Ginkgo and OpenAI run 36,000 autonomous lab experiments
Ginkgo Bioworks and OpenAI demonstrated a GPT-5-driven closed-loop laboratory that ran 36,000 experimental conditions and cut cell-free protein synthesis costs by 40%.
Evidence notes
- The system linked GPT-5 with Ginkgo's Reconfigurable Automation Carts and Catalyst software to design, execute and analyse experiments with minimal human involvement.
- Across six iterative cycles, the autonomous laboratory processed more than 580 384-well plates and generated nearly 150,000 experimental data points.
- The resulting reaction mix produced the benchmark protein sfGFP at $422 per gram in component costs, compared with a previously reported $698 per gram.
Company context
Ginkgo Bioworks operates an automated platform for engineering biology. The Boston company uses lab automation and software infrastructure to make biology easier to engineer.