Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST): PESTLE Analysis [Nov-2025 Updated]

You're holding Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST) under the microscope, and the view for 2025 is complex: massive market potential meets geopolitical friction. The synthetic biology market is set to top $25 billion, but the company's ability to capture its projected $300 million in revenue hinges on navigating everything from DNA export controls to the intense talent war for bioinformaticians. Let's break down the Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors you need to act on now.

The biggest political headwind for Twist Bioscience Corporation is defintely the US-China trade tension, which directly impacts synthetic DNA export controls. This isn't just theory; it slows down key international sales channels. Plus, the increased federal funding for bio-security and pandemic preparedness is a massive tailwind, creating new, high-margin government contract opportunities for their synthesis platform.

You also need to watch for potential new national-level DNA synthesis screening mandates. While these raise compliance costs, they also validate the need for high-quality, secure providers like Twist. Geopolitical risk is still affecting the global supply chain for key reagents, so keep a close eye on inventory and supplier diversification.

Action: Diversify reagent sourcing beyond a single region by Q1 2026.

The core opportunity here is the synthetic biology market, which is projected to reach over $25 billion globally in 2025. Twist Bioscience Corporation is positioned to capture a slice of that, with FY2025 revenue guidance projected near $300 million, a strong growth rate but still a tiny fraction of the total pie.

However, the cost of capital is rising. Interest rate hikes increase the cost of funding for R&D-intensive firms like this one, making the high capital expenditure (CapEx) needed for scaling DNA synthesis facilities a tougher pill to swallow. Here's the quick math: higher rates mean a higher discount rate in your discounted cash flow (DCF) model, which immediately lowers the present value of future growth.

Action: Stress-test the CapEx plan against a 150 basis point rate increase.

The talent war is real and intense, especially for skilled bioinformaticians and molecular engineers. If you can't hire the best, the technological moat shrinks fast. This is a people business now.

We're also seeing increased pressure from institutional investors for transparent Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting. Your shareholders care about more than just profit. Finally, the growing public debate on the ethics of genetic engineering and data storage means public acceptance of DNA data storage remains a long-term adoption hurdle that requires proactive communication.

Action: Integrate key ESG metrics into quarterly investor communications starting in Q4 2025.

Twist Bioscience Corporation's patented silicon-based DNA writing platform is a key competitive moat, but the competition is fierce. The industry is seeing continued exponential cost reduction in gene synthesis-what we call Moore's Law for DNA-meaning prices will keep falling, forcing Twist to find efficiency gains constantly.

Rapid advancement in DNA data storage density and read/write speed is a massive opportunity that could open up a new multi-billion dollar vertical. Still, competition from next-generation sequencing (NGS) and gene editing platforms (like CRISPR) means Twist needs to keep its platform relevant and interoperable with these other tools.

Action: Allocate 60% of R&D budget to DNA data storage advancements in FY2026.

Legal risk is high. Ongoing intellectual property (IP) litigation with competitors over synthesis methods is a constant drain on resources and could impact market access if a ruling goes against them. This is a fundamental risk to the core business.

Plus, compliance costs are rising due to complex international biosecurity standards and stricter global regulations on the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Data privacy laws, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the US, also impact how DNA data storage and handling must be managed-it's a compliance nightmare if not handled correctly.

Action: Conduct a full IP litigation risk assessment and scenario plan by year-end.

The Environmental factors are becoming material risks, not just PR points. The energy consumption of large-scale DNA data storage centers is under scrutiny, and this will become a major operating expense and reputational risk as the business scales. We need to start quantifying that usage now.

Also, the focus on using synthetic biology to create sustainable fuels and materials is a long-term revenue opportunity for the company's customers, but Twist itself needs greener, less toxic chemical processes in DNA manufacturing. Waste management of chemical byproducts from high-throughput synthesis is a growing regulatory and cost issue.

Action: Publish a baseline report on DNA synthesis energy and chemical waste output by Q2 2026.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST) - PESTLE Analysis: Political factors

You're looking at Twist Bioscience Corporation, a company whose entire business-synthetic DNA-sits right at the intersection of national security and economic competition. The political environment in 2025 is a double-edged sword for them: it brings significant new federal revenue opportunities but also a complex web of export controls and domestic regulation. The core takeaway is that rising US-China tension and a push for biosecurity mandates are net positives for a US-based manufacturer like Twist Bioscience Corporation, even as regulatory clarity remains a challenge.

Here's the quick math: the push for domestic biosecurity spending directly impacts the demand for their products, which is already strong. For the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, Twist Bioscience Corporation reported record revenue of $96.1 million, with SynBio revenue specifically at $35.2 million. Political tailwinds are helping drive that growth.

US-China trade tensions impact synthetic DNA export controls.

The escalating trade tensions between the US and China are creating a protected market for domestic synthetic biology providers. Twist Bioscience Corporation's manufacturing is 100% US-based, which gives them a distinct advantage as the US government tightens controls on biotechnology exports and supply chains. This is defintely a strategic benefit.

The company has publicly supported higher tariffs on synthetic DNA, arguing it protects US intellectual property (IP) and enhances biosecurity. The current tariff on synthetic RNA and DNA oligonucleotides is 6.5%, but the industry anticipates a levy of around 25% on pharmaceuticals and related biotech products. Since US sales made up 62% of Twist Bioscience Corporation's total annual revenue in the last fiscal year, a tariff increase would disproportionately hurt foreign competitors and redirect a sizable market share to domestic players.

Increased federal funding for bio-security and pandemic preparedness.

The US federal government's commitment to biosecurity and pandemic preparedness translates directly into a larger addressable market for Twist Bioscience Corporation's synthetic DNA tools. This funding is critical for research institutions and government agencies that are major customers.

The proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget includes a massive $20 billion in mandatory funding for Health and Human Services (HHS) public health agencies to support biodefense priorities. Furthermore, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced FY2025 funding increases for key programs, including a $55 million increase for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and a $30 million increase for the Strategic National Stockpile. These funds fuel the research and development that requires high-throughput, screened synthetic DNA.

Potential for new national-level DNA synthesis screening mandates.

The move toward mandatory DNA synthesis screening is a significant political factor, even with the current regulatory confusion. The federal government had planned to implement the Framework for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening starting in April/May 2025, which would have required federally funded researchers to purchase from providers who adhere to screening standards. However, a May 5, 2025 Executive Order paused this framework, leaving the industry in a state of limbo as of November 2025.

Twist Bioscience Corporation is well-positioned for any future mandate because it already conducts rigorous, proprietary screening on every order. This proactive stance is a competitive differentiator, especially against providers who rely on voluntary or less stringent protocols. When the new, enforceable standards are eventually issued-which is a near-certainty-Twist Bioscience Corporation will likely be on the pre-approved list immediately, while competitors scramble to comply.

Geopolitical risk affecting global supply chain for key reagents.

Geopolitical instability is a top-of-mind risk for all global supply chains, including the specialized one for synthetic biology. A 2025 survey showed that 55% of businesses cited geopolitical factors as a top supply chain concern, a sharp rise from 35% in 2023.

Twist Bioscience Corporation's supply chain is dependent on distributors and manufacturers for critical materials like chemical reagents, labware, and life science automation equipment. Any disruption in trade or conflict in key manufacturing regions could spike procurement costs or delay production. The company mitigates this risk by having substantial US manufacturing capacity, including its Wilsonville, Oregon facility that was expected to double its overall capacity. Still, they must maintain a robust supplier code of conduct to manage these external political risks.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST) - PESTLE Analysis: Economic factors

The economic environment for Twist Bioscience Corporation in 2025 is defined by a rapidly expanding synthetic biology market and the shifting landscape of capital costs, which directly impacts their R&D-heavy business model. The good news is the market is booming; the challenge is financing the necessary scale-up.

You need to see the big picture: the industry's growth rate is phenomenal, but the cost of capital is still a major lever on profitability for a company that is not yet fully cash-flow positive. Twist Bioscience Corporation is navigating this by focusing on high-margin segments and improving its gross margin, which is defintely the right move.

Synthetic biology market projected to reach over $25 billion globally in 2025.

The core market for Twist Bioscience Corporation, synthetic biology (SynBio), is experiencing explosive growth, which provides a massive tailwind for the company's DNA synthesis and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) tools. The global synthetic biology market size is projected to reach approximately $24.58 billion in 2025, accelerating at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 28% through 2034.

This market expansion is driven by the increasing application of synthetic DNA in drug discovery, diagnostics, and industrial biotechnology. North America remains the dominant region, holding a market share of approximately 39.6% in 2024, which directly benefits a US-based firm like Twist Bioscience Corporation. The oligonucleotide/oligo pools and synthetic DNA segment-Twist Bioscience Corporation's specialty-accounted for the highest market share by product in 2024.

Company's FY2025 revenue guidance projected near $300 million.

Twist Bioscience Corporation's financial performance in fiscal year 2025 significantly exceeded earlier projections, demonstrating strong commercial traction across its business segments. The final, updated full fiscal year 2025 total revenue guidance was a range of $374 million to $376 million, representing year-over-year growth of 19% to 20%. This is a strong signal of demand for their high-throughput silicon-based DNA synthesis platform.

Here's the quick math on where that revenue is coming from, showing the importance of the NGS segment:

The company also made significant progress on profitability, with the adjusted EBITDA loss for the full fiscal year 2025 narrowing to $(46.9) million, a substantial improvement from the $(93.5) million loss in fiscal 2024.

High capital expenditure (CapEx) needed for scaling DNA synthesis facilities.

Scaling a synthetic biology platform like Twist Bioscience Corporation's requires substantial and ongoing capital expenditure (CapEx) to maintain a competitive edge in speed and cost. This is a capital-intensive business. The company's net property and equipment, a proxy for cumulative CapEx investment in its manufacturing facilities, stood at $102.283 million as of September 30, 2025.

For example, the capital expenditure for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 alone was approximately $9.2 million, reflecting continued investment in its manufacturing infrastructure to support the growing demand for its DNA products. This high CapEx is a necessary cost of maintaining its competitive advantage and driving down the cost of DNA synthesis, but it puts pressure on near-term cash flow.

Interest rate hikes increase the cost of capital for R&D-intensive firms.

The macroeconomic environment in 2025, characterized by a shift in monetary policy, directly affects R&D-intensive firms like Twist Bioscience Corporation. While the Federal Reserve's median federal funds rate was projected to decline from 3.9% in 2025 to a long-run target of 3.0%, the preceding period of high interest rates has already impacted valuations and capital raising.

Lower interest rates are a positive for biotech because they reduce the discount rate applied to long-term future cash flows, which is crucial for companies with long R&D cycles. The company's R&D expenses for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 were $17.0 million, and the total R&D investment for the year is a significant part of their operating expenses. The cost of equity financing also becomes more attractive as rates fall, which is important given the company's cash position of $232.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments as of September 30, 2025. This cash reserve provides a buffer, but continued access to low-cost capital is essential for funding:

• Accelerated R&D projects.
• Expansion of manufacturing capacity.
• Potential strategic acquisitions.

What this estimate hides is the volatility; any unexpected reversal in the Fed's policy could quickly increase the cost of capital again, making the path to full profitability harder.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

Growing public debate on the ethics of genetic engineering and data storage.

The biggest social risk for a synthetic biology company like Twist Bioscience Corporation isn't a technical failure, but a loss of public trust. The debate over genetic engineering ethics is intensifying, driven by the convergence of synthetic biology and artificial intelligence (AI).

Honestly, the core issue in late 2025 is biosecurity: the fear that AI could design novel, harmful proteins that current industry-standard screening-which relies on matching sequences to known threats-might miss. Twist Bioscience Corporation mitigates this by applying rigorous biosecurity and export control screening to all DNA synthesis orders. This is critical, especially as a new federal funding requirement, set for May 2025, mandates that recipients of federal research funds must buy synthetic nucleic acids only from providers who attest to screening for sequences of concern. Twist Bioscience Corporation is well-positioned, but the regulatory landscape is defintely still murky, with a new White House framework on nucleic acid synthesis screening facing delays in late 2025.

Talent war for skilled bioinformaticians and molecular engineers is intense.

The competition for top-tier talent is fierce, and it directly impacts Twist Bioscience Corporation's operating expenses and ability to innovate. You're not just competing with other biotechs; you're competing with Google and Amazon for the same computational minds. The market has priced this scarcity clearly.

Here's the quick math on the cost of key roles in the US as of November 2025. This shows the baseline you need to meet to attract and keep people, especially in high-cost areas like the Bay Area where a lot of this work happens:

The average pay for a Molecular Engineer is slightly higher, reflecting the deep, cross-disciplinary skills required. This talent war means retention programs and culture-like the fact that 85% of Twist Bioscience Corporation employees say it's a great place to work, compared to 57% at a typical US company-are just as important as the compensation package.

Increased pressure from institutional investors for transparent ESG reporting.

Institutional investors like BlackRock are no longer seeing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors as a side project; it's a core financial risk. They want clear, quantifiable data, and Twist Bioscience Corporation has responded by integrating sustainability into its core product: the silicon-based DNA synthesis platform.

This is a major opportunity for the company to differentiate itself in the supply chain. The key number you need to focus on is the environmental footprint, which is a huge social talking point. Twist Bioscience Corporation's platform uses 99.8% less reagents (chemicals) than legacy 96-well plate approaches.

This translates directly into a massive carbon reduction that investors can measure:

• Legacy 96-well plate methods emit up to 23,000 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per gene.
• Twist Bioscience Corporation's process emits a minuscule 36 grams of CO2e per gene.

The company also committed in its 2025 Corporate Responsibility Report to setting near-term, company-wide emissions reduction targets aligned with climate science through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This kind of transparency is what major asset managers demand to justify their holdings.

Public acceptance of DNA data storage remains a long-term adoption hurdle.

DNA data storage is a phenomenal concept-one gram of DNA can theoretically hold 215 petabytes of data-but it's still a niche technology in 2025, not a mainstream solution. The public acceptance hurdle isn't about ethics here; it's about cost and speed, which is a technical challenge that translates into a social adoption barrier.

The global DNA Storage For Data Archiving Market is still small, estimated to reach around $84.40 million in 2025. That's growing fast, with a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 53.70% through 2030, but it's a tiny fraction of the overall data storage market. The main obstacle is the cost of writing the data (DNA synthesis) and reading it (sequencing).

The current cost is prohibitive for mass adoption, reportedly reaching EUR 1,000 for a mere 1 kilobyte of data. Until the cost drops by several orders of magnitude, DNA storage will be limited to ultra-cold data archiving for large institutions-think government agencies and major research labs-not the general public or even most corporate clients.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

Continued exponential cost reduction in gene synthesis (Moore's Law for DNA)

The core of Twist Bioscience Corporation's competitive advantage is its ability to drive down the cost of synthetic DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) at a rate often compared to Moore's Law for semiconductors. You're seeing a true industrialization of biology, moving synthesis from a slow, expensive lab process to a high-throughput manufacturing operation. This is critical because cheaper DNA unlocks new applications, from drug discovery to sustainable chemicals.

The company's proprietary silicon-based platform allows for massive parallelization, meaning they synthesize thousands of DNA strands simultaneously. This scale slashes the reaction volume by a million-fold compared to traditional column-based methods, boosting throughput by 1,000x. Here's the quick math: the cost per base pair (bp) for a 1.5 kilobase (kb) fragment is around $0.007 per base, which is roughly one-tenth the cost of older methods. For shorter 300 bp fragments, the cost drops even further to approximately $0.003 per base.

This cost efficiency is directly translating into commercial growth. The Synthetic Biology (SynBio) segment, which houses this core technology, is guided to generate between $142 million and $146 million in revenue for the full fiscal year 2025, showing the market's adoption of this low-cost, high-volume production model.

Rapid advancement in DNA data storage density and read/write speed

DNA data storage is a long-term, high-risk, high-reward opportunity that Twist Bioscience has strategically positioned itself to capture. The density potential is staggering, honestly. One single gram of DNA can theoretically store over 200 petabytes (200 million gigabytes) of information. That's why it's seen as the ultimate archival solution-it lasts for millennia and requires almost no power for maintenance.

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, Twist Bioscience spun out its DNA storage application as an independent entity, Atlas Data Storage. This move was smart; it secured a $155 million seed financing round for the new company in May 2025, allowing Twist to maintain a minority ownership, plus future technology and commercial milestone payments and royalties. The technology is already showing a massive cost reduction for long-term storage, dropping the estimated cost per gigabyte (GB) from $10,000 for traditional cold storage to approximately $400. What this estimate hides: the current challenge is still the slow write/read speed, which can take hours or even days, but the density and longevity are unmatched.

Competition from next-generation sequencing (NGS) and gene editing platforms

The synthetic biology landscape is highly competitive, but the key is that next-generation sequencing (NGS) and gene editing platforms are often complementary to Twist Bioscience's core business, not just competitive. Twist's synthetic DNA is a critical input for both. For example, the company's NGS revenue stream, which provides tools for sequencing preparation, has become its largest segment.

Look at the numbers for 2025: the NGS segment is guided to bring in between $204 million and $209 million in revenue for the full fiscal year 2025, representing a growth of 20% to 24% year-over-year.

Twist Bioscience competes with synthetic biology peers like GenScript and Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), but also with gene editing companies like CRISPR Therapeutics AG and Beam Therapeutics. Still, the company's cost leadership and scale are helping it gain market share even in the competitive gene editing space.

• NGS Revenue (FY2025 Guidance): $204 million-$209 million.
• SynBio Revenue (FY2025 Guidance): $142 million-$146 million.
• Key Competitors: Illumina (NGS), Synthego, and Syngenta.

Patented silicon-based DNA writing platform is a key competitive moat

The patented silicon-based DNA writing platform is defintely the most important technological moat for Twist Bioscience. This technology, which uses proprietary semiconductor-based manufacturing, allows the company to miniaturize and parallelize the complex chemistry required for DNA synthesis.

The platform's scale is what truly sets it apart. The chips integrate 1.3 million nano-reaction wells and enable the parallel production of up to 9,600 genes at a time. This high-throughput capability is why the company's SynBio segment shipped 237,000 genes in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 alone. The extensive intellectual property portfolio protecting this platform is what will keep competitors playing catch-up for years, allowing Twist to continue its focus on operational efficiency and its goal of achieving a gross margin of 50% or higher by the end of fiscal year 2025.

The table below summarizes the key technological metrics driving the business in the 2025 fiscal year:

Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

Ongoing intellectual property (IP) litigation with competitors over synthesis methods

The most immediate legal risk for Twist Bioscience Corporation in fiscal year 2025 is the escalating cost and distraction of litigation, particularly the securities class action. While the long-running intellectual property (IP) dispute with Agilent Technologies was settled in 2020 for a $22.5 million payment and a license, a new and costly legal front has opened.

The shareholder lawsuit, Peters v. Twist Bioscience Corp. et al., is now moving into the discovery phase. On September 3, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied in part the defendants' motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed. This suit alleges that the company misrepresented the efficiency and quality of its synthetic DNA manufacturing technology. Discovery is the most expensive part of litigation, and this development guarantees a significant drain on legal resources for the remainder of fiscal 2025 and into 2026.

Here's the quick math on the legal expense pressure: total Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses for fiscal 2025 were $247.0 million, up significantly from $218.4 million in fiscal 2024. This $28.6 million increase reflects the rising cost of legal defense and compliance efforts.

Stricter global regulations on the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

While the synthetic biology industry generally faces strict regulations, the near-term trend in the European Union (EU) is actually a regulatory tailwind for Twist Bioscience's agricultural customers. In March 2025, EU governments backed a proposal to ease restrictions on certain gene-edited plants, categorized as New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).

This shift is crucial because it proposes to exempt 'Category 1 NGT plants' from the stringent, costly requirements of the current EU GMO regulations, such as risk assessment and labeling. This potential deregulation will accelerate product development for agricultural biotech companies, directly boosting demand for Twist Bioscience's SynBio products. The SynBio segment generated $145.0 million in revenue in fiscal 2025, so a more permissive regulatory environment in a major market like the EU is a clear opportunity.

Data privacy laws (like GDPR, CCPA) impact DNA data storage and handling

Handling genetic data requires compliance with a complex web of global privacy laws, including the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This is defintely a high-stakes compliance area.

Twist Bioscience has taken a decisive action to manage the most data-intensive part of this risk by spinning out its DNA data storage application into an independent company, Atlas Data Storage, in May 2025. This move isolates the regulatory and financial burden of commercializing DNA data storage technology from the core synthetic DNA business. Plus, the company maintains a high internal standard, having already achieved the updated ISO 27001:2022 certification for its information security management system, which positions it ahead of the curve for 2025 compliance mandates.

Compliance costs rising due to complex international biosecurity standards

The cost of maintaining a leadership position in biosecurity is a non-negotiable operating expense. Twist Bioscience's commitment to adhering to biosecurity standards, such as the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Framework and the International Gene Synthesis Consortium's Harmonized Screening Protocol, drives up operational costs.

The company is proactively investing in next-generation biosecurity, exemplified by its co-authorship on a paper published in Science in October 2025 on screening against AI-assisted protein design. This investment is necessary to mitigate the risk of synthesizing dangerous sequences, which could result in catastrophic legal and financial penalties. The scale of this commitment is embedded in the overall $247.0 million in fiscal 2025 SG&A expenses.

The legal and compliance landscape presents a dual challenge: managing costly litigation while investing heavily in proactive biosecurity.

Finance: draft a 13-week cash view by Friday that explicitly models a 20% increase in legal spend for Q1 and Q2 of fiscal 2026 to cover the heightened discovery phase of the securities litigation.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (TWST) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

Need for greener, less toxic chemical processes in DNA manufacturing

You are defintely right to focus on the environmental footprint of DNA synthesis, especially as the industry scales. The traditional method, phosphoramidite chemistry, uses significant volumes of chemical reagents, leading to substantial solvent and chemical waste. Twist Bioscience, however, has a built-in advantage here with its proprietary silicon-based platform.

This miniaturized approach to writing DNA drastically cuts down on the chemical volume needed. For a single gene, the platform reduces the consumption of chemical reagents and the volume of waste generated by an impressive 99.8% compared to the legacy 96-well plate methods. This isn't just a marginal improvement; it fundamentally changes the environmental equation for high-throughput DNA production.

Here's the quick math on the carbon footprint comparison, based on data quantified in the 2023 ESG Report and referenced in 2025 materials:

Focus on using synthetic biology to create sustainable fuels and materials

The core of the opportunity for Twist Bioscience lies in enabling its customers to tackle global sustainability challenges. Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a key tool for developing biobased alternatives to petrochemicals, and Twist's high-quality, high-throughput DNA is the essential input for this work.

By providing DNA at scale, Twist accelerates research in several critical areas aimed at environmental improvement:

• Develop biobased chemicals and sustainable materials.
• Engineer organisms for renewable energy and sustainable fuel production.
• Create resilient crops for agriculture, improving yields and reducing reliance on chemical pesticides.
• Design enzymes for the infinite recycling and upcycling of plastic waste.

This positioning makes the company a foundational player in the broader green economy, extending its environmental impact far beyond its own manufacturing process.

Energy consumption of large-scale DNA data storage centers is under scrutiny

The world's exponential data growth is creating a massive energy problem for traditional storage centers (hard disk drives, or HDDs). Twist Bioscience is directly addressing this with its DNA data storage technology, which was spun out in May 2025 as an independent company named Atlas Data Storage.

This spin-out, which secured a $155 million seed financing round, focuses on a solution that minimizes the need for maintenance, migration, and, crucially, energy. DNA data storage is poised to reduce power consumption by orders of magnitude compared to current enterprise media. The trend is clear: beyond 2025, new, more sustainable media like DNA will be needed to cost-effectively preserve the world's data, especially the infrequently accessed 'cold' data, which accounts for approximately 75% of all stored data.

Waste management of chemical byproducts from high-throughput synthesis

While the silicon platform drastically reduces chemical waste, managing the remaining byproducts and general lab waste is still a priority. Twist Bioscience has implemented specific recycling and waste diversion programs that go beyond just the core DNA synthesis process.

The company focuses on diverting high-volume lab consumables from landfills:

• Diverted over 24,795 pounds of plastic waste (nitrile gloves and personal protective equipment) from landfills through its recycling program by June 2024.
• Diverted over 6,000 kg of single-use scientific plastic, specifically pipette tip boxes, from R&D labs in its South San Francisco, Wilsonville, OR, and Quincy, MA, facilities.

This commitment to waste miniaturization means that per run, the company synthesizes 10,000x more oligos (short DNA sequences) while producing 1,000x less chemical waste per oligo compared to older methods. That's a powerful operational metric. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.