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Benchling

Benchling

Unlocking the power of biotech with modern software for modern science

Biotechnology is rewriting life as we know it, from the medicines we take, to the crops we grow, the materials we wear, and the household goods that we rely on every day. Biotech R&D is radically transforming our world, but to move at the new speed of science, scientists need better technology. Benchling’s mission is to unlock the power of biotechnology. The world’s biotech leaders and innovators use our R&D Cloud to power the development of breakthrough products and accelerate time to milestone and market.

Benchling
Founded:2012
Team Size:750
Location:San Francisco
Founders
Sajith Wickramasekara
Sajith Wickramasekara
CEO

Hear from the founders

How did your company get started? (i.e., How did the founders meet? How did you come up with the idea? How did you decide to be a founder?)

Benchling began over a decade ago in an academic lab at MIT, when we realized that the technology needed to support the complexity and pace of science wasn't available. So we created our own, with modern science and collaboration in mind.Today, Benchling serves the world’s biotech leaders and innovators, big and small. Our team wakes up every day focused on helping our global customers unlock the power of biotechnology faster, whether they're developing new medicines, crops, foods, or materials. The biotech revolution is happening today and Benchling powers the possibilities of tomorrow.

How did you decide to apply to Y Combinator? What was your experience applying, going through the batch, and fundraising at demo day?

In the early days, most software investors were not excited about biotechnology. But one investor who was curious about biotechnology was Y Combinator. Paul Graham wasn’t bothered by our originally narrow focus. I remember him saying that people who work with biology are important and so to be the most important software for them will surely turn out to be valuable.