Variant Bio and Boehringer Ingelheim struck a research collaboration and license to discover novel targets for kidney and cardiorenal disease, with Variant eligible for upfront and milestone payments totaling over $120 million. Variant will deploy its AI‑powered Inference platform—an LLM‑driven system that integrates large genomic and multiomics datasets—to identify and validate therapeutic hypotheses; Boehringer will apply its clinical expertise in cardiovascular and renal disease for downstream development. The pact is the latest example of big pharma pairing R&D muscle with AI‑native genomics firms to accelerate target discovery in high‑unmet‑need renal indications. Variant’s CEO framed the agreement as validation of its Inference engine and as a route to translate genomic discoveries into drug programs for kidney disease.