Chemspeed Technologies, a specialist in laboratory automation solutions, has formed a strategic partnership with iktos, a developer of AI-driven robotics for drug discovery.
Under the partnership, the companies will deliver an integrated solution combining AI-driven synthesis planning and execution with Chemspeed’s robotic synthesis platforms, enabling a new generation of automated workflows for pharmaceutical library synthesis and reaction screening.
This collaboration brings AI-orchestrated laboratory automation to pharmaceutical research teams, accelerating discovery programs, increasing laboratory productivity, and expanding the scope of automated chemical synthesis.
AI‑Driven Orchestration
iktos’ AI-driven laboratory orchestration technology, which is available for Chemspeed automated synthesis platforms, was developed and validated within iktos’ discovery programs. Ilaka transforms virtual molecular designs into executable synthesis instructions for Chemspeed robotic systems.
Ilaka orchestrates the complete decision workflow, including retrosynthesis, reaction selection, reagent sourcing, experimental procedure generation, and synthesis scheduling, to create a seamless molecules-to-robot pipeline. This integration allows chemists to translate digital molecular ideas into automated synthesis campaigns with minimal manual intervention.
Maximising Throughput
A noteworthy innovation of Ilaka is its AI-driven scheduling algorithm, which groups compatible reactions into “reaction clusters”, enabling multiple chemistries to be executed in parallel on Chemspeed platforms to increase throughput and optimise robot utilisation.
Combined with Chemspeed’s modular automation solutions, chemists can run complex, multi-step synthesis campaigns without programming expertise, extending the use of automation beyond traditional parallel synthesis and high-throughput experimentation.
Autonomous Chemistry Workflows
Michael Schneider, global head of sales and marketing, Chemspeed, said, “Chemspeed has long focused on delivering highly configurable robotic platforms for advanced chemical research. By integrating iktos’ Ilaka software, we add an intelligent orchestration layer that empowers chemists to execute even the most complex synthesis workflows with greater speed, clarity, and confidence. Together, we are enabling a new era of AI‑driven laboratory automation for pharmaceutical R&D.”
The joint solution has the ability to support pharmaceutical teams in scaling automated synthesis, improving reproducibility, and maximising return on investment in laboratory automation infrastructure.
An AI‑Orchestrated Discovery Workflow
The platform can also be further extended by integrating additional iktos technologies, such as Makya for AI-based generative molecular design and Spaya for AI-powered retrosynthesis planning. In combination with Chemspeed automation, this can enable a fully AI-orchestrated drug discovery workflow, from molecular ideation to automated chemical synthesis.
