Shares of Exscientia (NASDAQ: EXAI) were up 30.3% for the week as of Friday morning, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven precision medicine biotech stock is up more than 47% so far this year. It closed last week at $6.04 a share, then rose to as high as $8.60 on Thursday. 

One reason for this week's share growth was the company's first-quarter earnings report. Its reported revenue of $7.1 million was down 17.4% year over year, and its net loss was $46.6 million, 143% worse than the same period a year ago. But both of those figures were slightly better than analysts expected.

However, it wasn't so much the numbers, but the update that spurred investors' interest as Exscientia's AI exposure. When chipmaker Nvidia posted strong earnings on the back of AI growth, that helped lift other AI-associated stocks such as Exscientia, which uses AI to help it discover oncology therapies, frequently partnering with larger pharmaceutical companies.

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Source Fool.com