We know that science labs play a considerable role in healthcare because these are the labs where the first vaccines or medicines are developed and released for human trials. Hence, we know that this is the birthplace of almost everything we have right now, and if we want to improve the healthcare systems, then science labs need to be the first on 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. Automata’s startup has just raised $40M for the same purpose, and we will 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 wouldn’t scale into a meaningful business. So they went back to the drawing board and identified sectors on the brink of an automation revolution, ones 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.”
The report mentions 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 and wants to continue its growth trajectory in the UK.