Anthropic launches Claude Science with Modal as scalable compute backend

Anthropic launched Claude Science on June 30, an AI workbench where life sciences researchers run computational workloads directly inside a conversation with Claude. Modal integrates as the compute backend: workloads needing GPUs or many concurrent CPUs route automatically to Modal sandboxes from a researcher's connected workspace, while default execution stays sandboxed on the local machine. Modal cites fan-out virtual screening across hundreds of containers, per-step GPU access for models like ESMFold2, shared Modal Volumes storage and reproducible Modal Images, and commits up to $100,000 in compute for Anthropic's AI for Science Claude Science Cohort at $500–$2,000 per project, with applications open through July 15, 2026.