Wednesday 26th November 2025 welcomed delegates from across academia, industry, and the AI community to The Spine in Liverpool for our first Agentic AI in Chemistry Symposium. The event was sold out and as interest in autonomous AI systems continues to grow at pace, this one-day event brought together leading voices to explore how agentic AI is reshaping chemical discovery.
The Rise of Agentic AI
The day opened with a welcome and keynote session introducing the rapidly evolving landscape of large language models acting as autonomous agents. Rather than simply generating text, these systems can now plan experiments, navigate datasets, and make decisions to accelerate the discovery of new molecules, materials, and reactions.
Professor Andy Cooper set the tone for the day with an insightful overview of where agentic AI has come from and where it’s heading. His talk emphasised the growing role of autonomy in scientific workflows and the opportunities for chemists to collaborate with AI systems in new and transformative ways.
Throughout the day, speakers showcased the latest agentic AI methods being developed and deployed across chemistry. Topics spanned from automated synthesis planning and experiment design, to multimodal models for molecular understanding, to real-world case studies where AI-driven autonomy is already helping researchers make breakthroughs faster. The programme highlighted just how quickly the field is evolving and how crucial it is for chemists, data scientists, and AI specialists to work together to shape these tools responsibly and effectively.
With the event reaching full capacity and a significant waiting list, it was clear that the appetite for agentic AI insights is stronger than ever. Attendees took full advantage of the networking opportunities throughout the day, particularly during lunch and the drinks reception, where discussions about collaboration and future research directions continued long after the talks had finished.
Looking Ahead
We were thrilled to see such engagement, curiosity, and enthusiasm from delegates. The connections made and conversations sparked throughout the day are a testament to the collaborative spirit driving this emerging field forward.
The success of this symposium marks an exciting moment for our community and reinforces the importance of bringing people together to discuss the science and the future of autonomous AI systems.
We’re already looking ahead to our AIchemy and Leverhulme Research Centre Conference 2026, now open for early-bird registration, where we’ll continue exploring the intersection of AI, chemistry, and innovation. We hope to see many familiar faces there.
We look forward to seeing you at our next event!
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