Tempus Announces Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Merck to Accelerate AI-Driven Precision Medicine

Key Terms

precision medicine medical

Precision medicine uses a person’s unique genetic makeup, lifestyle and environment to choose treatments and preventive steps that are more likely to work for them than one-size-fits-all approaches. For investors, it matters because it can make therapies more effective and efficient—think tailoring a suit rather than buying off the rack—affecting drug development costs, market size, pricing power and the speed at which therapies win regulatory approval.

biomarkers medical

Biomarkers are measurable indicators found in the body, such as substances in blood or tissues, that reveal information about health or disease. For investors, they can signal how well a medical treatment is working or whether a disease is developing, helping to assess the potential success or risks of healthcare companies or innovations. Think of biomarkers as biological signals that provide clues about a person’s health status.

multimodal datasets technical

Multimodal datasets are collections of information that combine different types of data — such as text, images, audio, and sensor readings — about the same subjects or events, like a photo with a caption and accompanying sound. Think of it as a mixed-media scrapbook that lets algorithms see more of the whole picture. Investors care because these richer datasets can enable more accurate AI-driven products, better customer insights and faster decision-making, which may translate into competitive advantages, higher growth potential and different risk profiles for companies.

lens platform technical

A lens platform is a core technology and product family used to design, manufacture and update corrective or implantable lenses (such as intraocular or contact lenses) and the related manufacturing and distribution systems. Investors care because a strong platform can produce multiple product variants, speed regulatory approvals and create recurring sales and upgrades—similar to how a smartphone operating system supports many apps and devices, increasing long‑term revenue potential and market reach.

gpu technical

A GPU (graphics processing unit) is a specialized computer chip designed to handle many calculations at once, originally for rendering images and video but now widely used for tasks like artificial intelligence, data analysis and high-performance computing. Investors watch GPU demand and prices because strong sales often signal growth for chip makers and their customers, affect profit margins and capital spending, and can forecast wider trends in gaming, AI adoption and cloud services.

oncology medical

Oncology is the branch of medicine focused on understanding, diagnosing, and treating cancer, including the development and testing of drugs, therapies, and screening methods. It matters to investors because advances, trial results, regulatory approvals, or setbacks in cancer research can dramatically change the value of companies and the size of potential markets—think of oncology news as weather reports that help investors steer financial decisions in a high-stakes field.

ai/ml technical

AI/ML stands for artificial intelligence and machine learning, software systems that identify patterns in data and make predictions or automate decisions, improving performance as they process more information. Investors care because these technologies can boost revenue, cut costs and create competitive advantages — like a factory that learns to produce goods faster and with fewer mistakes — while also introducing execution, ethical and regulatory risks that can affect a company’s value.

precision oncology medical

Precision oncology uses detailed biological information from a patient’s tumor—like genetic changes or specific markers—to choose treatments most likely to work for that individual, much like tailoring a suit to a person’s measurements instead of selling one-size-fits-all clothing. It matters to investors because these targeted approaches can improve treatment success, support premium pricing and companion diagnostic tests, and shorten development and approval timelines, creating focused markets with both higher potential returns and specialized risks.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM), a technology company leading the adoption of AI to advance precision medicine, and Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced an expanded, multi-year collaboration aimed at accelerating the discovery and development of precision medicine biomarkers and supporting Merck’s oncology and potentially broader therapeutic portfolios.

“This collaboration builds on our existing relationship and reflects our shared commitment to harnessing the power of multimodal datasets with AI to deliver better options for patients,” said Ryan Fukushima, CEO, Data & Apps at Tempus. “We’ve spent years configuring our Lens Platform to seamlessly leverage our library of de-identified multimodal data with the necessary AI computing power to train and fine-tune specific models for healthcare. Working with the great scientists at Merck, we have exciting opportunities to translate the insights from AI models into precision medicine strategies and improve patient outcomes across oncology and beyond.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will use Tempus’ de-identified data along with Tempus’ Lens Platform and Workspaces environment, which offers an advanced computational configuration powered by one of the industry’s largest GPU infrastructures, which enables researchers to efficiently conduct complex analyses on training-ready multimodal datasets, generating novel insights to accelerate the development and optimization of candidate therapies at scale.

“The combination of new AI technologies and large curated multimodal data sets are transforming the way we conduct discovery research,” said George Addona, Senior Vice President, Discovery, Preclinical Development and Translational Medicine, Merck Research Laboratories. “This collaboration with Tempus positions Merck to advance our precision oncology strategy through the application of the latest AI/ML capabilities to discover novel precision biomarkers, identify mechanisms of cancer cell resistance, and inform rational combinations for drugs in our early pipeline.”

About Tempus

Tempus is a technology company advancing precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence in healthcare. With one of the world’s largest libraries of multimodal data, and an operating system to make that data accessible and useful, Tempus provides AI-enabled precision medicine solutions to physicians to deliver personalized patient care and in parallel facilitates discovery, development and delivery of optimal therapeutics. The goal is for each patient to benefit from the treatment of others who came before by providing physicians with tools that learn as the company gathers more data. For more information, visit tempus.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, about Tempus and Tempus’ industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding expected outcomes and benefits of Tempus’ collaboration with Merck to accelerate AI driven medicine and biomarker discovery in oncology. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “going to,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. Tempus cautions you that the foregoing may not include all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release.

You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Tempus has based the forward-looking statements contained in this press release primarily on its current expectations and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect Tempus’ business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties related to: the intended use of Tempus’ products and services; Tempus’ financial performance; the ability to attract and retain customers and partners; managing Tempus’ growth and future expenses; competition and new market entrants; compliance with new laws, regulations and executive actions, including any evolving regulations in the artificial intelligence space; the ability to maintain, protect and enhance Tempus’ intellectual property; the ability to attract and retain qualified team members and key personnel; the ability to repay or refinance outstanding debt, or to access additional financing; future acquisitions, divestitures or investments; the potential adverse impact of climate change, natural disasters, health epidemics, macroeconomic conditions, and war or other armed conflict, as well as risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in Tempus’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 24, 2026, as well as in other filings Tempus may make with the SEC in the future. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that Tempus believes to be reasonable as of this date. Tempus undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

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Tempus

Hanah Heintzelman

Hanah.heintzelman@tempus.com

Source: Tempus AI, Inc.