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Tetsuwan is building an automated lab platform where users specify experiments in…

2026-06-24 · 18:17 UTC ·@ginacostag_ ·1 min read

Brief

Tetsuwan is building a lab-as-software platform that executes experiments from an exact syntax so users never touch the bench. Piloted with partner labs for two years, the company (founded by Cristian Ponce and Alex, Caltech alumni) plans to launch services later in 2026, beginning with functional screens for protein design to improve reproducibility for AI-driven biology.

Why it matters

Tetsuwan is building an automated lab platform where users specify experiments in an exact syntax and the platform executes them remotely, so users never need physical access to the bench.

Key details

  • The platform was built and pilot-tested with partner labs over the past two years; first services will launch later in 2026 and will focus on functional screens for protein design.
  • Founders Cristian Ponce and Alex (who met at Caltech) argue that lab automation is required to solve reproducibility problems and to supply the reproducible, high-throughput data AI will demand.
Source evidence

The future of biology is not more people stuck at benches.

It is experiments that run like software.

Tetsuwan is building that.

Video

Cristian Ponce (@cmponce)

Automating the lab bench is the best thing we can do for AI in biology.

Most experiments are still run by hand. Every biologist's handiwork is unique and every lab is a little different. So, biology faces widespread reproducibility issues.

But, AI will demand more reproducible data than we can produce, and generate more ideas than we can test.

Experiments must be communicated and executed in a standardized way to generate reproducible data.

So, Tetsuwan is building a lab where users specify experiments in an exact syntax. These experiments are executed by an automated platform to generate transparent, reproducible output. The user never needs physical access to a lab. This is a biology lab you can use like a computer.

Our platform, built and tested with pilot labs over the past two years, lets users configure automated workflows rapidly & precisely.

Later this year, we will bring our first services online, focusing on functional screens for protein design.

Alex and I met at Caltech, where she was one year my senior. We're building this company because we were little kids who wanted to be biologists that grew up into adults who resented the lab bench. We want biology to be about asking questions, not the painful and frustrating manual process of asking them.

For those looking to receive updates on our pilot services, looking for a meaningful job, or just to learn more about our work, see the links in the comments!

Video

— https://nitter.net/cmponce/status/2069839730146230534#m