Rent A Bench.
Change The World.
Starting a company is hard. Starting a life-science company is even harder. With the need for specialized equipment and highly regulated lab space, the first experiment can take months and cost millions. At MBC BioLabs, we’re flipping that model on its head.
With state-of-the-art equipment, a vibrant community, and a la carte business services, we enable and empower entrepreneurial scientists to run their lab fast, frugal, and focused.
MBC BioLabs frees startups from the Catch 22 of needing funding to get data, and needing data to get funding by providing the space, the equipment, and the connections. Click below to tour one of our labs!
How It Works
One Bench At A Time
At MBC BioLabs, we take care of the maintenance, upkeep, and logistics, so you can obsess over the science and nothing else. You just rent a bench and do your work! We take care of the rest.
Our co-working labs allow companies to start with as little as a single bench and then grow to around 15 scientists. Each of our labs provides access to millions of dollars of equipment, office space, conference rooms, kitchen, events, and access to partners and investors.
Getting started easier than you might think. Benches are only $1,600/month including tips, tubes, and gloves, AND we don’t require any equity upfront. With these modest investments, MBC BioLabs companies average $24.2 million in funding.
MBC BioLabs Companies
Success Stories at MBC BioLabs
Given the right environment, entrepreneurial scientists can and will change the world. Here’s a look at the exciting work being done by MBC BioLabs residents and alumni.
Alector
Alector raised $185 million in IPO.
Cell Design Labs
Cell Design Labs wins big with Gilead acquisition.
Success By The Numbers
Enabling Awesome.
We’ve Helped 196 Companies Raise $4.75B In Funding.
MBC BioLabs has helped 196 companies raise an average of $24.2M, for a total of $4.75B raised! When we say we enable awesome, we mean it. MBC BioLabs gives life science innovators and entrepreneurs the facilities and equipment they need to be running experiments from day 1. Seriously. We even have a tradition of doing a champagne toast for every company that runs an experiment on its first day.
Announcement
New partnership with Agilent
Our five Agilent instruments at MBC BioLabs San Carlos 930 Brittan Fast-Track Core:
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Agilent 4150 TapeStation
The 4150 TapeStation system is an automated electrophoresis solution for quality control (QC) of DNA and RNA samples. For the complete portfolio of DNA and RNA assays, any sample number from 1 to 16 samples can be analyzed at constant cost per sample. The ready-to-use ScreenTape technology enables ultimate flexibility for switching between assays. The system handles your samples in two 8-tube strips. -
Agilent AriaMx Real-Time PCR
The AriaMx Real-Time PCR system is a fully integrated qPCR solution for amplification, detection, and data analysis. It has a closed-tube PCR detection format and can be used with many fluorescence detection chemistries, including SYBR Green and EvaGreen dyes, and fluorogenic probe systems such as TaqMan. A modular and flexible design with intuitive touch-screen interface improves productivity. -
Agilent BioTek 405TS Plate Washer
The gold standard in microplate plate washers, compatible with 96 and 384 well plates. The 405 TS also has a unique set of features designed to efficiently and effectively wash cell-based assays, microsphere-based assays and ELISA, with outstanding results for every application. -
Agilent BioTek Cytation5 Automated Imaging and Plate Reader
Cytation™ 5 combines automated digital microscopy and conventional microplate detection. The microscopy module offers up to 60x magnification in fluorescence, brightfield, high contrast brightfield, color brightfield and phase contrast. The multi-mode detection modules include monochromator-based fluorescence detection, luminescence and UV-Vis absorbance detection. -
Agilent Seahorse XF HS Mini Analyzer
-Analyzer is compatible with XFp miniplates and XFp PDL miniplates for routine pairwise comparisons.
-Reports oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) in minutes, without sample extraction or labeling.
-Four-port injection system with automated mixing function enables detection of live-cell responses to substrates, activators, inhibitors, and other compounds in real time.
-Precision-controlled heating tray maintains sample at 16–40 °C (minimum 8 °C above ambient conditions) for compatibility with a variety of sample sources.
-Cloud-based Seahorse Analytics provides accessible, streamlined tools to interpret your data.
Partners
Bringing the best together.
What happens when you bring together the brightest minds with the best biotech business? A lot actually. Learn more about how we facilitate game-changing relationships and opportunities for both entrepreneurs and corporate partners.
Testimonials
See What Our Alumni Are Saying About MBC BioLabs
★★★★★Instrumental in getting life science startups off the ground. MBC has state of the art equipment and facilities that allowed us to focus our efforts on getting experiments done versus spending our initial small budget on capital expenditure and lab space set up. Glad to have been part of this community.
★★★★★Some day, MBC will be a case study in how to do a Biotech incubator right. One of the biggest challenges for early stage Biotech companies is capital…biotech startups can be expensive and it is hard to raise money when the first $500k goes to equipment and rent. MBC Biolabs sweet spot is providing support and infrastructure, at an affordable price, for those bleeding edge, high risk Biotech companies to get a start and more efficiently use precious funding to move R&D forward. It would have been much harder to perform our proof of concept experiments in other less supportive environments. But the other sweet spot is the MBC Biolab community. Imagine a whole building of several dozen Biotech startup companies that talk to each other and share resources and ideas. The MBC community is an intangible force multiplier that is hard to describe but equally important to everything else at MBC Biolabs.
★★★★★MBC is outstanding in every aspect- True enablers of science by facilitating their customers with world class equipment and the most friendly service! The comfort provided helps drive science in the most efficient way. if you are looking to build and escalate your startup in the bay area, look no further, they have it all !!!!
★★★★★MBC BioLabs makes biotech startup dreams come true! The facility is excellent, with all the standard instruments you’ll need for your molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell biology needs. And they also provide essential consumables so you don’t have to worry about daily ordering and operations needs while you focus on the science. Linda and the rest of the staff are stellar – super helpful, accommodating, great troubleshooters, and proactive in creating a comfortable and innovative work culture. They also regularly set up seminars to help the onsite companies network and learn about new technologies and business opportunities. If you’re looking to get your biotech startup going, you can’t go wrong with MBC BioLabs.
★★★★★We looked at several incubators in the Bay Area, MBC Biolabs is hands down the best! We have access to cutting edge lab equipment, a supportive community of founders, and just excellent facilities and staff. We could not ask for more!
★★★★★MBC offers a rare and valuable setup for early-stage biotech companies. A lab well equipped to be shared, a co-working space, plus super friendly staffs. On top of that, the community ready to help formed by the collaborators from other companies is a priceless asset. Our team loves this space and its people.