We know that science labs play a huge role when it comes to healthcare because of the fact that these are the labs where the first vaccines or medicines are developed and then released for human trials so we know that this is the birthplace for almost everything that we have right now and if we want to improve the healthcare systems then science labs need to be the first in our lists. Now, we have a new startup based out of London that wants to “combine software and hardware to automate science labs around the globe” and is doing so as well. This startup named Automata has just raised $40M for the same purpose, and we are going to hear a lot about them in this article.
The story of Automata is interesting as the company “targeted myriad industries seeking to automate repetitive manual tasks using a configurable, desktop-based robotic arm dubbed Eva. However, in the intervening years, the company discovered that serving smaller, individualized use cases simply wasn’t going to scale into a meaningful business. So they went back to the drawing board and identified sectors that were on the brink of an automation revolution, ones that were ripe for full — rather than partial — automation”, as reported by TechCrunch.
Due to this reason, “Automata 2.0 was born, constituting a new hardware and software stack capable of connecting and integrating the different steps involved in lab-based experimentation and testing, with a specific focus on genomics and cell biology use cases”, the report adds. It is worth noting that “The Automata platform consists of a cloud-based software called LINQ, which allows users to integrate their different instruments and design, schedule and run their various workflows.”
In the report, it is mentioned that “Automata is all about solving the same types of problems that automation seeks to solve in every industry: reducing tedious manual tasks, reducing error rates and increasing capacity and output — in the case of Automata, this means improving drug development and testing timelines.” Automata has already raised around $97M so far and is looking to continue its growth trajectory in the UK.
