TeselaGen
TeselaGen builds Tesela AI, an AI-powered operating system for biological R&D using autonomous agents and the patented Synthetic Evolution ML engine to automate DNA library design, assembly protocols, and biomolecule optimization across the DBTL cycle for pharma and biotech customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What TeselaGen does
TeselaGen Biotechnology, Inc. is a privately held US software company headquartered in Portola Valley, California, founded in 2012 by Nathan Hillson, Mike Fero, and Eduardo Abeliuk out of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). The company builds Tesela AI, an AI-enabled operating system for biological R&D that uses autonomous agents to design DNA libraries, generate assembly protocols, optimize biomolecules, and analyze experimental data across the full Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle. Core technology centers on the patented Synthetic Evolution ML engine, an exclusive commercial license to the j5 gene assembly software, and a FAIR-data architecture that supports custom ML model training on each customer's proprietary experimental data.
The product portfolio spans the Tesela AI agentic platform (Library Designer, Library Construction Optimizer, Experiment Optimizer, Data Analyst, and Workflow Designer agents), a Python SDK and REST API, an MCP server for AI-host integration, a Community Edition (free), a Starter Edition ($150/month per user), a custom-priced Enterprise tier, an Electronic Lab Notebook, and an ELN/LIMS Connector Framework. Native integrations cover DNA synthesis providers (Twist Bioscience, IDT, Elegen), lab automation platforms (Tecan, Hamilton, Echo, Biomek, epMotion, Mosquito, Flowbot), and major ELN/LIMS systems, with SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and HIPAA-ready infrastructure.
TeselaGen monetizes through a hybrid of freemium product-led growth, per-seat subscriptions, usage-based AI-token allocations, and custom enterprise contracts. The customer base includes Fortune 50 pharmaceutical and biotech firms (Amgen, Dow AgroSciences), industrial biotechnology leaders (LanzaTech, Genomatica), DNA synthesis providers (Twist Bioscience), research institutions (Stanford, Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCSF, UPenn, Pasteur Institute), and government laboratories (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, JBEI, CSIRO, ABPDU, BioMADE). The company has secured over $1.55M in cumulative NSF SBIR grant funding, holds multiple issued AI patents, and spun off Built Biotechnologies in December 2023 to focus its software platform on biological R&D.
TeselaGen firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- TeselaGen
- Legal name
- TeselaGen Biotechnology, Inc.
- Website
- https://teselagen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- TeselaGen builds Tesela AI, an AI-powered operating system for biological R&D using autonomous agents and the patented Synthetic Evolution ML engine to automate DNA library design, assembly protocols, and biomolecule optimization across the DBTL cycle for pharma and biotech customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
TeselaGen industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Synthetic Biology Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Synthetic Biology & Genetic Circuit Design Platforms (pathway engineering, chassis development) (HLAAAIAD), Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC)
Keywords
Where TeselaGen is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
TeselaGen business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription - Community Edition: Free tier for individual researchers and students with basic agent access, simple library design, protocol generation, and API/SDK access. Serves as product-led growth entry point.
- Subscription - Starter Edition: $150/month per user for biotech startups and research groups. Includes 10x more tokens, ELN/LIMS connectors, extended agents, and team collaboration features.
- Subscription - Enterprise Edition: Custom pricing for pharma and large biotech organizations. Includes high-volume agent tokens, Synthetic Evolution access, custom integrations, and advanced security/SSO.
- Usage-Based AI Tokens: AI agent usage tracked via tokens. Different tiers offer different monthly token allocations - basic for free users, 10x more for Starter, and high volume for Enterprise.
- Enterprise Software Licensing: Licensing agreements for enterprise platforms including gene editing and engineering software. Multiple Fortune 50 clients utilizing beta platform with early revenue exceeding $1M matching grant.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier for individual researchers and students |
| Subscription | Monthly | $150/month per user for biotech startups |
| Subscription | Annual | Custom pricing for pharma and enterprise |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
TeselaGen product offering
Product offeringCore offering
TeselaGen develops and sells Tesela AI, an AI-enabled operating system for biological R&D that uses autonomous AI agents to design combinatorial DNA libraries, generate complete assembly protocols (including primer design, plate maps, thermocycler programs, and lab automation worklists), and predictively optimize biomolecules through a patented Synthetic Evolution® machine learning engine. The platform is offered as multi-tier cloud SaaS (Community Edition free, Starter Edition $150/month per user, Enterprise custom pricing) and is also accessible via REST API, Python SDK, and MCP server for computational biologists and enterprise biotech teams.
Product overview
TeselaGen offers an AI-enabled operating system for biological R&D built around a Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle architecture. The core product is Tesela AI, featuring specialized autonomous agents for library design, protocol generation, experiment optimization, and data analysis. The platform includes the patented Synthetic Evolution® ML engine for biomolecule optimization. The product portfolio spans Tesela AI (agentic co-scientist with Library Designer, Library Construction Optimizer, Experiment Optimizer, Data Analyst, and Workflow Designer agents), Python SDK, REST API, and MCP Server for developers, plus the Community Edition (free), Starter Edition ($150/month), and Enterprise Platform. An Electronic Lab Notebook and ELN Connector Framework enable lab integration. FAIR data infrastructure provides provenance tracking and interoperability. The platform demonstrates 10x increase in design/build speed, 10-fold reduction in development costs, and 2-fold increase in production rate and titer.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Tesela AI Platform Agentic co-scientist platform for biological R&D featuring autonomous AI agents that design DNA libraries, generate assembly protocols, optimize biomolecules via Synthetic Evolution®, and analyze experiments. Connected to existing tools via API, SDK, or MCP. Sold as multi-tier cloud SaaS (Community, Starter, Enterprise) to enterprise pharma, biotech startups, and academic researchers.
- Electronic Lab Notebook Standalone Electronic Lab Notebook integrated with the Tesela AI platform, providing enhanced UI, real-time collaboration, secure data management, and FAIR-compliant experiment records for biological R&D labs.
- Python SDK Full-featured Python SDK (`pip install tesela`) providing programmatic access to every Tesela AI agent capability, including design_library(), generate_protocols(), and analyze_experiment(), for scripting workflows and integrating biological intelligence into pipelines, notebooks, and applications.
- REST API Language-agnostic HTTP REST API providing endpoints to access every Tesela AI agent capability from any platform or programming language. Documented at api-docs.teselagen.com with free API keys available for individual researchers.
- MCP Server Model Context Protocol server (`pip install tesela-mcp-server`) that connects Tesela AI agents to Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-compatible AI host, enabling conversational AI tools to invoke biological design and protocol generation capabilities.
- Protein Optimization Toolkit Standalone toolkit for automated biotherapeutic drug design and development, including APIs and integration tools for designing combinatorial protein libraries and AI models for optimizing peptides and proteins.
- In-Fusion Cloning Primer Design Tool Free online primer design tool launched in partnership with Takara Bio USA, generating primer sequences and vector maps for In-Fusion Cloning experiments including multi-fragment cloning, mutagenesis, and general cloning workflows.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10x reduction in development costs
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use TeselaGen
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
TeselaGen technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration18 records
AI capability10 records
Feature9 records
TeselaGen partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.
- Built BiotechnologiesminorSpin-off from TeselaGen to revolutionize DNA manufacturing, specializing in advanced DNA workflows for cell and gene therapies.
- Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI)coreFive-year contract renewal through 2027 to develop renewable biofuels and bioproducts from nonfood plant materials. JBEI receives DOE funding with TeselaGen as institutional partner supporting biofuels and bioproducts research.
- BioMADEminorContract to improve informatics infrastructure around fermentation-based biomanufacturing. Develops technologies to standardize data exchange and enable AI-enabled collaboration for US biomanufacturing.
- iGEM FoundationminorPartnership supports Design League competition in Latin America providing students access to TeselaGen's operating system for synthetic biology projects addressing local challenges.
- Agile BioFoundryminorCollaboration to deploy machine learning models on community-generated data to accelerate biomanufacturing. DOE-funded project to develop interoperability standard for fermentation process data exchange.
- Phycus BiotechnologiesminorCollaboration and licensing agreement to accelerate production of biome-friendly glycolic acid for cosmetics. Phycus licenses TeselaGen's AI-enabled operating system for designing and optimizing industrial-scale fermentation workflows.
- Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU)coreDeployment of TeselaGen's AI-enabled operating system bridges research and large-scale fermentation-based production. ABPDU uses TeselaGen's data acquisition capabilities to organize complex datasets as workflows scale from early-stage processes to larger bioreactors.
- LanzaTechcoreFive-year agreement extending partnership through 2025 for carbon remediation via biological processes. LanzaTech licenses TeselaGen's cloud-based informatics solution and collaborates to extend the platform with AI capabilities. TeselaGen supports LanzaTech's carbon-eating bacteria R&D for producing over 100 different molecules.
- Technical University of Denmark (DTU)coreDTU licensed TeselaGen's cloud-based platform to increase capabilities and speed up design-build-test-learn processes. Collaboration published in Nature Communications demonstrating combination of mechanistic and machine learning models for genotype-to-phenotype predictions.
- Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratorycoreOngoing collaboration on machine learning and synthetic biology optimization. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Joint BioEnergy Institute partnered with TeselaGen for automated DNA design and continues as key research partner.
- Arzeda/Twist Bioscience/Labcyte (Consortium)majorFour-company partnership showcasing state-of-the-art DNA assembly platform for diverse applications including food/beverage sweeteners and plexiglass components. Demonstrates integrated workflow from design to build.
- Twist BiosciencemajorPartnership providing high-quality DNA fragments integrated with TeselaGen's BUILD app for automated DNA assembly design. Twist Bioscience API integrates with TeselaGen for seamless DNA ordering and longer DNA segment construction.
- ArzedamajorArzeda licenses TeselaGen's cloud-based informatics solution to extend biological design automation platform. Partnership reduces time and cost for building genes encoding designed proteins through optimized information flow.
- Dow AgroSciencescoreExpanded collaboration to produce state-of-the-art biological design automation platform for accelerating agricultural discovery. Initial collaboration yielded 10-fold increase in discovery leads. New phase builds on this with industrial-scale cloning module.
- RedbiotecminorJoint venture to build rapid design and prototyping infrastructure for Herpesvirus vaccine development library. Redbiotec contributes rePAX technology for VLP production; TeselaGen contributes Synthetic Evolution technology.
- GenomaticamajorMulti-year licensing agreement for TeselaGen's synthetic biology software to accelerate organism development from renewable feedstocks. Genomatica uses TeselaGen's technology for high-throughput strain development in chemical production.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
TeselaGen competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Benchling: Benchling is a leading cloud-based informatics platform for biology R&D, providing ELN, LIMS, and molecular biology design tools. Directly comparable to TeselaGen on ELN/LIMS and registry functionality, with stronger general-purpose biology R&D positioning but less specialization on AI-driven DBTL automation.
- Arzeda: Arzeda uses computational protein design and AI for enzyme and protein engineering; a listed TeselaGen partner/integrator. Comparable as both operate in computational/AI protein and pathway design, though Arzeda focuses on proprietary protein design while TeselaGen provides the platform layer.
- Synthace: Synthace offers a cloud-based platform that combines experimental design, automation, and data analysis for biology R&D. Direct peer in software-driven DBTL automation with comparable emphasis on lab automation integration and experimental data infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo Bioworks operates a large-scale synthetic biology platform with internal Codebase and software tools for organism engineering. Comparable as a broad incumbent in synthetic biology services, though much larger and vertically integrated into biomanufacturing rather than selling software licenses.
- Zymergen (now part of Ginkgo): Zymergen built automation and ML platforms for biology R&D and biomanufacturing. Comparable as a broader automation/ML-driven biology platform incumbent, though focused on full-stack biomanufacturing rather than software-licensed R&D tools.
- LabVantage Solutions: LabVantage is an established LIMS/ELN vendor serving pharma and biotech labs. Comparable as a broader incumbent in lab informatics, though legacy-oriented and less specialized in synthetic biology design automation.
Emerging players
- DNAnexus: DNAnexus provides a cloud platform for genomic and biomedical data analysis with strong enterprise pharma traction. Comparable as a cloud SaaS platform serving biomedical R&D, though more focused on genomic data analysis than molecular design and DBTL automation.
- Schrödinger: Schrödinger provides computational chemistry and molecular simulation software increasingly applied to biologics and protein design. Comparable as an AI/ML platform serving pharma/biotech R&D with adjacent (computational) capabilities, though primarily chemistry-focused.
Others
- OpenAI / Anthropic (foundation model providers): Foundation-model providers whose APIs TeselaGen already uses to power Tesela Copilot. Comparable as adjacent enablers of agentic biology R&D; potential competitive risk if general-purpose LLMs develop domain-specific synthetic biology capabilities.
- Labcyte / Beckman Coulter (Echo acoustic liquid handling): Beckman Coulter's Echo liquid handler is integrated into TeselaGen's automation ecosystem. Comparable as an enabling lab automation partner, with potential to develop competing software layers around their own instrumentation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
TeselaGen social profiles
Digital presenceTeselaGen compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
TeselaGen financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
TeselaGen leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
TeselaGen subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
TeselaGen funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds10 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
TeselaGen M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about TeselaGen
What does TeselaGen do?
TeselaGen develops and sells Tesela AI, an AI-enabled operating system for biological R&D that uses autonomous AI agents to design combinatorial DNA libraries, generate complete assembly protocols (including primer design, plate maps, thermocycler programs, and lab automation worklists), and predictively optimize biomolecules through a patented Synthetic Evolution® machine learning engine. The platform is offered as multi-tier cloud SaaS (Community Edition free, Starter Edition $150/month per user, Enterprise custom pricing) and is also accessible via REST API, Python SDK, and MCP server for computational biologists and enterprise biotech teams.
Is TeselaGen a public or private company?
TeselaGen is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was TeselaGen founded?
TeselaGen was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is TeselaGen based?
TeselaGen is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does TeselaGen make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription - Community Edition is the primary driver. The others are subscription - Starter Edition, subscription - Enterprise Edition, usage-Based AI Tokens and enterprise Software Licensing.
Who are TeselaGen's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Benchling, Arzeda and Synthace. Broad incumbents are Ginkgo Bioworks, Zymergen (now part of Ginkgo) and LabVantage Solutions. Emerging players are DNAnexus and Schrödinger. Others are OpenAI / Anthropic (foundation model providers) and Labcyte / Beckman Coulter (Echo acoustic liquid handling).
Does TeselaGen have an API?
Yes. TeselaGen offers a REST API and Python SDK for integrating biological intelligence into pipelines, notebooks, and applications. The REST API provides language-agnostic HTTP endpoints accessible at api-docs.teselagen.com. The Python SDK (`pip install tesela`) provides full programmatic access to every agent capability including library design, protocol generation, and experiment analysis. An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is also available (Coming Soon/Available) for connecting to Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-compatible AI host. The SDK supports features such as design_library(), generate_protocols(), and analyze_experiment(). A CLI tool (`pip install tesela-cli`) is also offered for command-line access and automation. Developer documentation is at api-docs.teselagen.com.
What industry is TeselaGen in?
TeselaGen's product category is Synthetic Biology Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAO, AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization, with a secondary code of HLAAAIAD, Synthetic Biology & Genetic Circuit Design Platforms (pathway engineering, chassis development). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.