Multiply Labs raises $75 million Series B to scale pharma manufacturing robots

Multiply Labs, a San Francisco-based physical AI startup, has raised $75 million in a Series B funding round led by NantWorks to scale its drug manufacturing robots. The funding, which includes backing from AstraZeneca, Lux Capital, and Founders Fund, brings the company's total capital to over $100 million. Multiply Labs aims to automate the slow, manual, and expensive production of gene and mRNA therapies, targeting a reduction in robot manufacturing costs from millions of dollars to tens of thousands.

Series B funding round

• ▪Multiply Labs' $75 million Series B funding round was led by NantWorks, a holding company founded by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong
• ▪Investors participating in Multiply Labs' Series B round included AstraZeneca, Lux Capital, and Founders Fund, bringing the startup's total funding to over $100 million since 2016
• ▪Multiply Labs, a San Francisco-based robotics startup, announced on October 6, 2026, that it raised $75 million in a Series B funding round

Scaling and reducing robot costs

• ▪Multiply Labs CEO Fred Parietti stated the company aims to reduce robot costs, currently several million dollars to build relying on a supply chain across Europe, to tens of thousands of dollars
• ▪Multiply Labs' next business challenge is to scale Multiply Labs' manufacturing from a small number of expensive, highly specialized machines into a larger commercial business

Current robot deployments

• ▪Multiply Labs has deployed its drug manufacturing robots with a small group of customers, including AstraZeneca and Legend Biotech
• ▪Multiply Labs CEO Fred Parietti stated that the company has deployed a high single-digit number of Multiply Labs' drug manufacturing machines

Robot operations

• ▪Multiply Labs generates revenue by selling its robots to drugmakers, selling cartridges used in Multiply Labs' machines, and providing service and support
• ▪Drugmakers such as AstraZeneca and Legend Biotech operate Multiply Labs' robots at their own facilities

Challenges of manual drug manufacturing

• ▪According to a 2025 research paper, manufacturing some gene therapies that Multiply Labs aims to automate can cost more than $1 million per dose
• ▪Gene therapies and mRNA treatments are largely manufactured manually in laboratories, making production slow, difficult to scale, and vulnerable to human error and contamination

AI in medicine

• ▪Multiply Labs' artificial intelligence can assist in discovering new medicines
• ▪Drugmakers are increasingly applying artificial intelligence and automation to biologics manufacturing, driving investor interest in physical AI systems that act in the real world

Debatable claims

• ▪Drugmakers should decentralize the manufacturing of complex therapies to local facilities
• ▪Robotic automation is the most effective way to lower gene therapy costs