Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School developed an autonomous laboratory that can independently produce thin metal films, marrying robotics and AI to accelerate materials discovery and reduce iterative cycles. In parallel, institute FutureHouse unveiled an AI 'scientist' named Kosmos and a for-profit spinoff to commercialize automated experimental planning. Together these efforts highlight a rapid push to embed algorithm-driven experiment design and execution into both academic and translational pipelines.