Racer Biosciences

What Racer Biosciences does

Racer Biosciences is a privately-held life sciences tools company headquartered in San Diego, California, developing molecular biology reagents for DNA assembly, amplification, and protein expression. The company's platform is anchored by F1-X, a next-generation Gibson Assembly Master Mix that supports 2–12 fragments per reaction (demonstrated up to 14 fragments in a single 9 kb lycopene pathway assembly) and total assembly sizes up to 100 kb, with NGS-verified whole-plasmid sequencing on every production batch. Two additional product lines are announced for 2026: RC-X, a cell-free rolling circle amplification kit producing up to 50 µg of plasmid DNA in 2–6 hours without bacterial transformation, and V1-X, a Vibrio natriegens-based microbial protein expression system offering ~14-minute doubling time, up to 60× more soluble protein versus E. coli on difficult targets, and 100× lower endotoxins. A complimentary DNA Fragment Splitter bioinformatics tool assists researchers in designing overlapping fragments for Gibson Assembly.

The company's go-to-market combines direct self-serve e-commerce on its own website with global distribution through 7+ established life-science suppliers including Cosmo Bio USA and Labscoop in the Americas. Pricing is transparent and tiered, ranging from $158 for a 10-reaction kit ($15.80/rxn) to $2,358 for a 250-reaction kit ($9.43/rxn), positioned approximately 15% below NEBuilder HiFi. Revenue is generated through one-time kit purchases, with bulk pricing, Net 30 terms for approved accounts, and a 30-day money-back guarantee to reduce purchase friction. Customer segments span synthetic biology and strain engineering, gene circuit construction, large genomic constructs, therapeutics development, and high-throughput discovery workflows.

Racer was founded by a team of scientists and operators led by Founder/Chairman Todd R. Nelson, a serial life science entrepreneur whose prior companies include Telesis Bio, DiscoverX (Eurofins), MP Biomedicals (Valiant), and eBioscience (Thermo Fisher). Dr. Daniel Gibson, the inventor of Gibson Assembly and co-leader of the first synthetic cell project, serves as board member and scientific advisor. CSO Dr. Jasmine Hershewe joined from Telesis Bio, where she previously led global field applications science. Technology is protected under three granted US patents (7,776,532; 8,435,736; 8,968,999) with additional patents pending, and the company manufactures its reagents in-house in San Diego.

Name

Racer Biosciences

Legal name

Racer Biosciences, Inc.

Website

https://racerbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Racer Biosciences is a San Diego-based life sciences tools company that develops molecular biology reagents for DNA assembly, amplification, and protein expression, serving synthetic biology, gene therapy, and academic researchers globally through direct e-commerce and 7+ distribution partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Molecular Biology Reagents

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Molecular Biology & Genomics Instruments (PCR/qPCR, Sequencing, Microarrays) (HLAGAIAF)

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), mRNA & Nucleic Acid Manufacturing Services (mRNA/saRNA/Plasmid DNA) (HLAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Gibson Assembly kits
• Molecular biology reagents
• DNA assembly tools
• Protein expression systems
• Synthetic biology tools

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. F1-X Gibson Assembly Kit Sales: One-time purchase model for molecular biology reagent kits sold in reaction volumes (10, 50, 100, 250 reactions). Revenue generated through direct website sales and distributor partnerships globally.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Racer Biosciences manufactures and sells NGS-verified molecular biology reagent kits for DNA assembly, amplification, and protein expression. The core offering is the F1-X™ Gibson Assembly Master Mix, an isothermal reagent supporting multi-fragment DNA assembly (2-14 fragments, up to 100 kb) with whole-plasmid NGS sequencing validation on every lot. The company is also building RC-X™ rolling circle amplification and V1-X™ Vibrio natriegens protein expression products as an integrated DNA-to-protein workflow for synthetic biology and therapeutics researchers.

Product overview

Racer Biosciences offers a modular molecular biology platform spanning DNA assembly, amplification, and expression. The platform consists of three core products: F1-X™ (available now) for next-generation Gibson Assembly with NGS-verified performance; RC-X™ (coming 2026) for cell-free rolling circle DNA amplification; and V1-X™ (coming 2026) for Vibrio natriegens-based microbial protein expression. The products are designed as an integrated workflow — from DNA design and fragment assembly (F1-X), through cell-free amplification (RC-X), to protein expression (V1-X). A DNA Fragment Splitter bioinformatics tool is also available for fragment design. All products are developed with scientific input from Dr. Dan Gibson, inventor of Gibson Assembly, and are manufactured in-house in San Diego, CA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• F1-X™ Gibson Assembly Master Mix Next-generation isothermal Gibson Assembly 1-Step Master Mix for multi-fragment DNA assembly, supporting 2-12 fragments per reaction (demonstrated up to 14 fragments) and total assembly sizes up to 100 kb. NGS-verified with whole-plasmid sequencing validation on every lot. Sold to synthetic biology researchers, metabolic engineers, gene therapy developers, and high-throughput discovery labs in 10, 50, 100, and 250 reaction kit sizes.
• RC-X™ Rolling Circle Amplification Kit Cell-free rolling circle amplification kit for producing microgram-scale quantities of plasmid DNA entirely in vitro without bacterial transformation or miniprep columns. Amplification time 2-6 hours with yield up to 50 µg. Designed for high-throughput discovery workflows including IVT, mRNA synthesis, transfection, and long-read sequencing.
• V1-X™ Microbial Protein Expression System Microbial protein expression system using Vibrio natriegens with ~14 minute doubling time, up to 60× more soluble protein yield versus E. coli on difficult targets, and 100× lower endotoxin levels at BSL1 safety classification. Targeted at strain engineering, gene therapy vector production, and expression of membrane proteins and toxic constructs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14.3% higher error-free clone rate vs NEBuilder HiFi (NGS-validated)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and primary.

• Dr. Daniel Gibson, Ph.D.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Dan Gibson, inventor of Gibson Assembly and board member, provides scientific input and guidance on product development. He co-led teams that created the first synthetic bacterial genome and first synthetic cell, bringing decades of synthetic biology expertise.
• Cosmo Bio USAprimaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary distributor for Racer Biosciences products in the Americas region. Makes F1-X and other products available through established life-science distribution channels.
• LabscoopprimaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor partner serving the Americas region for Racer Biosciences products, providing additional distribution reach alongside Cosmo Bio USA.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• New England Biolabs: Direct peer and the incumbent Racer explicitly benchmarks against. NEB's NEBuilder HiFi is the dominant Gibson Assembly kit on the market, sold with deep catalog ubiquity and institutional procurement entrenchment.
• Telesis Bio (formerly SGI-DNA / Codex DNA): Direct peer operating the BioXp synthetic biology platform and the original Gibson Assembly commercial licensee. Telesis holds the underlying Gibson Assembly trademark that Racer licenses and offers automated benchtop DNA assembly workflows that overlap with Racer's assembly/amplification roadmap.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Broad incumbent selling GeneArt Gibson Assembly HiFi as part of its extensive molecular biology portfolio. Competes with Racer in DNA assembly reagents and adjacent expression/cloning tools across an enormous installed base.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Broad incumbent in molecular biology and protein research products with overlapping reagent and instrumentation offerings. Sells into the same synthetic biology and gene expression customer base as Racer.
• Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT): Broad incumbent offering gene synthesis, DNA assembly tools, and molecular biology reagents that overlap with Racer's customer segments. Owned by Danaher, IDT serves many of the same synthetic biology and academic researchers.
• Promega Corporation: Broad incumbent in life sciences reagents, including DNA assembly and protein expression products that overlap with Racer's F1-X and V1-X offerings across academic and biopharma labs.

Emerging players

• Molecular Assemblies: Emerging player in enzymatic DNA synthesis with a long-term vision of cell-free, scalable oligonucleotide production. An early-stage peer adjacent to Racer's cell-free rolling circle amplification strategy and synthetic biology customer base.
• GenScript: Emerging player in gene synthesis, plasmid DNA production, and molecular biology services. Directly adjacent to Racer's RC-X rolling circle amplification use cases (IVT templates, mRNA synthesis) and competes for synthetic biology budgets.
• Twist Bioscience: Emerging player in synthetic DNA, gene fragments, and antibody libraries with overlap in the synthetic biology and pathway engineering segments Racer targets. Competes for share of researcher DNA assembly and amplification budgets.
• Aldevron (Danaher): Emerging player in plasmid DNA, mRNA, and protein production services for therapeutic and research applications. Directly relevant to Racer's therapeutics development and IVT/mRNA synthesis use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/racerbio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/racerbio

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Racer Biosciences