Ginkgo Bioworks

What Ginkgo Bioworks does

Ginkgo Bioworks is a Boston-based public biotechnology company (NYSE: DNA) founded in 2008 that has built a vertically integrated autonomous laboratory platform serving enterprise R&D customers across biopharmaceuticals, agriculture, industrial biotech, and government research. Co-founded by Jason Kelly (CEO), Reshma Shetty (President/COO), Barry Canton, Austin Che, and Tom Knight, the company has invested over $2 billion to develop proprietary Reconfigurable Automation Carts (RACs), the Catalyst software platform (Orchestrator, Data, and Agent), and the Nebula autonomous lab facility that now anchors the Ginkgo Cloud Lab offering.

The core technology stack enables AI-driven closed-loop experimentation: modular RAC hardware combines robotic arms, maglev sample transport, and 70+ instruments; Catalyst Orchestrator dynamically schedules multi-vendor automation fleets; Catalyst Data standardizes fragmented vendor outputs into analysis-ready views; and Catalyst Agent translates natural-language scientific intent into lab automation scripts. Ginkgo Cloud Lab, launched in March 2026, exposes this infrastructure via a web browser at $39 per run with the EstiMate AI agent providing instant protocol feasibility and pricing. The platform is supplemented by Solutions (scientist-led R&D services across 250+ programs), Datapoints (on-demand data services including ADME-One for Tier 1 ADME profiling), Apex Support (ticketless remote troubleshooting), and Ginkgo Reagents (e-commerce for AI-improved reaction mixes).

Ginkgo monetizes through a mix of one-time hardware sales (RACs, Tiles, custom workcells), subscription software licenses (Catalyst), usage-based Cloud Lab runs, professional services (Solutions, Datapoints), and e-commerce. The company serves 130+ named customers including Pfizer (potentially $331M RNA discovery deal), Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Corteva, Ajinomoto, Sumitomo, and Kerry, plus government clients such as the DOE ($47M PNNL contract), CDC, and EMSL ($4.66M). Following FY2025 revenue of $170M (down 25% YoY) and Q1 2026 revenue of $19M (down 49% YoY), the company completed the divestiture of its Concentric biosecurity unit to Perimeter Systems in April 2026 and is repositioning itself as a pure-play autonomous lab platform, with plans to expand the Boston RAC fleet from 50 to 100+ units in 2026 and embed the Cloud Lab across AWS, Microsoft, and Benchling partner channels.

Name

Ginkgo Bioworks

Legal name

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc.

Website

https://ginkgo.bio

Company type

Public

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Ginkgo Bioworks builds a vertically integrated autonomous lab platform combining modular robotics (RACs), Catalyst software, and AI agents, serving 130+ enterprise R&D customers in biopharma, agriculture, industrial biotech, and government research with hardware, subscription, usage-based, and services revenue streams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Synthetic Biology Platform

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence (HLAGAJAN), Laboratory Automation, Sample Prep & Liquid Handling (IVD Lab Diagnostics) (HLAHAAAN), Prompt Engineering, Orchestration & LLMOps Tooling (HDAAACAD)

Keywords

• Synthetic biology platform
• Lab automation hardware
• Autonomous lab services
• Cell engineering services
• Biopharma R&D services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. R&D Services (Solutions & Datapoints): Fee-for-service R&D delivered by Ginkgo scientists on 250+ programs across biopharma, industrial biotech, and agriculture. Customers pay for project-based or ongoing scientific programs leveraging Ginkgo's platform infrastructure.
2. Automation hardware (RACs, Tiles): Sale and deployment of Reconfigurable Automation Carts and Tiles hardware to enterprise customers, including custom-integrated workcells (e.g., $4.66M EMSL at PNNL platform). Includes delivery, on-premises server installation, and integration.
3. Catalyst software subscriptions: Subscription-style licensing for Catalyst Orchestrator, Catalyst Data, and Catalyst Agent software platforms, with Apex Support service attached. Operated via on-premises Ginkgo Server with web-based access.
4. Ginkgo Reagents store: E-commerce sale of reagents, including the AI-improved cell-free protein synthesis reaction mix commercialized following the OpenAI/GPT-5 collaboration.
5. Ginkgo Cloud Lab (autonomous lab-as-a-service): Usage-based remote access to Ginkgo's autonomous lab infrastructure via a web browser, with protocols priced per run (e.g., $39 per run at launch) and accepted in natural language via the EstiMate agent.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ginkgo Bioworks builds and operates an autonomous lab platform for biological engineering, combining modular robotic hardware (Reconfigurable Automation Carts and Tiles), a Catalyst software stack (Orchestrator, Data, and AI Agent), and a cloud-accessible Boston facility (Nebula/Cloud Lab) where Ginkgo scientists and customer protocols run AI-driven experiments end-to-end. The company sells the hardware and software for customers to deploy in their own labs, provides R&D services on 250+ programs, and operates Cloud Lab as usage-based lab-as-a-service for remote execution of scientific protocols.

Product overview

Ginkgo Bioworks offers a unified autonomous-lab platform combining modular hardware (RACs, Benchtop RACs, and Tiles), web-based orchestration software (Catalyst Orchestrator, Catalyst Data, and the conversational Catalyst Agent AI agent), and a cloud-accessible service (Ginkgo Cloud Lab) running on the Boston Nebula autonomous facility. The offering is structured as a platform with several integrated modules: customers can purchase the hardware/software for their own labs, run experiments remotely via Cloud Lab, or partner with Ginkgo Solutions scientists for full R&D projects. The Datapoints offering layers on-demand data and AI/ML services on the same infrastructure, with bundled products like ADME-One for drug discovery. Apex Support provides remote, ticketless operational support, and Ginkgo Reagents sells AI-improved reagents emerging from autonomous lab work. Together, these pieces let customers move from benchwork to closed-loop, AI-driven autonomous experimentation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ginkgo Datapoints: AI/ML services offering antibody developability, perturbation response profiling, small molecule developability, and specialized high-throughput screening services.
• Ginkgo Cloud Lab
• Ginkgo Automation
• Ginkgo Ferment
• Ginkgo Reagents
• Concentric by Ginkgo
• RAC (Reconfigurable Automation Cart)
• Catalyst Agent

Products and services

• Reconfigurable Automation Carts (RACs) Flagship modular laboratory automation hardware used for high-mix dynamic workflows across BSL, anaerobic, and HEPA-filtered environments; deployed inside Ginkgo's Nebula facility and at external customer sites including EMSL/PNNL, GLBRC, and Octant Bio.
• Benchtop RACs Compact automation hardware for controlled-environment deployments inside anaerobic chambers, biosafety cabinets, and fume hoods; combines with full-size RACs via Catalyst Orchestrator.
• Tiles Modular, extensible automation technology enabling integrated workcells for constrained-environment workflows such as anaerobic phenotyping; first deployed at EMSL/PNNL.
• Catalyst Orchestrator Modern web-based automation control software that coordinates multi-vendor automation fleets with deadlock-free dynamic scheduling, drag-and-drop protocol building with version control, REST APIs, and message queues for downstream triggers.
• Catalyst Data Unified data platform that standardizes fragmented vendor outputs (XML, CSV, XPT) into analysis-ready views, with bidirectional LIMS/ELN integration via API for scalable multi-vendor automation fleets.
• Catalyst Agent Conversational AI agent that translates natural-language scientific intent into lab automation scripts, runs multi-day closed-loop science loops without manual intervention, and provides instant data visualization within its chat interface.
• Apex Support Fully remote, proactive ticketless troubleshooting service that resolves 80-90% of system errors without user alerts, with 5-day-per-week, 15-hour-per-day coverage by PhD-level scientists and engineers.
• Ginkgo Cloud Lab Web-based lab-as-a-service interface providing remote access to Ginkgo's autonomous Nebula facility, with EstiMate AI agent enabling natural-language protocol submission, instant feasibility assessment, and per-run pricing ($39 per run at launch).
• Ginkgo Solutions R&D partnership service in which Ginkgo scientists collaborate with customers on scientific programs spanning biopharma, industrial biotech, and agriculture, leveraging the company's $2B platform infrastructure across 250+ programs.
• Ginkgo Datapoints On-demand data and AI/ML services offering antibody developability, perturbation response profiling, small molecule developability, and specialized high-throughput screening services delivered from Ginkgo's automated laboratories.
• ADME-One Fully integrated ADME platform for small molecule drug discovery combining high-throughput Tier 1 ADME assays in Ginkgo's Boston automated laboratory with AI-driven human pharmacokinetic projections and compound management; priced several times lower than industry standard.
• Ginkgo Reagents E-commerce storefront selling biological reagents, including AI-improved cell-free protein synthesis reaction mixes developed through Ginkgo's autonomous lab experiments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced cell-free protein synthesis cost from $698/g to $422/g (40% reduction) via 36,000 GPT-5-designed experiments
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability12 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

35 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• MicrosoftflagshipTechnology or Integration · 2 June 2026Microsoft Discovery general-availability launch features Ginkgo Bioworks as the headline biological-experimentation partner, enabling AI-generated hypotheses to flow directly to Ginkgo's autonomous Cloud Lab.
• Benchling Automation ecosystem partnerscoreTechnology or Integration · 28 May 2026Launched Benchling Automation platform with ecosystem partners including HighRes, Automata, Ginkgo Bioworks, Celltrio, Opentrons, and Hamilton.
• Tangible Scientific and Inductive Bio (ADME-One)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Co-developed ADME-One platform with Ginkgo Datapoints, Tangible Scientific (compound management), and Inductive Bio (Compass AI PK projections). Combines Ginkgo's high-throughput Tier 1 ADME assays with AI PK predictions, priced several times below industry standard.
• BenchlingflagshipTechnology or Integration · 6 May 2026One-Click Ordering and Benchling Biologics integrate Ginkgo alongside Twist Bioscience and Adaptyv, letting scientists order synthesis and assay services from within Benchling with structured results flowing back.
• OpenAI (GPT-Rosalind / Life Sciences plugin)coreTechnology or Integration · 4 May 2026OpenAI released GPT-Rosalind, a life sciences model, and Life Sciences plugin for Codex, with industry partners including Amgen, Moderna, and The Allen Institute. The earlier GPT-5 cloud-lab project was executed in Ginkgo's autonomous lab.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)flagshipTechnology or Integration · 14 April 2026AWS Amazon Bio Discovery integrates Ginkgo Bioworks as a CRO partner (alongside Twist Bioscience and A-Alpha Bio) for lab-in-the-loop drug discovery. MSK used the platform to design ~300,000 antibody candidates and test the top 100,000 in weeks.
• ProQR TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2026Partnership to support AI-enabled drug discovery using the Ginkgo Nebula laboratory, with Ginkgo making a strategic equity investment. Aimed at accelerating ProQR's RNA editing platform.
• Perimeter Systems, Inc.coreOthers · 3 April 2026Ginkgo completed the divestiture of its Biosecurity business (Concentric by Ginkgo) to Perimeter Systems, Inc. on April 3, 2026, receiving a minority equity stake in exchange for substantially all Biosecurity operations.
• Republic of Rwanda / U.S. Government health partnershipminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2026Rwanda negotiated bespoke terms within the America First Global Health Strategy MOU, including support for U.S. companies Zipline and Ginkgo Bioworks.
• ArcaeaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2026Arcaea was launched on the Ginkgo Bioworks platform; raised $78M Series A to develop sustainable beauty ingredients using biological engineering.
• Invaio SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026Collaboration to develop manufacturing technology for peptide-based crop protection products, leveraging Ginkgo's engineered microbial strains and fermentation processes at commercial scale.
• OpenAIflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2026GPT-5 connected to Ginkgo's cloud lab to autonomously optimize cell-free protein synthesis, achieving 40% cost reduction across 36,000 experiments over six iterative rounds.
• Phylo (Biomni Lab)coreTechnology or Integration · 3 February 2026Partnership using Phylo's Biomni Lab AI-native biology platform; case study showed Ginkgo reducing complex workflows from weeks to hours. Co-led $13.5M seed funding with Anthropic, Andreessen Horowitz, and Menlo Ventures' Anthology Fund.
• Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 July 2025$4.66M contract to deliver a fully integrated workcell of 18 devices housed in a modular anaerobic chamber, using Ginkgo's Tiles technology. Enables remote operation of end-to-end anaerobic phenotyping workflows.
• Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), University of Wisconsin-MadisoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2025Contract to design and deploy a flexible, anaerobic-enabled laboratory automation system for biofuels and bioproducts discovery from plant biomass.
• Northeastern University / Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2024Ginkgo and Northeastern University researchers received a Gates Foundation grant to develop an AI-enabled measles forecasting model to predict outbreaks and improve public health responses.
• Modulus TherapeuticsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2024Acquired cell therapy platform assets from Modulus Therapeutics (autoimmune disease cell therapy designer), including libraries of CAR and switch receptor designs.
• ImagindairyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Partnership with Israel-based Imagindairy to develop animal-free dairy proteins via precision fermentation, combining Imagindairy's fermentation expertise with Ginkgo's bioengineering capabilities.
• Proof DiagnosticsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 February 2024Acquired Proof Diagnostics, which specializes in CRISPR-based diagnostic systems, to expand Ginkgo's gene editing service offerings for diseases including COVID-19 and oncology.
• Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2023Grant provided to Ginkgo Bioworks to support the development of live cell therapeutics for HIV and malaria.
• Northeastern UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2023Concentric by Ginkgo partnered with Northeastern University and a consortium of organizations, funded by CDC, to develop AI-based epidemic prediction and early warning systems over five years.
• Texas A&M UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2023Joint recipient of USDA NIFA AFRI grant to research SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer populations in Texas, involving DNA sequencing and analysis.
• PfizerflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023September 2023 collaboration announced to advance RNA molecule discovery using Ginkgo's proprietary technology. Deal potentially worth up to US$331 million across three programs.
• ZymergenflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 July 2022Ginkgo Bioworks entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zymergen in an all-stock deal valued at around $300 million, completed in early 2023 to enhance biological engineering and industrial application capabilities.
• Bitome, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2022Acquired certain assets of Bitome for $1.9 million; Bitome provides real-time metabolite monitoring technology using machine learning to monitor cell culture media.
• FGen AGminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2022Acquired Swiss bioengineering company FGen AG to enhance Ginkgo's cell screening capabilities through FGen's high-throughput platform.
• Project Beacon COVID-19 LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2022Acquisition merged Project Beacon COVID-19 LLC (joint venture of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, F-Prime Capital, and GV) into Ginkgo's Concentric public health platform. Project Beacon had conducted over 1.5 million COVID-19 tests.
• Dutch Dna Biotech B.V.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 July 2021Completed acquisition of Dutch Dna Biotech B.V. for $41.4 million to expand international presence and product capabilities in fungal strains and fermentation processes.
• Novo NordiskflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year alliance expanded to collaborate across the R&D value chain. Featured prominently on Ginkgo's customer logo list.
• BiogencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompleted program to boost productivity of Biogen's gene therapy manufacturing platform.
• BayerflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year strategic partnership extended to accelerate next-generation biological solutions for agriculture. Bayer is also piloting AWS Amazon Bio Discovery, which integrates Ginkgo as a CRO partner.
• Octant BiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed the Small Molecule Drug Discovery RAC System; Octant uses RACs for cell-based drug discovery assays, achieving 7x throughput and 88% reduction in hands-on time.
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-year extension of the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) Program with Ginkgo Biosecurity and XWell; program surpassed 1M voluntary participants and detected influenza H3N2 subclade K 7 days before any publicly reported sequences.
• U.S. Department of Energy (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner$47M contract for a 97-instrument autonomous lab facility at PNNL; part of the DOE Genesis Mission for AI-driven discovery.
• PhytoloncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to scale precision fermentation of betalain pigments (Beetroot Red, Prickly Pear Yellow) using engineered baker's yeast for natural food dyes. Phytolon received FDA approval for Beetroot Red in 2026.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Twist Bioscience: Synthetic biology platform selling DNA synthesis, antibody libraries, and DNA data storage to biopharma and industrial biotech customers. Direct peer in serving antibody R&D via AWS Amazon Bio Discovery and Benchling integrations alongside Ginkgo.
• Codexis: Engineered enzymes and synthetic biology services for pharma and industrial biotech — a direct competitor in microbial strain engineering and enzyme optimization programs sold to similar biopharma and industrial customers.
• Opentrons: Affordable modular lab automation hardware (OT-2 robots, Flex) with growing software stack for bench automation. Direct competitor in the modular, accessible lab-automation segment, also listed as a Benchling Automation ecosystem partner.

Broad incumbents

• Hamilton Company: Long-established incumbent in laboratory automation workstations, robotic liquid handlers, and storage systems used across pharma and academic labs. Broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities as part of a larger instrument portfolio.
• Tecan: Global incumbent in laboratory automation, liquid handling, and detection — competing with Ginkgo Automation for enterprise lab automation procurement but as part of a broader life-sciences instruments portfolio.
• Benchling: Cloud-native LIMS/ELN platform that is both a Ginkgo partner (Benchling Biologics, One-Click Ordering) and a competitor in lab-data infrastructure for biotech R&D. Operates broadly across the biotech R&D software stack.
• Charles River Laboratories: Large contract research organization offering preclinical, ADME, and biologics services to biopharma — overlapping Ginkgo Datapoints/ADME-One and competing for outsourced R&D budget from the same enterprise customers.

Emerging players

• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-native biotech combining high-throughput wet-lab experimentation with proprietary ML models for drug discovery. Adjacent player building its own autonomous lab infrastructure rather than partnering with Ginkgo.
• Ansa Bio: Emerging player in enzymatic DNA synthesis, aiming to compete with Twist Bioscience. Adjacent to Ginkgo's synthetic biology platform with overlap in DNA/oligo supply for autonomous lab workflows.
• Inscripta (now part of Amber Bio / Madryne): Developed benchtop genome-editing platforms (Onyx) for in-house cell engineering; comparable to Ginkgo's automation-plus-cell-programming wedge, though currently restructured as a smaller emerging player.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ginkgo
• Facebookfacebook.com/ginkgobioworks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ginkgo-bioworks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds17 records

Investors35 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A16 records

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ginkgo Bioworks