The innovative device, which fits in a laptop bag, was created by Bethan Wolfenden and Philipp Boeing whilst studying at University College London, to make biology tools accessible and easy to use. After organising hands-on biotechnology workshops in schools and community centres, Bethan and Philipp were increasingly frustrated by the lack of accessible hardware. This led to the creation of Bento Lab.

The team has now completed an initial fund raising through a variety of channels, including Kickstarter, to fund the first production run. “We needed to raise at least £40,000 towards the production cost of the units, but the more funds we raise the more we can invest in educational resources and sustainability” says Philipp. The campaign raises funds through pre-ordering Bento Lab devices, as well as through donations.

SynbiCITE has supported Bento in a number of ways, from mentoring, providing laboratory space and the 4-Day MBA course to the Lean LaunchPad. SynbiCITE also took Bento on the UKTI Trade Mission to San Francisco 2015 where it helped with introductions to US potential investors and customers.