A 10 Year Leap That Has Changed The World

In 2013, Bill Banyai, Bill Peck, and I took the leap of a lifetime by forming a small startup company named Twist Bioscience. Our goal was simple: Develop a scalable platform that could synthesize DNA accurately. We knew that such a platform could change the world, but as I look back on the past 10 years and all that we’ve accomplished, I’m surprised to say that we underestimated just how transformative Twist would become.

 

Put simply, synthetic DNA is a remarkably versatile biomaterial. In the hands of a clinical laboratorian, synthetic DNA can be used as an investigational tool, capturing minuscule fragments of tumor DNA from a patient’s blood. Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs)—the novel proteins that enable immune cells to recognize and target tumor cells—are born from synthetic DNA. This material is even being tapped to improve agricultural practices and output.

 

These are just a few among an ever-expanding list of applications in which synthetic DNA has become foundational. It's not surprising then that, within just two years of forming Twist, our advanced silicon-based DNA synthesis platform was already being put to work filling large orders for diverse projects. In 2015, for example, Twist was enlisted by Ginkgo Bioworks to produce more than 100 million bases of synthetic DNA (representing 10% of the synthetic DNA market that year) to support the engineering of microbial biofactories. Shortly thereafter, Twist teamed up with Microsoft to enable the storage of digital data in DNA—a far more durable and compact medium compared to current storage materials. By 2018, Twist had expanded into a global and publicly traded company, generating more than $25 million in revenue and supporting diverse applications ranging from next-generation sequencing (NGS) to biopharmaceutical development. Fast forward five years and in 2023, we have 10x’ed our revenue since 2018, reporting $245.1 million for the fiscal year.

I’m incredibly proud of these milestones, in part because they reflect the tenacity of the Twist team. Manufacturing synthetic DNA was not a new concept, but doing so on such a large scale while maintaining such high quality was—and still is—a significant challenge. It has required exceptional dedication and expertise to grow Twist into the industry leader that it is today. Not only do we support much of the world’s synthetic DNA needs, but we are helping to set new standards in sustainability and biosecurity as we go. All of this has allowed us to responsibly advance the scale and quality of synthetic DNA production around the world.

 

To this end, 2023 saw the first shipments from Twist’s Factory of the Future in Wilsonville, Oregon—a facility we customized and refined to improve DNA synthesis throughput. Our team has optimized this facility in such a way that we can now offer clonal genes (express genes) with a turnaround time as fast as five business days, a speed the scientific community has never before seen with this scale and accessibility.

 

But, our milestones are not purely our own. As much as they reflect our team’s grit and ability to problem solve, our success over these past ten years is also a product of industry-wide breakthroughs in scientific knowledge and technology. We’ve seen the rise of CRISPR/Cas gene editing, the explosive growth of the biologics market, the falling cost of next-generation sequencing, and the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in drug discovery. These breakthroughs have enabled a deeper exploration of molecular biology and disease; they’ve exposed unseen patterns in our data; and they’ve driven remarkable innovation across industries.

 

All the while, Twist has been there, growing alongside these industries and empowering researchers through the development of new tools rooted in synthetic DNA. As the world has grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, Twist has supported global research and viral surveillance efforts through the development of safe, synthetic SARS-CoV-2 RNA controls. We’ve empowered the development of novel therapeutics for diseases like hyperinsulinism and, just this year, we developed a new gold-standard platform for antibody discovery, one that leverages in vitro, in vivo, and in silico discovery tools (each enhanced by the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning). We’ve stored Netflix shows and human rights accords in DNA, and this all encompasses only a fraction of what our team and the larger scientific community have achieved over these ten years.

 

Put simply, the impact that synthetic DNA generally, and Twist specifically, has had on modern scientific advancement has been astounding. When we took the leap in 2013, we had no idea where it would carry us. And, I’m thrilled to say that the ride is far from over; in fact, we are just getting started. Our momentum going into 2024 is as strong as ever and shows no sign of slowing down. We enter the year having just launched Express Genes, an advancement that can greatly accelerate research timelines across a wide range of projects and are well on the path to profitability. I have no doubt that, as in previous years, Twist will continue empowering researchers with access to leading synthetic DNA-based tools.