8/31/2026
The University of Illinois’ two biological foundries integrate robotics with AI to accelerate research.
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When the U.S. Department of Energy formally identified AI-driven autonomous laboratories as a high-impact national priority in 2025, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was already a decade ahead of the game. Since 2013, Illinois has been driving innovation in automated laboratory technology with its pioneering biological foundries — next-generation platforms that promise to accelerate drug discovery, improve research productivity, and promote open-access use.
Biological foundries are centralized, highly automated facilities that integrate artificial intelligence with robotic hardware and data-driven infrastructures to streamline parts of the biomanufacturing process, reducing the time and cost associated with biological research. Now a cornerstone of the AI revolution, the platform was first conceptualized in 2013 by chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Huimin Zhao.
“I had a simple conviction that experimental biology could be transformed if robotics and AI were treated as core infrastructure, rather than optional tools,” Zhao said.
That motivation propelled Zhao to launch the Illinois Biological Foundry for Advanced Biomanufacturing (iBioFAB) in 2014. Located at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, the system’s robotic arm and capacity for over 500 culture plates can be used to generate thousands of experimental samples per day. Widely regarded as the world’s first “living foundry,” its debut was a harbinger of the autonomous laboratory movement — one that has since been prioritized by the DoE Genesis Mission.
"Our biofoundry is unique because it is a fully integrated, publicly accessible platform built for continuous operation,” Zhao said. “In principle, we can do experiments 24/7; even industry doesn't have this kind of fully integrated system."
When the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced its BioFoundries program in 2024, it looked to Zhao and Illinois as the blueprint. The program provided funding to support five new national biofoundries — including one at Illinois. A six-year, $18 million award enabled Zhao to develop NSF iBioFoundry, the first AI-powered, cloud-accessible public biofoundry in the United States. Opened in late 2025, the platform incorporates computer science, automation, materials science and chemistry — expanding Zhao’s original vision into a national-scale resource for synthetic biology, biotechnology, and genomics. Zhao sees the foundries as the beginning of a deeper paradigm shift in how science is organized and conducted, comparable to the arrival of shared supercomputing.
“Nowadays we have the huge supercomputers that function as a national infrastructure, and then we have regular desktop computers in our homes and schools,” Zhao said. “The goal is to make (biofoundries) a national infrastructure for the broader research community. It’s very different from the way we’ve been doing research for the past 200 years; with autonomous laboratories, a lot of experiments can be done remotely. The individual laboratory will not disappear, but it can leverage those (centralized) infrastructures.”
Like all research frontiers, there are still challenges to navigate: some experiments cannot be automated, and new workflows take time to develop. But Zhao is resolute in his belief that widespread adoption of biofoundry platforms will fundamentally improve both research and society. Academic collaborators, industry partners, and other early adopters are working alongside Illinois researchers to push the boundaries of what autonomous laboratories can achieve. The next generation of biofoundries is expected to be smarter, faster, and even more accessible.
“Biofoundries will fundamentally change how research is conducted and benefits society,” Zhao said. “They will significantly improve the productivity of the entire research ecosystem.”
NSF iBioFoundry is built for use by the broader research community. Training, education, and facility tours are available. For more information, visit the official NSF iBioFoundry website or contact the research team at contact@ibiofoundry.illinois.edu
Illinois Grainger Engineering Affiliations
Huimin Zhao is an Illinois Grainger Engineer professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He holds the Steven L. Miller Chair appointment.