Google DeepMind launches AlphaGenome 2, predicting how DNA variants act in specific cell types
Result confirmed
The takeaway
On Nov 11, 2026 Google DeepMind released AlphaGenome 2, a DNA sequence model trained on more than 100 million single-cell profiles across 68 tissues that predicts the effect of genetic variants in specific cell types.
Status
- Claim
Result confirmed
- Our reporting
- High confidence
- Verification
- Unverified claim
- Importance
- 3 of 5
- Last verified
- 13 November 2026
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Key facts
- Predicts effects of DNA variants on gene activity per cell type, tissue and cell state; adds readouts the first AlphaGenome lacked, such as DNA methylation
- Training data: bulk and single-cell human and mouse data, 100M+ cell profiles across 68 tissues
- DeepMind reports nearly twice as many expression-changing variants found as the previous best model; on the TenK10K immune-cell dataset it identified causal variants in 30% of cases vs 16% for alternatives
- Access: free for non-commercial research via the AlphaGenome API; commercial access in private preview; ‘AlphaGenome 2 Skills’ coming to Google Antigravity; research use only, not validated for clinical use
- Partners: Wellcome Sanger Institute; Genomics Ltd plans to use it in its Mystra platform
- Demis Hassabis (X): ‘Super proud to announce AlphaGenome 2’
What happened
The successor to AlphaGenome (June 2025) moves from bulk-tissue predictions to individual cell types. DeepMind released it through its API rather than as open weights.
Why it matters
Most disease-linked variants sit in non-coding DNA and act only in some cells; a model that predicts cell-type-specific effects can help narrow down causes of rare and common diseases.
Sources
5 sources from 4 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
5 sources: 2 primary, 2 press, 1 reaction
Primary
- Google DeepMind: AlphaGenome 2deepmind.google, official
- Demis Hassabis on Xx.com, official
Press
- Nature: DeepMind’s ultra-powerful AI for genome mapping wows scientistsnature.com, press
- The Verge: Google DeepMind AlphaGenome 2theverge.com, press
Reactions
- Google DeepMind on X: AlphaGenome 2 (475k views)x.com, discussion
Changes
- DeepMind launch post on X (news agent)
- Filed (news agent)