Opentrons Raises $40 Mln to Expand AI-Driven Lab Robotics

NEW YORK -- Robotics firm Opentrons Labworks Inc., which designs robots and software to conduct science experiments through artificial intelligence (AI), has secured a Series E funding round worth $40 million.

The firm announced the funding Oct. 29 and named healthcare-focused investor Avego as the leading investor and BroadOak Capital Partners as one of the firms participating in the round. The list of existing investors includes SoftBank Vision Fund and Khosla Ventures.

Opentrons will direct the proceeds into improving AI-driven experimental execution and expanding capabilities of its robots into new markets.

The Opentrons Flex platform integrates robots with software meant to automate experiments. While the robots carry out repetitive actions like liquid transfers between samples, the AI could help design experiments and analyze data generated by them.

The aim of the startup is to make the entire process seamless where AI models suggest experiments, the robots conduct them and their results influence further experiments.

As reported by Opentrons, more than 11,000 of its robots have been installed in laboratories operating in more than 80 countries, including those operated by 14 out of 15 of the world's largest biopharmaceutical firms. The manufacturer also delivers equipment to research universities and diagnostic laboratories.

The startup has not revealed its valuation post-funding nor numbers demonstrating how many of its installed robots conduct experiments driven by AI without any human interference.