Ginkgo Bioworks
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.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
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.
Ginkgo Bioworks firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Ginkgo Bioworks industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Ginkgo Bioworks is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Ginkgo Bioworks business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Quote-based enterprise hardware/services pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Quote-based Catalyst software subscription |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Ginkgo Cloud Lab per-run pricing |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | ADME-One ADME platform (Datapoints) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Ginkgo Bioworks product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Ginkgo Bioworks
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Ginkgo Bioworks technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
AI capability12 records
Feature8 records
Ginkgo Bioworks partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
35 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- MicrosoftflagshipMicrosoft 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 partnerscoreLaunched Benchling Automation platform with ecosystem partners including HighRes, Automata, Ginkgo Bioworks, Celltrio, Opentrons, and Hamilton.
- Tangible Scientific and Inductive Bio (ADME-One)coreCo-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.
- BenchlingflagshipOne-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)coreOpenAI 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)flagshipAWS 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 TherapeuticscorePartnership 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.coreGinkgo 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 partnershipminorRwanda negotiated bespoke terms within the America First Global Health Strategy MOU, including support for U.S. companies Zipline and Ginkgo Bioworks.
- ArcaeaminorArcaea was launched on the Ginkgo Bioworks platform; raised $78M Series A to develop sustainable beauty ingredients using biological engineering.
- Invaio SciencescoreCollaboration to develop manufacturing technology for peptide-based crop protection products, leveraging Ginkgo's engineered microbial strains and fermentation processes at commercial scale.
- OpenAIflagshipGPT-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)corePartnership 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)flagship$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-MadisoncoreContract to design and deploy a flexible, anaerobic-enabled laboratory automation system for biofuels and bioproducts discovery from plant biomass.
- Northeastern University / Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationcoreGinkgo 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 TherapeuticsminorAcquired cell therapy platform assets from Modulus Therapeutics (autoimmune disease cell therapy designer), including libraries of CAR and switch receptor designs.
- ImagindairyminorPartnership with Israel-based Imagindairy to develop animal-free dairy proteins via precision fermentation, combining Imagindairy's fermentation expertise with Ginkgo's bioengineering capabilities.
- Proof DiagnosticsminorAcquired 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 FoundationcoreGrant provided to Ginkgo Bioworks to support the development of live cell therapeutics for HIV and malaria.
- Northeastern UniversitycoreConcentric 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 UniversitycoreJoint recipient of USDA NIFA AFRI grant to research SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer populations in Texas, involving DNA sequencing and analysis.
- PfizerflagshipSeptember 2023 collaboration announced to advance RNA molecule discovery using Ginkgo's proprietary technology. Deal potentially worth up to US$331 million across three programs.
- ZymergenflagshipGinkgo 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.minorAcquired certain assets of Bitome for $1.9 million; Bitome provides real-time metabolite monitoring technology using machine learning to monitor cell culture media.
- FGen AGminorAcquired Swiss bioengineering company FGen AG to enhance Ginkgo's cell screening capabilities through FGen's high-throughput platform.
- Project Beacon COVID-19 LLCcoreAcquisition 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.minorCompleted 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 NordiskflagshipMulti-year alliance expanded to collaborate across the R&D value chain. Featured prominently on Ginkgo's customer logo list.
- BiogencoreCompleted program to boost productivity of Biogen's gene therapy manufacturing platform.
- BayerflagshipMulti-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 BiocoreCo-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)flagshipThree-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)flagship$47M contract for a 97-instrument autonomous lab facility at PNNL; part of the DOE Genesis Mission for AI-driven discovery.
- PhytoloncorePartnership 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
Ginkgo Bioworks competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect 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
Ginkgo Bioworks social profiles
Digital presenceGinkgo Bioworks financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ginkgo Bioworks leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Ginkgo Bioworks subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries7 records
Ginkgo Bioworks funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds17 records
Investors35 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ginkgo Bioworks M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A16 records
Investments7 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ginkgo Bioworks
What does Ginkgo Bioworks do?
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.
Is Ginkgo Bioworks a public or private company?
Ginkgo Bioworks is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Ginkgo Bioworks founded?
Ginkgo Bioworks was founded in 2008. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Ginkgo Bioworks based?
Ginkgo Bioworks is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ginkgo Bioworks make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. R&D Services (Solutions & Datapoints) is the primary driver. The others are automation hardware (RACs, Tiles), catalyst software subscriptions, ginkgo Reagents store and ginkgo Cloud Lab (autonomous lab-as-a-service).
Who are Ginkgo Bioworks's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Twist Bioscience, Codexis and Opentrons. Broad incumbents are Hamilton Company, Tecan, Benchling and Charles River Laboratories. Emerging players are Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Ansa Bio and Inscripta (now part of Amber Bio / Madryne).
Does Ginkgo Bioworks have an API?
Yes. Ginkgo offers REST APIs through its Catalyst Orchestrator and Catalyst Data platforms. Catalyst Data provides a robust API for bidirectional communication with LIMS/ELN systems, enabling automatic recording of experimental data and seamless integration. Catalyst Orchestrator exposes REST APIs for launching protocols and monitoring execution, with a message queue to trigger downstream actions as work executes. APIs are designed for enterprise integration with proprietary IT and information security compliance. Developer documentation is at www.ginkgo.bio/product/software.
What industry is Ginkgo Bioworks in?
Ginkgo Bioworks's product category is Synthetic Biology Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAO, AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization, with a secondary code of HLAGAJAN, Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence. Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.