BOSTON — Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) announced that it will provide access to its autonomous laboratory in Boston to support the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) X-Labs program, a $1.5 billion initiative aimed at accelerating scientific breakthroughs over the next decade.
The company’s contribution was announced by Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, during the Science: A New Golden Age Summit in Washington, D.C.
NSF X-Labs is designed to support independent teams of researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs through milestone-based funding. As part of the initiative, Ginkgo will contribute cloud laboratory time and protein testing services, allowing participating researchers to conduct experiments remotely without investing in their own laboratory infrastructure.
Through Ginkgo’s cloud laboratory platform, researchers will be able to design, execute and analyze experiments using robotic systems. The company’s protein testing services will also enable scientists to produce and characterize protein designs, including those developed using artificial intelligence.
Ginkgo’s Boston facility operates using its Reconfigurable Automation Carts (RACs), modular robotic systems that combine robotic arms, magnetic levitation sample transportation and the company’s Catalyst software to perform laboratory procedures around the clock.
The Ginkgo Cloud Lab platform provides remote access to more than 70 scientific instruments supporting sample preparation, liquid handling, analytical testing, storage and incubation.
The company is already working with NSF through its Programmable Cloud Laboratories Test Bed program. Under that initiative, Ginkgo is expected to supply robotic systems and software to cloud laboratory facilities at Caltech, the University of Maryland and Northwestern University.
“Autonomous labs are a key part of the U.S. government’s vision for a golden age of American science, and we’re proud to put our autonomous lab to work for NSF X-Labs teams,” said Jason Kelly, Co-Founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks.
“Robotic labs are key to competing with China and to improving the reproducibility and output of U.S. science. We believe robotic labs should be at every university and biopharma company, and programs like X-Labs show how quickly researchers can move when they have access to them.”
Ginkgo Bioworks develops automated laboratory technologies and biological research services designed to help scientists accelerate experimentation, improve research efficiency and advance biotechnology innovation.
