This is Bill and Melinda Gates’ first investment after their divorce!

Bill and Melinda Gates supported a British start-up trying to design new drugs using artificial intelligence software.

Oxford-based Exscientia announced that it has signed a four-year agreement worth up to $ 70 million with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The startup said it will use some of the funding to try to develop new antiviral pills that can be used to treat the coronavirus and prevent future outbreaks.

Exscientia is focused on developing treatments for Covid-9 and other coronaviruses, as well as for influenza.

“The current COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgent need to develop safe and effective broad-spectrum drugs to expand our stockpile against viruses and their variants,” said company CEO Andrew Hopkins.

Exscientia’s “small molecule therapies” aim to fight the parts of viruses less likely to change, allowing scientists to develop treatments that could theoretically work with future viruses.

Exscientia says its AI software can reduce the time it takes to discover new drugs by up to 80%.

The company also has a large portfolio of contracts, having signed a $ 1.2 billion deal with US drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb, and already has several drugs involved in clinical trials.

The size of the stake acquired by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was not disclosed, but it is the second investment in the pharmaceutical company.

It comes as Bill and Melinda Gates announced their separation after 27 years of marriage in May, but the couple said they would continue to collaborate on the foundation.

In July, the foundation said Melinda would step down as co-chair and trustee if either concluded after two years that they couldn’t work together as co-chairs.