ABLE Labs

ABLE Labs, founded in 2021 and headquartered in Incheon, South Korea, develops and commercializes lab automation solutions aimed at the bio industry. The company was established by cancer biologist Brian Shin, who, after experiencing frustrations with expensive and outdated lab robots, sought to create more accessible and user-friendly systems. His initial vision was to build a full "robotics cloud lab" where experiments could be run remotely, but the high cost led the company to first focus on developing compact liquid-handling robots and their accompanying software. The firm targets a diverse client base, ranging from academic laboratories and startups to large pharmaceutical companies, with the goal of making advanced automation accessible to all biologists, not just engineers. ABLE Labs' business model centers on the design, manufacturing, and operation of its cloud-based liquid handling robots. The company has secured funding through grants, a seed round, early-stage VC, and participation in accelerator programs, raising a total of $3.48M. ABLE Labs' core products are the NOTABLE and SUITABLE liquid-handling robots. NOTABLE is a compact, benchtop platform with 12 deck positions, designed for labs that require automation without the need for custom coding. Its larger counterpart, SUITABLE, offers double the deck space and utilizes eight-span pipettes. The key differentiator for ABLE Labs is its cloud-based, modular software, which allows scientists to design, modify, and execute experimental protocols through a drag-and-drop interface without any programming knowledge. This system is designed to feel more like a smartphone app than traditional industrial machinery, enabling users to automate complex workflows for tasks such as drug efficacy tests, protein purification, and qPCR. The open architecture supports integration with other lab devices and software, and the cloud platform facilitates real-time data integration and protocol sharing. Keywords: lab automation, liquid handling robots, life sciences, biotechnology, cloud-based lab software, robotics, cancer biology, bio industry, experimental automation, drug discovery, protocol design, automated pipetting, NOTABLE robot, SUITABLE robot, laboratory hardware, South Korean startup, user-friendly lab equipment, remote experiments, assay automation, scientific research tools