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Born from a world-leading research lab, Automata is on a mission to empower scientists by making automation a reality for every lab

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Empowering scientists by making automation a reality for every lab

When two architects from Zaha Hadid’s research lab first approached robotics, their idea was to explore applications specific to architectural engineering.

But they soon discovered that modern automation wasn’t just unnecessarily complex – it was actively restricting innovation. And not just within their industry – in many others too. It was clear that robotic automation was a field where their combined experience in computational research and design could make a real difference.

Assembling a team of industry experts, Automata was founded with a clear aim: to enable new opportunities for innovation with automation.

Mostafa ElSayed, right, and co-founder Suryansh Chandra

Helping labs deliver results and medicines faster than ever

Automata’s focus narrowed on an industry where they felt their expertise could have the most impact: the life sciences.

Today, most lab automation tends to be defined by a series of very specialised benchtop instruments that are still reliant on human interaction. But Automata saw an opportunity for a new way of looking at automation in the life sciences: open, integrated automation.

That’s how we came to develop the world’s first fully automated lab bench, and its accompanying software. This enables labs to use staff and resources more effectively by ensuring total walkaway time and consistency, without compromising on valuable lab space.

Automata NHS Southampton — Our first product, Eva, lined up in an NHS testing lab

The Automata stand at SLAS 2024 — Our current product, LINQ, the complete lab automation platform, shown at SLAS 2024

Contact the team

Mostafa ElSayed, CEO and Co-Founder

Mostafa ElSayed is the CEO and Co-Founder of Automata.

He has a Degree in Architecture from the American University of Sharjah; a Masters in Architecture and Urbanism; is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce; and remains a course tutor in the Design Research Lab of the Architectural Association alongside his role as CEO of Automata.

After completing his Masters in 2014 Mostafa went on to join the world-renowned Zaha Hadid Architects, leaving the company as Lead Designer in the Computation and Design Group to found Automata with ZHA colleague Suryansh Chandra. (Chandra went on to launch new company, The Mind Distillery, in 2020 and remained a Director until resigning in 2021).

ElSayed and Chandra started Automata after seeing the need for automation and robotics to be applied in other sectors outside of architecture. Initially focused on manufacturing affordable robotic arms, Automata is now on a mission to transform how scientists work, delivering industry-changing automation solutions that lead the way in quality design and engineering.

Supported by a strong team of designers, engineers, scientists and leaders from a variety of life science backgrounds, Mostafa continues to drive Automata to the next level of success in his role as CEO.

Nick Pattinson

Vice President of Product and Strategy

Nick is Vice President of Product and Strategy, maintaining our deep tech ethos and overseeing the strategic direction of our product. Prior to joining Automata Nick was a lead consultant at Newton Europe, working on everything from the design of nuclear submarines to architecting big data analytics tools. He has a Masters in Engineering from University of Oxford.

Daniel Siden

Director of Product – LINQ Platform

Daniel is Director of Platform – LINQ here at Automata. He’s passionate about designing functional products that not only deliver results, but look beautiful too. He has an MA in Industrial Design Engineering from Royal College of Art London and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Physics and Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh.

Russell Green

Director of Product – Applications

Russell is Director of Product – Applications at Automata, joining us with a wealth of industry experience in 2022. He has a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, both from University of Leeds.

Pantea Razzaghi

Head of Design

Pantea is Head of Design at Automata, where she leads the visual, industrial, research and UX design teams. She has over 20 years of experience in research, product design and communication strategy gained within some of the leading innovative tech and life science companies in the world, including InteraXon and Opentrons Labworks.