BOSTON, Feb. 28,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:
DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming
and biosecurity, announced the acquisition of key assets of Reverie
Labs, which built and used AI/ML tools to accelerate drug
discovery. Ginkgo has acquired Reverie's infrastructure and
software for training large-scale AI foundation models and four of
Reverie's key AI team members will join Ginkgo. The acquisition is
intended to strengthen Ginkgo's AI/ML-driven discovery services
offering and to accelerate Ginkgo's work to build next-generation
biological foundation models.
Anna Marie Wagner, SVP, Head
of Corporate Development and Head of AI of Ginkgo Bioworks:
"The Reverie Labs team has built an impressive platform and
architecture for computationally-driven biological discovery and
validation, and it's going to be very exciting to be able to use
the tools they've developed across the wide, diverse range of
discovery challenges our customers face. It has been a joy to work
with this team throughout the transaction, and I'm looking forward
to working with the Reverie team to accelerate the development of
multimodal foundation models at Ginkgo."
The Reverie team joining Ginkgo as a part of this transaction
(including Reverie's CTO, Ankit
Gupta, who will be joining Ginkgo as Head of AI/ML
Advancement) will support both the onboarding of Reverie's
technology into Ginkgo's growing AI/ML infrastructure and also
support the future development and application of AI/ML-based
techniques to engineer biology. Ginkgo will incorporate Reverie's
models, software, and workflows to advance its infrastructure for
AI/ML-driven experimental design. Reverie's generative AI platform
for chemistry will also be added into Ginkgo's capabilities to
support small molecule programs.
Jonah Kallenbach, CEO and co-founder of Reverie
Labs: "Our team at Reverie has made great strides using
machine learning modeling to improve human wellbeing, and I am
eager to marry our technology with Ginkgo's repository of data,
enabling Ginkgo to build some of the world's best AI models to
engineer biology and chemistry. Ginkgo is a perfect home for the
technology that Ankit, the Reverie team, and I have built over the
last six years, and I am very excited to see the impact it will
have in the short and long term."
Ankit Gupta, CTO and
co-founder of Reverie Labs: "Joining forces with Ginkgo
Bioworks is an incredibly exciting next step in our mission of
building and deploying machine learning models to solve impactful
problems in biology. Working with Ginkgo's incredible biopharma and
academic partners, we're excited to advance the entire industry
with a positive feedback loop between generative AI and biology at
Foundry scale. We're especially motivated by the impact our
combined team can have on human health and biosecurity
worldwide."
Ginkgo's existing AI/ML-driven efforts include Owl, its tool for
AI-guided design. Owl integrates with a full range of computational
tools, selected by Ginkgo's enzyme engineering team and proven out
over dozens of projects. Last year, Ginkgo also announced a
strategic partnership with Google Cloud to build a generative AI
platform for engineering biology and for biosecurity. Additionally,
Ginkgo has partnered with Merck to improve its biologic
manufacturing, with Pfizer to advance the discovery and development
of novel RNA molecules across priority research areas, and with
Boehringer Ingelheim to accelerate discovery and development of
novel therapeutic molecules to address hard-to-treat diseases.
To learn more about Ginkgo Biopharmaceutical Services, please
visit
https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/offerings/biopharmaceutical/
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for cell
programming, providing flexible, end-to-end services that solve
challenges for organizations across diverse markets, from food and
agriculture to pharmaceuticals to industrial and specialty
chemicals. Ginkgo's biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric
by Ginkgo, is building global infrastructure for biosecurity to
empower governments, communities, and public health leaders to
prevent, detect and respond to a wide variety of biological
threats. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and
concentricbyginkgo.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media
channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @ConcentricByGBW), Instagram
(@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks) or LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements of Ginkgo Bioworks
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including
statements regarding the capabilities and potential success of the
acquisition and Ginkgo's cell programming platform. These
forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words
"believe," "can," "project," "potential," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan,"
"may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will
likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements
are predictions, projections and other statements about future
events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and,
as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors
could cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not
limited to: (i) volatility in the price of Ginkgo's securities due
to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and
highly regulated industries in which Ginkgo operates and plans to
operate, variations in performance across competitors, and changes
in laws and regulations affecting Ginkgo's business, (ii) the
ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other
expectations, and to identify and realize additional business
opportunities, (iii) the risk of downturns in demand for products
using synthetic biology, (iv) the uncertainty regarding the demand
for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services, (v)
changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements
in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry
demands, standards and regulations, (vi) our ability to realize the
expected benefits of merger and acquisition transactions, (vii) the
outcome of any legal proceedings against Ginkgo, including as a
result of recent acquisitions, (viii) our ability to realize the
expected benefits from and the success of our Foundry platform
programs, (ix) our ability to successfully develop engineered
cells, bioprocesses, data packages or other deliverables, and (x)
the product development or commercialization success of our
customers. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You
should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks
and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of
Ginkgo's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on November 8, 2023 and other documents filed by
Ginkgo from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and
address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual events and results to differ materially from those contained
in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Ginkgo assumes no
obligation and does not intend to update or revise these
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise. Ginkgo does not give any assurance
that it will achieve its expectations.
GINKGO BIOWORKS INVESTOR
CONTACT:
investors@ginkgobioworks.com
GINKGO BIOWORKS MEDIA
CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks