SynbiCITE was created in 2013 after a UK-wide competition to find the most suitable host university with the best strategic plan.[2] Initially funded by the government and other partners for five years, the organization was intended to become self-sustaining by 2018.[3][4] In April 2016, SynbiCITE opened the Synthetic Biology Foundry, a Research Councils UK-funded facility providing remote gene design, construction, and validation services using laboratory robotics. Based on a similar facility at MIT, it is the first commercial facility in the United Kingdom using laboratory automation to provide on-demand services specifically for synthetic biology.[5][6]
In 2019, the DNA Foundry opened at Imperial College London's White City Campus.[7] Its goal is to enable businesses to outsource DNA manufacture, design, and testing and accelerate the development of DNA-based technologies in the UK. SynbiCITE also supported the development of OpenCell, which provides affordable biotechnology labs using shipping containers in White City.[8]