Merck & Co. has expanded its partnership with Variational AI through a deal potentially worth $349 million, focusing on applying the Enki generative AI platform to design novel small molecule therapeutics against two undisclosed targets. Variational AI will fine-tune its machine learning models using Merck’s proprietary data, accelerating hit generation and candidate optimization. The collaboration aims to improve discovery efficiency and reduce costs, exemplifying the increasing integration of AI into pharmaceutical research pipelines.