FutureHouse, a nonprofit backed by Eric Schmidt, has launched a platform and API providing the first public access to a suite of AI 'Scientist' agents designed to support scientific research. Announced on May 1, 2025, the platform introduces four agents: Crow, Falcon, Owl, and the experimental Phoenix, each specialized for tasks such as literature review, hypothesis generation, and experiment planning, with Phoenix focused on chemistry planning. According to FutureHouse, these AI agents can perform a wide variety of scientific tasks better than humans, including searching and analyzing scientific literature, identifying prior research, and planning experiments. The agents are intended to support researchers in fields such as medicine and chemistry and are positioned as competitors to upcoming AI scientist tools from OpenAI. FutureHouse states that its AI agents use a large corpus of open-access scientific papers and employ transparent, multi-stage reasoning processes. By chaining the agents together, the organization reports early progress in discovering new biological insights, though it acknowledges that no major scientific breakthroughs have yet been achieved with the tools. The launch reflects broader interest in AI-powered tools for science, with major technology companies and startups developing similar systems. Experts note that while AI can augment research by handling large datasets and automating routine tasks, challenges remain regarding the reliability and precision of such tools, particularly in high-stakes scientific work.