On 19 September, Professor Bao Nguyen and AIchemy hosted a landmark workshop on RAG models and AI agents in chemical discovery and development at the University of Leeds. The event brought together 36 leading voices from across academia and industry, united by a shared goal: to explore how these rapidly advancing AI systems can transform the chemical sciences.
Participants joined from across the UK’s top universities alongside major industry players such as Unilever, AstraZeneca, Biovia, Johnson & Johnson, CCDC, Evotec, and Thrive Science.
Over the course of the event, participants engaged in in-depth discussions on the most promising areas of application of RAG and agentic AI within chemical research and development. Alongside the excitement, participants addressed the technical and practical challenges that remain; the urgent need to train and equip the workforce to fully leverage these emerging technologies, the complexity of integrating diverse data sources, and the need for strong collaboration across the ecosystem.
Through this dialogue, a broad consensus was reached on the strategic priorities that will be essential for the UK to maintain and strengthen its competitive edge in research and development in this field.
Next steps
Equally important, the workshop created a dynamic networking environment, enabling researchers in AI and chemistry to connect directly with industry end-users, major data custodians (CCDC, RSC), and key funders (STFC, AIchemy Hub/EPSRC). This interaction not only fostered new collaborations but also laid the groundwork for long-term partnerships. A dedicated networking board was organised to support the formation of proposal teams, a step expected to catalyse major research initiatives and funding bids. Looking ahead, the momentum generated by the workshop is set to accelerate progress in this exciting and strategically important area of scientific innovation.
It was a pleasure to welcome so many leading experts and collaborators to Leeds for this workshop, and to see such a high level of engagement throughout the day. The contributions of everyone who attended were invaluable in shaping the discussions and setting the direction for future progress.
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