Radical Numerics launches Omnii Defense edge model

Startup Radical Numerics has announced Omnii Defense, a new edge model designed to flag natural and AI-engineered pathogens using a laptop and a USB gene sequencer without an internet connection. Cofounder and CEO Eric Nguyen says he anticipates an arms race in biodefense similar to cybersecurity as bad actors increasingly leverage AI. While the tool shows promise in identifying sequences without exact matches, experts caution that detecting a signal is distinct from determining whether a pathogen poses a real consequence. Open article →