Dec 18 (Reuters) - SandboxAQ said on Wednesday it has

raised more than $300 million in funding, valuing the startup

spun off from Alphabet at $5.3 billion, as it aims to

fast-track the development of advanced artificial intelligence

systems for computation.

This follows a $500 million fundraising last year to help

customers prepare for a quantum computing future.

The new funding was raised to "accelerate the development of

its large quantitative models (LQMs) and other AI applications

in drug discovery, materials science, chemistry, cybersecurity,

navigation and medical devices", the company said.

LQMs are advanced AI systems, designed to offer a way to

simulate and predict complex science and business problems for

large industries.

Existing and new investors, including Fred Alger Management,

T. Rowe Price Associates, Parkway Venture Capital, Breyer

Capital, US Innovative Technology Fund, Ava Investments and IQT,

participated in the funding round.

SandboxAQ was spun off from Alphabet as an independent

startup in 2022, with Jack Hidary as its CEO and former Google

Chief Executive Eric Schmidt as chairman. The company caters to

various sectors such as cybersecurity, encryption and life

sciences.