Standard Industries, a global industrial company, along with its operating business W. R. Grace & Co., a leader in specialty chemicals and materials, launched the Standard Industries Chemical Innovation Challenge: Advancing AI-Assisted Molecular Synthesis.

Standard will award US$ 1 million to an individual or team that best uses AI to transform the process in which fine chemicals—vital building blocks in products ranging from medicine to food to supplements—are made.

This process, known as chemical retrosynthesis—when chemists start with a desired molecule and work backward to figure out the best pathway forward—is a time and resource consuming task, relying heavily on manual analysis and trial and error. AI and machine learning capabilities can streamline and optimize this process.

Recognizing this opportunity, Standard is inviting companies, academics, and individuals from around the globe to create a machine-based platform that will enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability of chemical retrosynthesis, to benefit industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to materials science.

In addition to the $1 million award, the winning team will have the opportunity to form a strategic partnership with Grace, a chemical industry leader that works with major pharmaceutical and other companies to supply the materials science expertise that takes products from small trials to large-scale commercial manufacturing.

"As a global industrial company, we invest in technologies that impact not just our digital lives, but the built physical world. AI and machine learning have the power to do just that by accelerating materials science and transforming the way we develop products essential to our everyday lives," said David Millstone and David Winter, Co-CEOs of Standard Industries. "We are excited to launch the Standard Industries Chemical Innovation Challenge and look forward to seeing how innovators around the world harness the power of computing to unlock new, more effective, and more efficient ways to solve real world problems."