Building an AI-Driven Autonomous Lab for Life Science R&D | Discovery Engines

Jason Kelly, CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, believes the future of life science R&D is autonomous, starting with the 52-cart lab he and his team have built in Boston. In this episode, I sit down with Jason to explore Ginkgo's autonomous biology lab, its collaboration with OpenAI, the POTUS-backed Genesis Mission, and where autonomous physical systems could take science next.

Hosted by Nabil Laoudji. See below for episode links, chapters, and our socials. 🙏🙌

Episode Links:

Ginkgo Bioworks Jason Kelly's LinkedIn OpenAI x Ginkgo Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Collaboration Genesis Mission to Accelerate AI for Scientific Discovery PNNL's Anaerobic Microbial Phenotyping Platform (AMP2) Society for Lab Automation and Screening GlobalData Report: Large Pharma Drug Licensing from China

Chapters:

(00:00) - Preview (01:54) - Jurassic Park and the Value of Storytelling in Science (04:50) - What Is the Department of Energy's AMP2 at PNNL? (07:17) - How Autonomous Labs Can Be Used to Run Experiments (11:49) - Principles of the Autonomous Lab (Waymo Analogy) (17:12) - Project Genesis, Competing with China in Scientific Discovery (23:42) - Reindustrializing America via Automation (37:03) - OpenAI Designing and Running Bio Experiments (47:17) - Advice to Frontier Labs Designing AI Intelligence for Science (49:24) - Ginkgo Autonomous Lab Tour (1:00:38) - OpenAI's Interface With Ginkgo (1:02:51) - Lab Scheduler Platform (1:16:19) - Advice for Deep Tech Startups (1:22:22) - Advice for Scientists and Founders Thinking About Where to Focus in Biotech (1:25:18) - How Research Labs Could Better Collaborate and Communicate Results (1:29:23) - Advantages and Challenges of Going Public (1:32:14) - Public Perception of Ginkgo (1:33:57) - How Ginkgo's Business Model Has Changed

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