AI could cure all disease in a decade, says Google DeepMind CEO— Perplexity’s Aravind Srinivas agrees

Artificial Intelligence is no longer just transforming how we live—it's now setting its sights on revolutionizing human health. Demis Hassabis, the visionary co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, has made a bold claim: AI could potentially cure all diseases within the next decade. And in an unexpected show of solidarity, his sentiment was echoed by Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, a direct competitor in the AI space.
A Visionary Prediction for Human Health
In a recent interview with CBS' 60 Minutes on April 20, Demis Hassabis spoke about the transformative capabilities of AI in medicine. “On average, it takes ten years and billions of dollars to design just one drug,” he explained. “We can maybe reduce that down from years to maybe months or even weeks. Which sounds incredible today, but that’s also what people used to think about protein structures.”
Hassabis envisions a future where AI's impact on drug development and disease prevention is so profound that the concept of incurable diseases may become obsolete. When asked if AI could lead to the end of all diseases, the 48-year-old British scientist confidently replied, “I think that’s within reach. Maybe within the next decade or so, I don’t see why not.”
Billion-Year Leap in Scientific Progress
To highlight the power of AI, Hassabis revealed a staggering statistic: Google DeepMind’s AI has effectively done a billion years of PhD time in just one year—by mapping 200 million protein structures. This scale of scientific acceleration could redefine the boundaries of biological and pharmaceutical research.
A Rare Nod from a Rival
What makes this moment even more significant is the rare public praise from a rival in the AI domain. Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity AI, responded to the interview clip on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Demis is a genius and he should be given all resources in the world to make this happen.” His endorsement underscores the gravity and potential of Hassabis's vision—even among competitors.
Perplexity AI, known for its AI-powered search engine and an upcoming agentic browser designed to rival Google Chrome, stands as a major player in the AI race. Yet even from this rival camp, there’s acknowledgement that curing all diseases through AI is a goal worth uniting over.
A New Era of Medical Breakthroughs
If Hassabis’s predictions materialize, the next decade could mark the most revolutionary era in medical history. From reducing drug development time to unlocking treatments previously considered impossible, AI is not just reshaping tech—it’s reimagining life itself.
As science and technology intertwine more deeply, humanity may be standing at the edge of one of its most profound breakthroughs: a world where disease is no longer a life sentence, but a solvable puzzl