(Reuters) - AstraZeneca will pay $18 million to biotechnology firm Immunai Inc to use the New York-based firm's AI model of the immune system to make certain cancer drug trials more efficient, the latter said on Thursday.

This is the latest in a string of tie-ups by Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca to use artificial intelligence for drug discovery and development, including a $247 million deal with U.S.-based Absci late last year to design an antibody to fight cancer.

Founded in 2018, Immunai uses single-cell genomics, a technique to understand the genetic makeup of single cells, and machine learning to discover and improve the development of novel therapeutics by decoding the immune system.

The collaboration will focus on clinical decision-making, including dose selection and biomarker identification, by using Immunai's platform, and AstraZeneca has the option to expand the length and scope of the collaboration afterward, the U.S.-based company said.

The initial phase will give AstraZeneca access to Immunai's AI platform and help gain potential insights into mechanisms of action of immunotherapies, said AstraZeneca chief data scientist of oncology R&D Iker Huerga.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)