Opentrons Flex™ laboratory robot launched to accelerate bioautomation of thousands of life science experiments
Unprecedented affordable, open source and modular robotics make science accessible to everyone, so the next discovery can come from any lab
BROOKLYN, NY, May 22, 2023 – Opentrons, a leader in laboratory automation, announces the launch of Opentrons Flex Robots, a new generation of affordable and easy-to-program liquid handling laboratory robots designed to provide laboratories with equitable Competing environment Equipment of all sizes brings advanced laboratory automation to more researchers. Flex blends advanced robotics with a deep open source software ecosystem, is compatible with artificial intelligence tools, and has nearly unlimited potential to learn new protocols. The new products build on the company's momentum with clients including the Mayo Clinic, Harvard University and MIT.
Opentrons' mission is to empower scientists to get more lab work done the way they want. While traditional lab robots require extensive software knowledge and months of training, Flex's open-source design and accessible API make it attractive to scientists in the life sciences, especially those advancing generative artificial intelligence. Flex is designed to be compatible with Design of Experiments programs, including artificial intelligence-driven agents. As more scientists contribute applications to the platform, Flex's open source nature allows Opentrons to better train its AI algorithms for more seamless automation, making life sciences more reproducible and adaptable to the world. Laboratories everywhere.
Opentrons Flex Robot
Jon Brennan-Badal, CEO of Opentrons, said: “Scientists have long been limited by laboratory tools, and traditional automation tools that are bulky and expensive have not yet been able to cost-effectively solve this problem. "Flex robots democratize automation in life sciences research by making lab automation as easy as using a smartphone."
"The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has purchased several OT-2s over the past few years, and they are a major component in our autonomous driving laboratory development. Opentrons' engineering transparency, open source philosophy, and the ease of customization of the OT-2 have given We were impressed," said Casey Stone, a computer scientist and bioinformatician at Argonne National Laboratory. “We look forward to seeing what the new Opentrons Flex has to offer in terms of greater liquid handling capabilities and higher throughput.”
“At Khosla Ventures, we invest early on in bold and impactful ideas,” said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, which has been investing in Opentrons since its inception. “With Flex, we are working to move from the current ratio of 1 robot to 10 lab scientists for research lab throughput to a ratio of 10 robots to 1 lab scientist.”
Flex robots offer significant advantages over traditional laboratory automation solutions:
At a fraction of the cost of competitors: Flex robots have a total cost of ownership that is 1/10 that of competitors, allowing labs to further expand their budgets by a factor of 10 and give more researchers access to advanced automation technologies.
Days vs. Weeks: Flex robots can be quickly set up or reconfigured for new applications in a fraction of the time typically required, allowing scientists to devote more time to research.
Self-learning capabilities: Full open access to Opentrons’ library of over 500 community and proven protocols. Flex offers an unparalleled range of options that can be used out of the box or customized to create novel experiments using generative AI tools.
Featuring modular hardware and powerful software tools, user-friendly Flex robots adapt to experiments, simplifying laboratory automation, reducing errors, and enabling transformative, reproducible research across the life sciences industry, particularly in molecular biology. . Flex will launch with multiple flagship configurations built for genomics and proteomics workflows.
“The integration of Opentrons OT-2 revolutionizes the way we conduct experiments in the laboratory,” said Jonathan Sexton, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medicine and assistant professor of medicinal chemistry in the School of Pharmacy. “With OT-2, we were able to incorporate automation into our workflow within a week and at a cost of only a few thousand dollars, and the open source software platform allows us to use the platform to get creative and solve new problems. I’m eagerly looking forward to using Flex Further improving the efficiency and flexibility of our laboratories.”
Opentrons have gained huge traction in the scientific community. Its robots have been shipped to more than 40 countries and are critical tools for laboratories around the world seeking to automate molecular biology and biochemistry research. Today, thousands of scientists and institutions, including 70% of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies and 90% of the top 50 biological research universities, rely on Opentrons robots in their laboratories. Opentrons also has OEM partnerships through which customers can leverage its hardware and software stack capabilities.
About Opentrons Flex:
Opentrons Flex features easily reconfigurable modular hardware including interchangeable pipettes from 1 to 96 channels, plate holders, onboard thermal cyclers, heater shakers, magnetic plates, and more. The Opentrons software ecosystem includes a robust library of over 500 protocols, as well as simple drag-and-drop cloud software that enables you to create protocols based on your specific needs. Flex’s modern API allows for nearly unlimited control of robots and seamless integration to build scalable workflows. The Opentrons Flex NGS Workstation automates many popular NGS library preparation kits, including tag-based and fragmentation chemistries, starting at less than $50,000; the Opentrons Flex Protein Purification Workstation automates magnetic bead-based protein purification workflows, starting at less than $40,000 USD; Opentrons Flex volume workstations start under $20,000. To learn more about Opentrons Flex, visit opentrons.com.
About Opentrons:
Opentrons Labworks, Inc. is a disruptive life sciences company and current leader in the entry-level laboratory automation market, accelerating innovation in research and healthcare through its integrated laboratory platform, including the Opentrons Robotics and Neochromosome business units. Opentrons has raised over $200 million in funding and achieved unicorn status based on its first- and second-generation robots, OT-One and OT-2. Opentrons Robotics provides flexible, easy-to-use laboratory robots to thousands of institutions, automating R&D operations and making robots a vast open source library available to life science researchers around the world. Neochromosome provides world-class genome-scale cell engineering solutions for biopharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Trusted by institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University, Harvard University and MIT, Opentrons is used in thousands of academic, biopharmaceutical, synthetic biology and clinical research laboratories in more than 40 countries. For more information, please visit https://www.opentronslabworks.com/.
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