Closed-loop lab automation for formulation and instrument orchestration
Ursa is a modular, software-defined laboratory platform for adaptive automated process control and buffer/reagent formulation. The reagent formulation system assists users from recipe design to automated preparation and is optimized to replace manual, error-prone prep with repeatable, traceable, just-in-time production. In most labs and bioprocess settings, buffer work is a hidden throughput limiter: teams spend significant time weighing, mixing, adjusting pH, filtering, labeling, and documenting, and variability across operators and days can propagate into downstream assay and process noise.
Ursa removes the reagent bottleneck by automating formulation execution and capturing complete metadata for every batch. Ursa's core capability is programmable formulation: users specify target recipes (including pH, osmolarity, and final volume), and Ursa executes the preparation using stocked ingredients with automated mixing and verification steps. The system records a structured execution trace—ingredient lots, dispense volumes, timestamps, protocol versions, and sensor readings—enabling auditability, reproducibility, and rapid troubleshooting (“what changed?”). Ursa is designed to support both (1) routine production of common buffers (e.g., PBS, Tris, HEPES, phosphate/citrate systems, lysis and wash buffers, culture media supplements) and (2) formulation exploration, where many variants are prepared systematically to optimize performance for a specific assay or process.
Current development is at TRL-3 (experimental POC) with workflow prototypes focused on formulation execution, batching logic, and data capture. We’re heading into the lab with our partners to validate what Ursa does best: delivering consistent, high-volume results that meet exact specifications every time—all while feeding data directly into your team's digital workflow. We are open to pilot/trial engagements, fee-for-service validation projects, and strategic investment partnerships.
About Ursa Science
Ursa Science is a life science instrumentation company based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that develops software-defined laboratory platforms. Their flagship innovation is the MIK (Modular Instrument Kernel), an agentic AI designed to unify diverse laboratory hardware into a single, automated, and interoperable system known as the Mars platform. By using a modular, hardware-software integrated design, the company enables researchers to reconfigure laboratory layouts while maintaining auditability, quality control, and deterministic execution. This approach aims to replace rigid, siloed, and vendor-locked systems with flexible, scalable infrastructure that can be deployed across various environments, including land, maritime, and space-based research settings.
By converting stochastic physical laboratory processes into predictable digital data, Ursa Science seeks to remove manual, person-dependent variables from experimental workflows. The platform allows scientists to integrate existing protocols and instruments while utilizing AI-driven agents to automate task execution and perform proactive equipment monitoring. This helps customers reduce maintenance costs, improve research reproducibility, and streamline operations in complex scientific environments. Through these advancements, the company aims to eliminate traditional barriers to innovation, allowing research facilities to maintain high-precision industrial power at the lab scale.
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