Labs face major compatibility challenges, with 90% of laboratory instruments coming from manufacturers. Due to non-standardized interfaces, research teams spend up to three months creating custom integrations for each new device. This means scientists spend over half their time troubleshooting connectivity issues instead of advancing research. UniteLabs, a Munich-based startup specialising in biotech lab automation, offers a solution to this problem.
To scale this technology, UniteLabs raised €2.77 million in a pre-seed funding round led by NAP (formerly Cavalry Ventures). Investors PUSH, Acurio Ventures, OMA Business Angels, and LANA Ventures also participated in the round. Speaking exclusively to TFN, Robert Zechlin, co-CEO and co-founder of UniteLabs, shared: “In total, we have raised €3.37 million since the inception of the company. At this point, we would not like to disclose the valuation.”
The new funding will enable UniteLabs to connect 650 laboratory instruments to the cloud, boosting biotech research efficiency. In the coming year, the company will work closely with pilot customers to refine its product while growing its team. A key focus will be on developing 50 additional connectors, particularly for common liquid-handling workstations. They aim to integrate 90 instruments by year-end, enabling automation and data integration for nearly half of all biotech labs worldwide.
Zechlin added : “To support our rapid growth, we’ll scale our team, ensuring we have the key talent and resources needed to refine our product and work closely with our customers. Through this collaboration, we aim to continually improve our platform to meet the evolving needs of biotech research.”
How UniteLabs accelerates biotech research by connecting laboratory instruments
Founded in 2022 by Lukas Bromig, Julian Willand, and Robert Zechlin (ex-BMW Group), UniteLabs creates the foundation for AI-driven lab automation. The startup addresses a critical industry challenge: fragmented lab systems that hinder device communication. During his PhD, Bromig developed open-source solutions to streamline lab workflows—a common struggle for researchers across the industry. When numerous academic and industry groups sought to build upon his work, UniteLabs was born.
Zechlin explained further: “The biotech industry lacks fundamental standards for lab device connectivity. Labs must create custom integration solutions for each new instrument, consuming up to 50% of researchers’ time. With devices from different manufacturers unable to communicate effectively, this fragmentation hampers research progress and causes critical data loss, preventing labs from fully embracing AI-driven discovery.
UniteLabs was created to solve this problem by establishing overdue industry standards and architecture for lab automation and AI integration, removing bottlenecks, ensuring data continuity, and accelerating scientific progress.”
In essence, UniteLabs speeds up biotech research through instrument connectivity. The platform uses SiLA 2 standards (Standardization in Lab Automation) to ensure cross-vendor compatibility and cuts integration time from months to minutes. The platform simplifies device control while maintaining real-time data access by standardising and enabling cloud compatibility for previously closed interfaces. This advancement is crucial for complete lab automation and AI integration, which are key elements in advancing drug discovery and biotech innovation.
“Many biotech companies want to leverage AI in their labs,” said Robert Zechlin, co-founder and CEO of UniteLabs. “But the biggest challenge is that lab instruments can’t communicate with each other. With UniteLabs, we are building the foundation for a shared technical language in the lab.”
Breaking down barriers to AI adoption in biotech labs
UniteLabs has developed an operating system for biotech research that enables seamless data collection, control, and monitoring across all lab instruments, regardless of use case. The company has built 40 connectors for various lab devices, enabling their first-ever intercommunication. Through the UniteLabs platform, researchers can control connected instruments and automate workflows, creating the industry’s first true cross-manufacturer connectivity solution.
UniteLabs’ initial focus is on liquid handlers, essential lab automation tools used in various biological and chemical experiments, from COVID-19 testing to DNA sequencing. Manual liquid handling remains a significant bottleneck, limited by inaccuracy and low throughput.
Zechlin added, “What sets us apart is our ability to standardise and unify proprietary, closed interfaces, bringing low-level access to the cloud. This breakthrough is crucial because traditionally, each lab instrument used its proprietary system, making cross-manufacturer integration difficult. UniteLabs eliminates this barrier by enabling device interoperability, ensuring that workflows, data pipelines, and third-party applications can seamlessly connect with lab instruments through our platform.
Unlike solutions focusing on specific uses or just data handling, UniteLabs offers comprehensive control — instruments can be connected, controlled, monitored, and automated through one platform. This complete connectivity across R&D applications and instrument types helps biotech labs optimise processes, use resources more efficiently, and accelerate research outcomes.”
Future plans? Setting the global standard for laboratory automation
Zechlin concluded: “Our long-term vision is to set the global standard for laboratory automation, which has been needed for years, if not decades, and to make cutting-edge biotech research faster, smarter, and more interconnected than ever before.
As a key player in lab automation, we’ll provide infrastructure for AI-driven and closed-loop research. That drives progress in medical research, bioproduct development, and ultimately helps to improve the lives of many and transforms our global supply chains.”
“Biotech labs are at a turning point,” added Claude Ritter, Managing Partner at NAP. “While AI unlocks unprecedented advancements, most labs lack the technical infrastructure to harness its potential. Instruments speak different languages, and valuable data remains siloed. UniteLabs is building the critical infrastructure to bridge this gap. With their deep understanding of lab workflows, they are paving the way for the next generation of biotech research.”
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