AI-leveraged drug development has become an $18 billion industry, but companies in the sector are experiencing some hardships. Beyond efforts to convenience investors their drugs are safe and effective, venture capital funding is drying up. Experts say this is due to macroeconomic and regulatory challenges and has less to do with failures from the technology itself.

Moonshot hopes of artificial intelligence being used to expedite the development of drugs are coming back down to earth.