Unchained Labs
Pleasanton, US · Founded 2015 · Delaware corporation · 221 employees on LinkedIn · 4 known investors
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Unchained Labs builds instruments for lipid nanoparticle and other nanomedicine production, spanning R&D formulation screening through GMP-compliant clinical manufacturing. Its Sunny Suite uses a consistent mixing process to help pharmaceutical and biotech developers transfer nanoparticle production from lab scale to liter-scale GMP output.
Also known as Unchained
Founders & leadership
Unchained Labs was founded in 2015 by Tim Harkness.
Board
Investors · 4
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$86M disclosed across 4 of 5 rounds · 2015–2018
▶$17MraisedMar 2018 · 4 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Tim HarknessExecutive Officer, Director
- Jason NoviExecutive Officer
- Heather PrestonDirector
- Brent AhrensDirector
- Max CarnecchiaDirector
- Scott BeardsleyDirector
- Offering amount
- $17M
- Amount sold
- $17M
- First sale
- Mar 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$13MraisedJul 2017 · 3 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Tim HarknessExecutive Officer, Director
- Brent AhrensDirector
- Scott BeardsleyDirector
- Heather PrestonDirector
- Jason NoviExecutive Officer
- Joe KeeganDirector
- Offering amount
- $13M
- Amount sold
- $13M
- First sale
- Jun 2017
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$25MraisedMar 2016 · 3 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Tim HarknessExecutive Officer, Director
- Brent AhrensDirector
- Joe KeeganDirector
- Jason NoviExecutive Officer
- Heather PrestonDirector
- Jack NielsenDirector
- Offering amount
- $25M
- Amount sold
- $25M
- First sale
- Feb 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$31MraisedJun 2015 · 3 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Heather PrestonDirector
- Tim HarknessExecutive Officer, Director
- Brent AhrensDirector
- Jason NoviExecutive Officer
- Joe KeeganDirector
- Jack NielsenDirector
- Offering amount
- $31M
- Amount sold
- $31M
- First sale
- Feb 2015
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Unchained Labs is a Pleasanton, California life science tools company that develops instruments, consumables and automation software for preparing, processing and characterizing biologics, gene therapy vectors and nanoparticles. Its analytical portfolio includes Aunty (plate-based differential scanning fluorimetry and light scattering for protein stability), Stunner (plate-based dynamic light scattering and UV/Vis for biologics, with an application for antibody-drug conjugate characterization), Stunner AF (adding fluorescence for lipid nanoparticles), Lunatic (low-volume plate-based UV/Vis for biologics and genomics), Honeybun (low-volume viscometer), Lil' Tuna (automated plate-based benchtop UF/DF buffer exchange) and Leprechaun (single-particle biophysical characterization of lentivirus and exosomes).
For nanoparticle work the company sells the Sunny Suite: Sunscreen for high-throughput formulation screening, Sunshine for automated synthesis in process development and production, and Sunbather as a GMP-ready nanoparticle production system. In 2026 it added Stuntman, a natural-language, AI-native automation deck onto which its analytics can be snapped to build workflows, plan experiments, run closed-loop automation and capture structured data. The company frames this combination as an "AI developability workcell" and states a vision of being the tools supplier for AI-driven labs.
Founding story
The company was founded by Tim Harkness, previously involved with Molecular Devices and ProteinSimple, to build better tools for biologics researchers; it began operations in February 2015 with a Series A financing and the purchase of the Optim product line.
Business model
Sells laboratory instruments, associated consumables (such as Aunty's 96-well quartz glass plates) and automation platforms to research organizations, and has historically grown by acquiring product lines and businesses and further developing them.
Revenue from sales of instruments, consumables and related services and software.
Traction
More than 60 Optim platforms had been sold when the product line was acquired in 2015; the company reported its business nearly doubling in the two years to August 2022 and has released multiple new products annually since.
Latest developments
Recent launches include an antibody-drug conjugate characterization application on Stunner (January 2026), the Stuntman AI-driven automation platform (February 2026) and the Lil' Tuna automated buffer exchange system (July 2026), alongside a repositioning of the portfolio around AI-driven laboratory workflows.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as a specialist supplier of purpose-built analytical and automation tools for biologics, gene therapy and nanoparticle workflows, competing with broad-line laboratory instrumentation vendors.
Emphasizes plate-based, low-sample-volume formats and automation readiness in place of cuvette- or single-sample-based instruments, and offers nanoparticle synthesis tools that span screening, process development and GMP-ready production, with analytics designed to integrate directly onto its own AI-native automation deck.
Technology
Plate-based, low-volume optical and biophysical measurement systems combining fluorescence, static and dynamic light scattering and UV/Vis spectroscopy; single-particle characterization for viral vectors and exosomes; automated ultrafiltration/diafiltration buffer exchange; nanoparticle synthesis systems scaling from screening to GMP production; and a natural-language AI automation platform that plans experiments, guides closed-loop automation, interprets results and captures structured data.
Go-to-market
Direct commercial organization with marketing led from Pleasanton, supported by webinars and seminars and exhibiting at industry conferences such as Advanced Therapies in Barcelona, RNA Vaccines & Therapeutics in London and ASHG.
Biopharma, biotech and academic researchers working on biologics, gene therapies and nanoparticle/LNP formulation, spanning discovery, formulation development, process development and GMP production.
Geography
Headquartered on a 121,000 sq ft campus at 4747 Willow Road, Pleasanton, California, with employees reported across North America, Europe and Asia.
History
Unchained Labs launched publicly on February 12, 2015, simultaneously announcing a $25 million Series A led by Novo Ventures, Canaan Partners and TPG Biotech and its first acquisition, the Optim multiplex protein stability platform bought from The Avacta Group. The company stated at founding that it intended to keep acquiring businesses and product lines. It launched four new products in 2022 and said its business had almost doubled over the prior two years. In August 2022 it signed a very long-term lease with W. P. Carey on a 12-acre site at 4747 Willow Rd in Pleasanton with a 121,000 sq ft building, moving in during September 2023 and consolidating three California facilities. Subsequent launches included the Sunny Suite (2023), a new Stunner version and a Leprechaun lentivirus RNA application (2024), Aunty and Stunner AF (2025), and an ADC application, the Stuntman automation platform and Lil' Tuna (2026).
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 1
by search overlap
Companies competing with Unchained Labs for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Acquisitions · 1
Early investors' stakes continue via these dealsBlacktrace was a Royston, UK-based maker of microfluidics-based scientific instruments and lab products, sold under brands like Dolomite Microfluidics and Particle Works, serving pharma and biotech researchers.
Timeline · 12
launches, deals, and filingsFirst fully automated, plate-based, benchtop UF/DF buffer exchange system.
Next-generation automation platform combining native natural-language AI with flexible hardware.
Application delivers low-volume ADC characterization on up to 96 samples at a time.
Aunty measures fluorescence, static light scattering and dynamic light scattering using an 8 µL, 96-well SBS-format quartz glass consumable, reading a full 96-sample plate every minute of a thermal ramp.
The company completed its move into the 121,000 sq ft Pleasanton campus, consolidating three California facilities into one site.
Unchained Labs entered a very long-term lease with W. P. Carey on a 12-acre property at 4747 Willow Rd, Pleasanton, CA, including a 121,000 sq ft existing facility and rights to build additional buildings; the site is about 2.5x its prior Pleasanton footprint and was intended to consolidate California science, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales and administrative functions.
Unchained Labs closed its first acquisition, purchasing the Optim multiplex protein stability platform for biologics from The Avacta Group; over 60 Optim systems had been sold to biopharma and academic customers at the time.
On its first day of operations the company announced a $25 million Series A led by Novo Ventures, Canaan Partners and TPG Biotech.
$25M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Unchained Labsunchainedlabs.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Unchained Labs do?
- Unchained Labs builds analytical instruments and AI-driven lab automation for biologics, gene therapy and nanoparticle research.
- Who founded Unchained Labs?
- Unchained Labs was founded by Tim Harkness in 2015.
- Who are Unchained Labs's investors?
- Unchained Labs's investors include Canaan Partners, CEI Ventures, Tri-Valley Ventures, TPG.
- How much funding has Unchained Labs raised?
- Unchained Labs has disclosed $86M raised across 4 of its 5 known rounds.
- Where is Unchained Labs headquartered?
- Unchained Labs is headquartered in Pleasanton, US.