Ginkgo Bioworks to Build an Autonomous Lab at Novo’s New U.S. R&D Site in Waltham

Novo's purchase of the autonomous lab deepens a multi-year relationship with Ginkgo and reflects growing industry momentum toward autonomous labs.

BOSTON, September 15, 2026 - Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) today announced that it has been selected to build an autonomous lab powered by its Reconfigurable Automation Cart (RAC) architecture at Novo's new R&D site in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The agreement marks an expansion of the relationship between the two companies. Novo has already worked with Ginkgo as an external R&D partner, and now adds Ginkgo as a provider of the automation tools and software that power its internal laboratories for U.S. R&D.

The purchase is another indication of a broader shift underway across the life sciences from manual lab benches and walk-up automation toward autonomous labs. By combining the RAC system's flexible robotic hardware with Ginkgo's Catalyst integrated software, Ginkgo's autonomous lab systems combine the speed, scale, and reproducibility of automation without losing the flexibility of the lab bench. It can also connect to AI agents that write protocols or act as a co-scientist, bringing AI directly into the experimental loop.

"Novo continues to lead the industry in bringing AI and robotics into pharma R&D with their investment in autonomous labs," said Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. "We're proud to partner with Novo to put our robotics directly in the hands of Novo scientists. I'm excited about a future where autonomous labs run lab experiments around the clock and free scientists to focus on analysis and discovery."

To learn more about Ginkgo's autonomous lab technology, visit https://www.ginkgo.bio/automation-product.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks builds the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone. The company offers autonomous laboratories that replace manual laboratory work with robotics in the lab, greatly improving the productivity of scientists. Ginkgo's in-house autonomous lab is also available as a "Cloud Lab" through our Datapoints and Solutions contract research services. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements of Ginkgo Bioworks

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the capabilities and potential success of the partnership. 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 announcement, including but not limited to: (i) our ability to realize near-term and long-term cost savings associated with our site consolidation plans, including the ability to terminate leases or find sub-lease tenants for unused facilities, (ii) 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, (iii) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and to identify and realize additional business opportunities, including with respect to our solutions and tools offerings, (iv) the risk of downturns in demand for products using synthetic biology, (v) the uncertainty regarding the demand for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services, (vi) changes to the biosecurity industry, including due to advancements in technology, emerging competition and evolution in industry demands, standards and regulations, (vii) the outcome of any pending or potential legal proceedings against Ginkgo, (viii) our ability to realize the expected benefits from and the success of our platform programs and assets, (ix) our ability to successfully develop engineered cells, bioprocesses, data packages or other deliverables, (x) the product development, production or manufacturing success of our customers, (xi) our exposure to the volatility and liquidity risks inherent in holding equity interests in other operating companies and other non-cash consideration we may receive for our services, (xii) the potential negative impact on our business of our restructuring or the failure to realize the anticipated savings associated therewith, (xiii) the uncertainty regarding government budgetary priorities and funding allocated to government agencies, including potential adverse effects from the U.S. government shutdown, (xiv) our ability to scale, expand the capacity of, and continue to develop the capabilities of our autonomous lab (including Nebula) on the timelines and to the extent we anticipate, (xv) the pace and degree to which autonomous laboratory infrastructure is adopted by, and displaces manual laboratory work in, the broader life sciences and industrial biotechnology markets, (xvi) the actual size, composition and growth of the addressable markets we target, which may differ materially from our estimates, (xvii) our ability to integrate our autonomous lab platform with third-party artificial intelligence models and other technologies, and the rate of development and adoption of such technologies, and (xviii) our ability to maintain and expand strategic partnerships and customer relationships, including those with named partners referenced in this announcement. 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 annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 26, 2026, 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.