Episode 185

🧬 Lessons From Building the World's First Robotic Cloud Lab | Jimmy Sastra (Part 2/4)

"Life is amazing, but it’s also very fragile. I could not think of a more important mission than trying to understand how life works." In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, host Jon Chee continues his conversation with Jimmy Sastra, CEO and co-founder of Monomer Bio, tracing his evolution from a self-taught PhD student to a Silicon Valley engineer at the forefront of robotics and biotech innovation. Jimmy recounts his time at Willow Garage during the rise of ROS, his groundbreaking work at Transcriptic—where he helped build the world’s first robotic cloud lab—and how those experiences shaped his vision for Monomer Bio. He also explores the power of hiring for personal mission alignment and shares how a life-changing moment involving his brother inspired a career dedicated to understanding life through technology.

The Biotech Startups Podcast · Excedr

October 30, 202525m 1s

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Show Notes

🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.

As a TBSP listener, you can get exclusive perks through Excedr’s partner network—special savings, promotions, and more. Explore these offers today: https://www.excedr.com/partners.

"Life is amazing, but it’s also very fragile. I could not think of a more important mission than trying to understand how life works."

In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, host Jon Chee continues his conversation with Jimmy Sastra, CEO and co-founder of Monomer Bio, tracing his evolution from a self-taught PhD student to a Silicon Valley engineer at the forefront of robotics and biotech innovation. Jimmy recounts his time at Willow Garage during the rise of ROS, his groundbreaking work at Transcriptic—where he helped build the world’s first robotic cloud lab—and how those experiences shaped his vision for Monomer Bio.

He also explores the power of hiring for personal mission alignment and shares how a life-changing moment involving his brother inspired a career dedicated to understanding life through technology.

Key topics covered:

From Academia to Industry: Lessons in grit, self-teaching, and applied innovation
Willow Garage Era: Entering Silicon Valley’s robotics scene and shaping ROS
Transcriptic and Strateos: Creating the first robotic cloud lab uniting bio and automation
Leadership and Mission: Building teams around shared purpose and passion
Founding Monomer: Turning personal inspiration into a biotech automation vision

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Find our guest, Jimmy Sastra, at these links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-sastra-phd-11a0521/

Website: https://monomerbio.com/

Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

Learn more about Excedr:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Website: https://www.excedr.com

Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:

Website: https://flow.page/kyojin

Resources & Articles:

(HBR) Case Studies – Pandemic Entrepreneurship Meetup: https://hbr.org/2024/01/how-the-pandemic-rebooted-entrepreneurship-in-the-u-s

ASML and Philips – Stories of Innovation in Engineering: https://www.asml.com/news/stories/2024/asml-founding-story

Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:

Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/

Willow Garage: https://www.willowgarage.com/

Transcriptic (now Strateos): https://www.strateos.com/

Monomer Bio: https://www.monomerbio.com/

Ginkgo Bioworks: https://www.ginkgobioworks.com/

Built Robotics: https://www.builtrobotics.com/

Robust AI: https://www.robust.ai/

Sachin Chitta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinchitta/

Rodney Brooks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodney-brooks-1a137517/

Mark Zhang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-zhang-1726361b/

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:03 Grad School Challenges & Learning Grit

05:51 Self-Teaching and Confidence in Coding

06:48 Willow Garage Opportunity & Culture

08:39 Engineering Impact at Willow Garage

11:39 Transition to Transcriptic and Robotics Cloud Lab

15:35 Mission and Inspiration: Family Influence

18:24 Challenges and Focus at Strateos

18:42 Scaling Startups and Raising Capital

21:36 Short Stints: Built Robotics, Robust AI, Ginkgo

22:55 Pandemic Meetups and Finding a Co-founder

23:32 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.

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