Skip to content

BIOKEA LAB · BERKELEY, CA

5,000+ sq ft of lab, coming online in .

The BioKEA Large Data Collider (LDC) is a combined wet-lab + compute platform in Berkeley, California — and the backbone of our molecular sequencing service for environmental DNA (eDNA) and related customers. Space secured in late 2025; move-in ; operating alongside partner institutions.

Warehouse interior before buildout
BEFORE BUILDOUT
Lab interior, operational LDC interior viewed from the ground floor LDC interior viewed from above, side angle The BioKEA lounge and maker-space corner, in progress OPERATIONAL
Wet-lab floor — current state

WHERE WE ARE · BAY AREA

A hand-drawn editorial map of the San Francisco Bay Area showing BioKEA's Berkeley lab and partner institutions at CIB, SFEI, and Coastal Quest.
Fig · Berkeley lab + partner institutions + the Bay Area biotech auction circuit

The LDC also runs as a molecular sequencing service for environmental-DNA and biodiversity-omics customers — DNA barcoding, eDNA, qPCR, and long-read genomics, project-rate engagements per scope. See the services catalog →

OPERATIONAL

Current state

5,000+
sq ft · Berkeley
~80
instruments on site
4×
KingFisher fleet
2×
Roche qPCR (LightCycler 480 II)
Capability
  • · Long-read nanopore sequencing across 2 flow cells on the ONT Promethion 2.
  • · Automated magnetic-bead extraction across four 96-well KingFisher platforms running in parallel.
  • · Real-time quantification on 384-well LightCycler 480 II blocks.

HARDWARE

A full extraction-to-sequencing pipeline, stage by stage.

Built across 2025–2026 through scrappy hustle at Bay Area biotech auctions — San Jose, San Francisco, Berkeley — picking up near-new hardware at roughly one-tenth retail cost. Positioned to run serious throughput on public-interest projects.

Two Thermo Scientific KingFisher Flex purification robots stacked
01 · Field to plate

Extraction

Thermo KingFisher Flex — 3-unit fleet

Magnetic-bead purification at 96-well scale, running in parallel. Paired with an Eppendorf epMotion 5075 liquid handler for end-to-end sample prep.

Also on bench
  • · Eppendorf epMotion 5075
  • · Qiagen QIAcube Connect
  • · Thermo KingFisher Presto (×2)
Two Qiagen QIAgility automated PCR prep systems stacked
02 · Library prep

Prep & Amplification

2× Qiagen QIAgility

Automated PCR prep with reproducible pipetting across 96- and 384-well plates. Backed by a stable of thermal cyclers for parallel amplification.

Also on bench
  • · Bio-Rad S1000 Thermal Cycler (×2)
  • · MJ Research PTC-200 and PTC-225 Tetrad
  • · Eppendorf Mastercycler Satellite X50i
  • · CyBio CyBi-SELMA 96 semi-automated pipettor
Applied Biosystems StepOne real-time PCR system beside two stacked Roche LightCycler 480 II systems
03 · Measure

Quantification

2× Roche LightCycler 480 II

Real-time PCR on a 384-well block, doubled up for high-throughput absolute quantification. Joined by an Applied Biosystems StepOne, capillary electrophoresis, and fluorometry.

Also on bench
  • · Applied Biosystems StepOne Real-Time PCR
  • · Qiagen Qiaxcel Advanced Capillary Electrophoresis
  • · Caliper Life Sciences LabChip GXII
  • · Qubit 4 fluorometer
  • · Molecular Devices FilterMax F3 microplate reader
Oxford Nanopore Promethion 2 long-read sequencer with flow cells visible
04 · Read

Sequencing

Oxford Nanopore Promethion 2

Two flow cells of long-read nanopore sequencing on demand. Live on site since November 2025 — the heart of the LDC.

Also on bench
  • · On-site library QC (Qubit 4, LabChip GXII, Qiaxcel) feeding directly in.

Full inventory (~80 items) available on request.

An isometric cutaway illustration of the BioKEA Berkeley lab, showing extraction, prep, quantification, and sequencing equipment arranged along the pipeline flow.
Fig · LDC interior, stage-by-stage
DiversityScanner — a roboticized specimen-imaging platform

DIVERSITYSCANNER · ARRIVING EARLY SUMMER

Roboticized species discovery

A collaborative imaging platform for high-throughput specimen screening. BioKEA is adopting a unit as part of the California Institute for Biodiversity (CIB) collaborative expansion — arriving on site in . Computer-vision models generate interpretable attention heatmaps that reveal which morphological features drive each species assignment, feeding validated specimens into the LDC molecular pipeline.

Four specimen panels overlaid with topographic-style attention contours in the BioKEA cream palette.

Route samples through the LDC.

Molecular sequencing as a service for eDNA and biodiversity customers. We also take pipeline integration and capability-development conversations.

Get in touch →