Companies that use Benchling

Source: Analysis of 100 job postings that mention Benchling

I found that Benchling purchases are primarily driven by R&D IT Directors and Senior Directors of Data Engineering who represent roughly 30% of hiring activity. These leaders sit at the intersection of scientific research and technology infrastructure, responsible for what one posting calls "providing technology enablers for R&D group" and ensuring "data is accessible, reproducible, and actionable." Their strategic priorities center on digital transformation of laboratory operations, with multiple roles focused on building scalable data platforms that support drug discovery pipelines from early research through commercial manufacturing.

The day-to-day users span a wide range of scientific roles, from Research Associates performing molecular cloning and cell culture to Computational Biologists analyzing NGS data. I noticed practitioners use Benchling for electronic lab notebooks, inventory management, molecular design workflows, and data capture across processes like "plasmid cloning, AAV packaging, protein expression" and "flow cytometry, cell counting, dPCR/qPCR, ELISA." One posting specifically mentions "design templates and record experimental results in Benchling" as a core responsibility, while another describes maintaining "intuitive databases housing antibody repertoire sequences."

The clearest pain points revolve around data fragmentation and manual processes. Companies seek "structured data capture and streaming technologies" to replace what they describe as moving "at the new speed of science requires better technology." Multiple postings emphasize the need to "maximize the usage and value of the system" and achieve "rapid time to value" through better integration. The goal is enabling "data-driven decision making" and ensuring "critical laboratory data is accessible" to accelerate therapeutic development timelines.

Source: Analysis of tech stacks from 814 companies that use Benchling

I noticed something striking about companies using Benchling: they're life sciences organizations navigating the complex journey from research to clinical trials and commercialization. The presence of Veeva Vault and Medidata Rave, both appearing over 1000x more frequently than normal, immediately signals these are biotech and pharmaceutical companies managing regulated environments where documentation, compliance, and clinical trial data are mission-critical.

The pairing of Benchling with Medidata Rave is particularly telling. Benchling handles the R&D side, managing lab notebooks, experiments, and early-stage research data, while Medidata captures clinical trial information. This suggests companies that have matured past pure discovery and are actively running human trials. Similarly, Veeva Vault appearing alongside Benchling indicates these organizations need both research data management and commercial-grade quality systems for regulatory submissions. The eClinical Solutions correlation, appearing 3060x more often, reinforces that clinical operations are a major focus.

What surprised me was seeing Coupa and Agiloft in the mix. These aren't science tools but rather procurement and contract management systems. This tells me these companies have grown beyond scrappy startups. They're dealing with complex vendor relationships, clinical research organization contracts, and enterprise purchasing needs. Smartsheet's presence suggests cross-functional program management, likely coordinating between research teams, clinical operations, and regulatory affairs.

Source: Analysis of Linkedin bios of 814 companies that use Benchling

I noticed that Benchling's typical customer is a life sciences company doing actual molecular and cellular work, not just software or data analytics. These companies are developing therapeutics (particularly antibodies, cell therapies, and gene therapies), creating novel proteins through AI and synthetic biology, engineering microorganisms for biomanufacturing, or building diagnostic tools. They're hands-on with wet lab work, running experiments on actual biological systems, not just analyzing existing data.

Most of these companies are early to mid-stage ventures. I counted numerous seed and Series A companies (Nuage, Vetigenics, Optieum, Kenai), with employee counts clustering in the 2-50 range. Even the larger organizations like Kyowa Kirin or GSK likely have specific research divisions using Benchling rather than enterprise-wide adoption. The funding amounts are substantial enough to support real R&D but not massive, typically in the $5M-$75M range for recent rounds. Very few are post-IPO, and those that are still describe themselves with startup-like innovation language.