Landmark single-cell dataset of one billion cells will be used to train new AI models to advance researchers' understanding of cellular behavior and gene function
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. , Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) launched the Billion Cells Project, an effort to generate an unprecedented one billion cell dataset to fuel rapid progress in AI model development in biology. CZI is embarking on this landmark initiative in collaboration with partners 10x Genomics, Ultima Genomics, and a group of leading researchers. Industry partners are enabling data generation at unprecedented scale by increasing access to cutting-edge technologies and lowering costs.
Photo by Zachary DeBruine.
Once completed, this single-cell data set will bring critical new data and resolution to multiple domains of biology that need comprehensive resources such as mapping genetic perturbations across diverse cell types and tissues. Critically, the scale and cohesion of the data made possible by current and future contributions to the Billion Cells Project will deliver the volume of data with greater consistency than past efforts to better enable researchers to train AI models and make transformative discoveries across precision medicine and functional genomics.
"CZI's Billion Cells Project illustrates the power of collaboration to make previously unfathomable amounts of single-cell data available for researchers, which will help clarify our understanding of the fundamental biology underpinning human health and disease while supercharging efforts at the intersection of AI and biology," said Jonah Cool, Cell Science Senior Science Program Officer at CZI. "Biology not only needs more data – the field needs more data faster and in interoperable formats to support AI models that address specific problems, and this project represents a unique approach to scaling and standardizing scientific outputs for AI and more."
CZI is the only philanthropic organization to fund and build one of the largest computing systems dedicated to nonprofit life sciences research in the world. Data generated from the Billion Cells Project will be used to train new virtual cell models using CZI's computing system to derive greater insight into the vast dataset. As part of its commitment to open science to accelerate research and make science more inclusive, CZI plans to make the results from this initiative open source and freely available to help scientists around the world make new discoveries about human biology.
To rapidly generate data at a massive scale, increase knowledge sharing, and drive collaboration, CZI is partnering with an initial cohort of experts in the single-cell field and developers of innovative life science technologies. This partnership prioritizes data generation across diverse biological domains, with initial data sets including organisms such as mouse, zebrafish, and primary human cell models. These data will provide researchers immediate insight into areas that include gene regulation and function across organisms, and insights directly related to disease research.
"This project will provide a necessary scale of data to understand the functional effects of human genetic variants and characterize the genetic drivers of human disease," said Alexander Marson, Director of the Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology and collaborator. "Ultimately, the Billion Cells Project will also be a functional roadmap to guide drug development, identifying targets to restore diseased cells to health."
This collaboration will use 10x Genomics' Chromium GEM-X technology for single-cell analysis. Launched in 2024, the GEM-X technology architecture delivers superior sensitivity, throughput, data quality, and cell recovery to improve robustness and enable single-cell analysis at larger scale and lower cost.
"We are constantly working to push the boundaries of what's possible in single-cell analysis, and this collaboration with CZI and Ultima Genomics represents a significant leap forward," said Michael Schnall-Levin, Founding Scientist and Chief Technology Officer at 10x Genomics. "This collaboration exemplifies how the convergence of life sciences technologies and AI can accelerate the mastery of biology and ultimately transform human health."
Sequencing will be performed on the UG 100™, an ultra-high throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform developed by Ultima Genomics. The UG 100's unique wafer-based sequencing architecture enables high throughput and ultra-low-cost, making the platform well-suited for large-scale 'omics applications and the generation of genomic data at an unprecedented scale.
"Our mission is to continuously increase the scale and lower the costs of genomic information, and our UG 100 platform helps fulfill that vision by enabling high throughput generation of large-scale data omics sets at low costs," said Gilad Almogy, Founder and CEO of Ultima Genomics. "Initiatives like the Billion Cells Project showcase advances enabled by our innovative sequencing architecture combined with the emerging advances in AI and machine learning will enable a transformational approach to research that will accelerate scientific discovery and our understanding of biology's complexity."
These ambitious projects are made possible by collaborations across industry partners and serve as a template for future collaborations. As the Billion Cells Project progresses, additional partnerships with industry and academia are anticipated to ensure delivery of the ambition of the project on a short timescale.
About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society's toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.
About 10x Genomics
10x Genomics (NASDAQ: TXG) is a life science technology company building products to accelerate the mastery of biology and advance human health. Our integrated solutions include instruments, consumables and software for single cell and spatial biology, which help academic and translational researchers and biopharmaceutical companies understand biological systems at a resolution and scale that matches the complexity of biology. Our products are behind breakthroughs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience and more, fueling powerful discoveries that are transforming the world's understanding of health and disease. To learn more, visit 10xgenomics.com or connect with us on LinkedIn or X (Twitter).
About Ultima Genomics
Ultima Genomics is unleashing the power of genomics at scale. The Company's mission is to continuously drive the scale of genomic information to enable unprecedented advances in biology and improvements in human health. With humanity on the cusp of a biological revolution, there is a virtually endless need for more genomic information to address biology's complexity and dynamic change—and a further need to challenge conventional next-generation sequencing technologies. Ultima's revolutionary new sequencing architecture drives down the costs of sequencing to help overcome the tradeoffs that scientists and clinicians are forced to make between the breadth, depth and frequency with which they use genomic information. The new sequencing architecture was designed to scale far beyond conventional sequencing technologies, lower the cost of genomic information and catalyze the next phase of genomics in the 21st century. To learn more, visit www.ultimagenomics.com/.
