StartX And QB3 Open A Biotech Lab In Palo Alto

StartX, the nonprofit accelerator program spun out of Stanford University, is opening a biotech laboratory in conjunction with QB3, the institute focused on molecular biology research at the University of California. The StartX-QB3 Labs consist of a 2,000-foot lab space connected to the rest of the StartX offices in Palo Alto. The lab provides equipment useful for molecular biology startups and early stage hardware startups.

StartX says that most startups in its program get about $100,000 in resources in the form of office space, legal and web services, and financial aid. Startups using the biotech lab that we spoke to say that they’re getting even more, as the labs in the Bay Area they spoke to charged thousands of dollars per month and an equity stake for less lab space.

StartX-QB3 Labs biotech

The work space can accommodate up to 20 biotech startups at a time, and 5 startups will occupy the lab at launch.

Biotech startups can’t just get up and running on a laptop like most companies in Silicon Valley. They need to do tests using expensive equipment in order to get more accurate results and keep their researchers safe.

Providing equipment and experienced biotech founders (like StartX-QB3 Founder Andrew Lee) makes it cheaper to get them off the ground and more likely that young founders will spot early mistakes and build feasible companies.

Among the StartX alumni, StartX Med graduate companies have performed better than the average StartX company in terms of raising capital. Out of 160 companies that went through StartX in total since 2009 (but before this summer’s batch), the 45 StartX Med companies that went through have raised $133 million of the $349 million raised overall. By providing future companies with free equipment and mentoring, StartX Med’s batches can perform even better post-graduation by getting further early on while spending less money.