Will Canine

Yo, you gotta hear about Will Canine. This guy’s the real deal in biotech and startups. So, he’s a YC W16 alum, but what’s more insane is his process. Started out at Genspace, a community biolab in NYC, basically, a hackerspace for biotech nerds. That’s where he caught the bug, got inspired to make labs smarter, faster, less boring.

Then, he jumped into the chaos of the Occupy Wall Street movement, not your typical founder background, right? But that hustle, that desire to shake things up, it’s what fired him up. He saw how the system was holding back innovation, and he decided to do something about it.

In 2014, he co-founded Opentrons Labworks, a biotech robotics startup. The goal? Automate the boring, repetitive shit in labs so scientists can focus on the cool breakthroughs. Think pipetting, mixing, all that monotonous bench stuff. They launched the OT-2, this sick robotic platform that’s basically like having a lab assistant that never sleeps. It’s making biotech labs way more fast, way cheaper, and opening up the field for more innovation.

And get this, they crushed YC in 2016, and then raised a $10 million seed round led by Khosla Ventures. That’s no small feat. They’re legit changing how biology research gets done. Will’s not just some guy building a robot; he’s trying to democratize biotech, make it accessible, and push the whole industry forward.

But here’s what’s crazy about him, his background isn’t just tech or business. It’s rooted in community, activism, and a real desire to make science better for everyone. He’s seen the system’s bullshit, and instead of complaining, he jumped into the trenches. That’s why Opentrons is so original, it’s built on a mix of practical tech, social impact, and a bit of rebellion.

Honestly, Will’s story is about more than startups. It’s about pushing boundaries, fighting the bullshit, and building tools that actually matter. He’s the kinda founder who’s not just in it for the money, he genuinely wants to shake up biotech and make science accessible. That’s why he’s so important. He’s not just creating robots; he’s creating the future of how we do biology.