Analysis
Opentrons Labworks raised $40 million in Series E funding led by healthcare investor Avego, alongside BroadOak Capital Partners, to scale the robotics, software and data infrastructure behind its laboratory automation platform, the company said, according to SiliconANGLE. The company has now deployed more than 11,000 robots to laboratories in 80-plus countries, including at 90% of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies.
What Opentrons Labworks does
Founded in 2014, Opentrons makes benchtop robots that automate repetitive lab work using motorized pipettes to move small volumes of liquid between samples. Its two flagship products are the Flex, an enclosed robot that handles more samples and optional plate-moving grippers, and the OT-2, a smaller, less expensive liquid-handling robot. The company, led by Chief Executive James Atwood, also sells AI software that automates sample preparation and other repetitive experimental steps layered on top of the hardware.
Opentrons Labworks' funding history
Opentrons raised a $200 million Series C in September 2021 led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Khosla Ventures, according to Robotics 24/7. Earlier backers named in that round include Sands Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, SOSV and Y Combinator. A Series D followed in December 2025, though the amount was not disclosed in materials reviewed for this story. The jump from the $200 million Series C to a comparatively modest $40 million Series E four years later is a smaller raise than the company's last outside round, even as its deployment numbers have grown.
“Founded in 2014, Opentrons makes benchtop robots that automate repetitive lab work using motorized pipettes to move small volumes of liquid between samples.”
Who invested in Opentrons Labworks
Avego, described by SiliconANGLE as a healthcare investor, led the Series E alongside BroadOak Capital Partners -- a pairing that leans toward life-sciences and pharma-services investors rather than the generalist tech funds that backed the 2021 round. Khosla Ventures, which participated in the 2021 Series C, is not named among the Series E's investors in SiliconANGLE's report.
Lab automation market and competitors
Opentrons competes in a lab-automation field that also includes established players like Hamilton, Tecan and Beckman Coulter, alongside newer AI-software-layered entrants. Pulse has tracked a broader surge in physical AI investment, which hit $72.2 billion in the first half of 2026 alone -- a category that increasingly includes lab robotics as pharma companies look to cut headcount-heavy manual sample prep. Opentrons' claim of reaching 90% of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies gives it a customer base few lab-robotics rivals can match, though it also means future growth depends more on expansion within existing accounts than new-logo wins.
What to watch next
The size gap between the 2021 Series C and this week's Series E is the number worth tracking: a drop from $200 million to $40 million could reflect capital efficiency -- software margin stacked on top of an already-deployed robot fleet needs less cash than building that fleet in the first place -- or it could reflect a tougher fundraising market for hardware-heavy robotics startups generally. Opentrons has not disclosed revenue, a current valuation, or what changed in its investor base between the SoftBank-led round and this one, leaving that question open heading into its next raise.
The risk the deployment numbers gloss over: 11,000 robots across 80-plus countries is a scale claim, not a revenue figure, and the company has disclosed neither. Reaching 90% of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies also means Opentrons has largely exhausted the most obvious big-pharma logos -- its next phase of growth depends on deepening those accounts or moving into adjacent markets like biotech startups and academic labs, where budgets are smaller and sales cycles look different.