SmartLabs, a First-of-Its-Kind Laboratory-as-a-Service, Expands Nationally with CA Location

Boston-based Laboratory-as-a-Service (LaaS) leader, SmartLabs, announced a national expansion with the addition of 80,000 square feet in South San Francisco, California. Building upon its continued success in Massachusetts, SmartLabs’s new San Francisco laboratories will deliver high quality, turnkey R&D space and operations support for companies of varying sizes. Fueling the expansion efforts, the company also announced $36 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by Conversion Venture Capital (CVC2), ArrowMark partners, and Breeds Hill Capital and will be used to expand nationally while investing in the company’s industry leading proprietary modular lab design and construction capabilities.

“Until now, creating top-quality R&D workspaces and the needed operations infrastructure has been too labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive for many companies. By offering enterprise quality labs with customizable layouts, we can reduce start-up costs by 90 percent and create more time for teams to be focused and productive,” said Amrit Chaudhuri, CEO and co-founder of SmartLabs. “We have had an overwhelmingly positive response in Massachusetts and many of our existing lab spaces are already at capacity. This infusion of funding is yet another validation of the importance of our offering. We are eager to bring our productive, enjoyable spaces to the West Coast.”

SmartLabs currently offers flexible lab and office spaces that are customizable to accommodate research groups from fewer than 10 to more than 100 employees in three locations in Massachusetts. SmartLabs’s new South San Francisco program, located off route 101 at 2 Tower Place, will feature:

• Rapid launch capabilities allowing companies to begin experiments within 2-4 weeks of move in.
• Lab support spaces including Tier 3 data rooms, waste storage and lab services (glass wash, piped gases, vacuum, etc.).
• On-site staff supporting facilities, lab operations, EHS, IT, waste management, shipping and receiving, and glass wash.
• Access to common operations support spaces including reception, conference rooms, lecture halls, event spaces, security, and shipping and receiving.
• On-site amenities designed to ensure employee satisfaction including campus shuttles, a world class gym, and complimentary food and beverage program.

“While we are in our formative stages of development, I want to be spending our resources on science. I don’t want to be burdened with the challenges of managing a facility,” said Dan Passeri, CEO of Cue Biopharma, a company that has been part of SmartLabs since their inception in 2015.

SmartLabs reduces the time and cost of launching a research program. Teams of 10, 20, 40, and larger can launch rapidly and save up to 45% in the first three years, maximizing a company’s capital efficiency.