Accubator

The Accubator will support founders and start-ups in biotechnological product development by combining modern high-throughput screening methods with artificial intelligence.

A new offering for founders and start-ups is being established in Martinsried: the Accubator. Following a development and pilot phase, it is expected to be available from 2028 as a ser­vice for start-ups and biotech companies, enabling the rapid development of biotechnological products such as artificial enzymes or other designer proteins. 

Rapid and cost-effective validation 

The development of a product idea or an early-stage candidate into a market-ready biotechnology product often exceeds the technological resources of start-ups and founders. The Accubator addresses this by creating an innovative service that enables the rapid and cost-efficient validation and optimization of biotechnological products at various stages of development.

At its core is the integration of efficient microfluidic high-throughput screening methods with AI-generated protein designs and advanced algorithms for optimizing biomolecules and cells. Through the native integration of AI, the Accubator aims to become a central hub for computationally driven product development in biotechnology. 

AI-driven optimization

For example, protein variants designed or modified using AI can be synthesized on DNA-level, transformed into cells, and expressed protein variants can be tested and characterized using mod¬ern high-throughput methods. The resulting data feed into iterative optimization cycles, in which candidates are further improved through mutation and screening with AI support. The result is an optimized variant that can then be transferred into scaling and production. The workflow supports clients by providing much faster product development cycles at lower cost. 

The project is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy. A pilot study is currently underway in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, coordinated by Bio^M. 

In the long term, the Accubator is primarily aimed at founders and researchers planning to establish a spin-off.