Oracle CEO Larry Ellison announced that his company is developing a AI-driven approach to create personalized cancer vaccines, with the potential to produce an mRNA-based vaccine in approximately 48 hours through automation. Ellison made the statement at the White House on Tuesday, where he met with US President Donald Trump, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son to announce the launch of Stargate, a new initiative that aims to invest up to $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Ellison praised the program, stating, “One of the most exciting things we’re working on, using the tools that Sam and [Masayoshi Son] are providing, is a cancer vaccine.” He explained that the new approach is twofold, with AI first used to recognize “small fragments of these [cancer] tumors that swim around in your blood sample.” Messenger RNA molecules (mRNA) contain the genetic instructions that cells need to produce proteins.
In addition to this cancer detection, “we can, once we have the gene sequence of this cancer tumor, immunize the person and develop a vaccine for each individual that immunizes them against this cancer” Ellison emphasized.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, also announced that “we’ll be amazed at how quickly we’ll heal some and many cancers – and heart diseases.”
US President Trump commended Stargate as a “monumental undertaking” and a “vote of confidence in American potential” which he said would create around 100,000 new jobs and secure the “future of technology” in the US, competing with China.
During the event on Tuesday, Ellison stated that the first Stargate data centers in Texas are already under construction. Trump’s first decisions in office included revoking a 2023 executive order issued by his predecessor Joe Biden, aimed at minimizing the risks of AI applications.
Last week, the MIT Technology Review reported that OpenAI, in collaboration with start-up Retro Biosciences, has developed a new language model called GPT-4b micro, designed to help scientists extend human lifespan.
The new technology has apparently enabled researchers to reprogram proteins, improving the production of stem cells, which play a key role in regenerative medicine, as they can differentiate into various cell types, creating new treatment possibilities for age-related diseases.