Jul 30, 2020   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Kebotix Expands With Second Research Lab

Looking to grow by scaling operations and accelerating R&D efforts, Kebotix, a Cambridge-based technology platform company for new chemicals and materials, is extending its labs operations in the Boston area at C2I, a chemistry-focused accelerator in Woburn.

The lab automation team will relocate from The Engine in Cambridge to C2I. With a move-in date set for Aug. 1, Kebotix will be the second-largest tenant at C2I with 1,000 square feet. The fast-growing startup will join seven other tenants sharing a common focus in biotech and chemistry. Kebotix’s headquarters will remain at The Engine in startup-dotted Central Square.

Outgrowing its facility in Cambridge less than two years since coming out of stealth mode is a testament to Kebotix’s rapid success, according to Dr. Jill S. Becker, CEO and founder.

“Kebotix is driven by speed, mainly in the faster, cost-effective discovery of chemicals and materials, so it makes sense that we’d need to expand our operations in rapid fashion as well,” Becker said.

The new labs facility makes good on a promise the CEO made in April when $11.4 million raised in Series A funding was announced. Kebotix stated that due to growing demand for its materials discovery platform capabilities, the new investment, led by Novo Holdings, a leading international life science investor, would power growth in scaling operations and accelerating R&D efforts to generate discoveries of urgent global importance.

C2I has been driven by a niche purpose – as a chemistry accelerator – since its founding in 2013. Commenting on the newer digs, Dr. Semion Saikin, Kebotix’s chief science officer, said his company will benefit from C2I’s offering of industrial standards chemistry lab space at competitive prices.

“Not only does our new labs facility offer physical resources, its in-house team consists of experienced organic chemists headed by Raj Rajur, who for the past 15 years has been operating CreaGen, a medicinal chemistry CRO/R&D firm and C2I’s anchoring partner,” Saikin said. “Raj has an upstanding reputation within the Boston chemistry scene.”

Rajur, also C2I’s founder and executive director, added, “Kebotix truly fits the mold of our most successful C2I tenants. Bringing a highly experienced, integrated team to C2I makes them ripe for taking advantage of our unique offerings no other accelerators in the area provide. The opportunities are endless.”

Kebotix is coming to C2I at an especially exciting time, according to Naveen Rajur, the accelerator’s business development lead. “C2I has plans to grow its footprint with goals to renovate 6,000 square feet of private biology lab space to house upwards of eight tenants in the coming months, effectively doubling capacity,” he said. In addition, Rajur foresees opening additional locations in the Boston area by mid-2021 as well as establishing C2I campuses in biotech hubs nationwide later this decade.

Filling a Void

Expanding Kebotix’s patented 21st century methods at C2I, which prides itself as nurturing the next generation of life science entrepreneurs and their technologies, is another example of Kebotix’s commitment to fill the void in a market hungry for a platform that increases innovation rates at reduced costs.

Major players in the private and public sectors are tapping into Kebotix’s platform in search of breakthroughs in faster, cost-effective discovery of chemicals and materials. The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, for one, collaborated with Kebotix to discover new treatments and cures for diseases faster. The partnership successfully reduced experimental time from 49 hours to 9 hours, providing 40 more hours to save lives. For Koura (formerly Mexichem Fluor), Kebotix discovered environmentally friendly high-performance materials in remarkably less time and cost – three months instead of the average three-plus years, and at a reduction of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Such breakthroughs have earned Kebotix several significant honors, including being named in June as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in recognition for the company’s “potential to transform industries and make a significant impact on business and society.” Kebotix has been named to CBInsights’ “Top 100 AI Companies” list and as one of Chemical & Engineering News’ “10 Start-ups to Watch.”

About Kebotix

Kebotix harnesses the power of its breakthrough platform that combines artificial intelligence and robotic automation to discover chemicals and materials significantly faster and more affordably. Kebotix is backed by a growing, talented and dedicated team led by world-class scientists and serial entrepreneurs – plus the world’s first self-driving lab for materials discovery – to develop AI/machine learning roadmaps and define problems and solution properties for its partners, and solve the world’s most urgent problems for everyone else. Kebotix provides its partners technology access to its digital R&D solutions and complete end-to-end materials innovation programs to stay ahead of competition in the digital revolution.

About C2I

C2I is a flexible and affordable chemistry-focused facility located in Woburn, Mass. The 20,000-square-foot facility is fully equipped with chemistry, biology, and tissue culture labs with high-end instrumentation. The C2I Accelerator provides a platform for researchers to create, collaborate, innovate and discover a path to success in a faster and more efficient manner than what’s found in a traditional office work setting. Located about 30 minutes from the educational hubs of Boston, C2I fosters an environment where ideas are drawn and cultivated from a great variety of life science minds, serving as a platform to promote innovation and collaboration.