Automata, the automation company working with life science companies, has raised $50 million in Series B funding.

The investment round was led by Octopus Ventures with participation from returning investors Hummingbird, Latitude Ventures, ABB Technology Ventures, Isomer Capital as well as strategic investors such as In-Q-Tel, amongst others.

This investment will enable significant development, in the UK and beyond, of Automata Labs for scientists working across diagnostic, drug discovery and biotech.

With this technology, life scientists can shorten turnaround times by scaling capacities, and spend more time on their analyses – which also leads to cost reductions.

This Series B investment is on the back of rapid growth for Automata, whose focus on the life sciences has seen nearly a million tests conducted by scientists and clinicians in recent months.

Automata’s systems have been successfully utilised by NHS pathology labs to help them meet diagnostic backlogs and upscale capacity, in one of these labs they are running 40 fully automated stations 24/7.

Scientists who have used Automata Labs report that they are able to achieve consistently accurate results faster, and on a larger scale, than before.

Automata is also currently advising and deploying automation with contract research organisations, research labs and leading blue chip healthcare institutions.

Mostafa ElSayed, Automata’s CEO said: “I’m really excited at how this funding will take us on the next stage of our successful journey. At Automata we have always believed in the power of automation to support a variety of uses especially when deployed at scale. We are thrilled to see our users adopt automation at a scale that transforms their ability to deliver more innovation in the life sciences to ultimately accelerate their pursuit of progress. For far too long scientists and clinicians have been having to work with overly complex lab solutions: equipment and software are disjointed and difficult to orchestrate, while solutions are often too rigid and inappropriate for labs with small geographic footprints. Our next generation technology solves this.”

Jess McCreadie, principal, healthtech at Octopus Ventures, said: “Automata’s robotic capabilities are truly the first of its kind and the company has combined this with deep expertise in automation and a highly effective business model which has created a leading-edge over competitors. Automata Labs accelerates human ingenuity, empowering labs, and scientists, to achieve consistent results faster, on a greater scale, and to ultimately upscale their ambitions.

“We are delighted to have led this financing round as Automata represented exactly the type of highly innovative company we invest in and support. We are excited for Automata’s next steps, both within the life sciences industry, and beyond.”