NEW YORK – Ginkgo Bioworks said on Wednesday that it has acquired three diagnostics and drug discovery companies in whole or in part — Reverie Labs, Proof Diagnostics, and Patch Biosciences — that will provide it with new genome engineering, AI, and machine learning tools.
The firm also said it has created the Ginkgo Technology Network, a group that is partnering on servicing biopharma customers.
Ginkgo has acquired "key assets" of Reverie Labs, a firm that had been applying artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to drug discovery, including Reverie's infrastructure and software for training large-scale AI models. Ginkgo said in a statement that it will incorporate Reverie's models, software, and workflows to advance its infrastructure for machine learning-driven experimental design. It will also add Reverie's generative AI platform for chemistry to it capabilities to support small molecule programs. Four of Reveries key AI staff, including Chief Technology Officer Ankit Gupta, will join Ginkgo.
Ginkgo has also acquired Proof Diagnostics, a startup cofounded by CRISPR genome editing pioneers Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute as well as Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg of MIT. "Proof's libraries of OMEGA (Obligate Mobile Element Guided Activity) RNA programmable, non-Cas enzymes, and associated intellectual property are the key focus of Ginkgo's acquisition," the firm said in a statement. Proof also developed a low-cost, rapid, easy-to-use, and sensitive diagnostic system for SARS-CoV-2, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and other diseases.
Ginkgo said it would use OMEGA libraries to "bolster" its gene therapy services.
Finally, Ginkgo has acquired Patch Biosciences and its AI-based platform for sequence design. Ginkgo said it will incorporate Patch's models and downstream assays, adding new capabilities in synthetic promoter and untranslated region engineering.
Financial and other details of the deals were not disclosed. "Undisclosed terms suggest small bolt-on transactions," TD Cowen analyst Steven Mah wrote in a note to investors.
Ceres Nanosciences, Form Bio, Jumpcode Genomics, and Phase Genomics are a few of the 25 members of the Ginkgo Technology Network. As with its acquisitions, Ginkgo officials stressed the importance of AI.
"I believe strongly in connecting AI with physical experimentation, and so I am excited about the breadth of partners we are bringing on across these areas," Anna Marie Wagner, head of AI and corporate development at Ginkgo, said in a statement. "It's clear that even the best AI models benefit tremendously from access to relevant labeled data, and it's equally clear that experimental designs are dramatically improved with input from AI."
In Wednesday morning trading on the NYSE, shares of Ginkgo were flat at $1.52.