Illumina unveiled the Billion Cell Atlas, a genome‑wide genetic perturbation dataset designed to accelerate AI‑driven drug discovery. The company says the atlas will provide high‑resolution maps of how gene perturbations affect cellular behavior across hundreds of cell lines, enabling target validation and training of large biological models. Illumina named AstraZeneca, Merck and Eli Lilly as founding participants; each will use the resource to validate targets and train discovery models. The dataset aims to move beyond static genetic associations by providing experimental perturbation data that pharma can use to test hypotheses at scale. For drug developers, the atlas could shorten early R&D timelines by improving target de‑risking and by supplying standardized training data for virtual cell models. Illumina plans to scale the resource toward one billion cells over the next three years, positioning the company as a provider of both genomic data and AI training infrastructure.