Twist Bioscience (TWST): DNA On-Demand With Silicon Chips

How Silicon Chip Tech Supercharges Biotech

At first glance, the worlds of silicon tech and biotech are rather far apart.

On one hand, IT-related technologies deal with entirely man-made systems. From an investment perspective, they are often more focused on software (operating systems, SaaS, social media, and app store ecosystems) than on hardware (although the recent rise of AI and Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company has changed that somewhat).

Meanwhile, biotechnology is all about understanding an already existing, ultra-complex natural system. So unveiling the mystery of biology requires a lot of physical scientific experiment, from lab & culture cells, to clinical trials involving thousands of people.

From an investment perspective, biotechnology is often synonymous with the pharmaceutical industry, as the bulk of revenues for the biotech sector comes from life-saving medicines, such as cancer drugs, insulin, and blood pressure medications.

The two “tech” sectors, however, have a hidden overlap: progress in silicon technology hardware is fundamental to the recent boom in biotechnology capacity. For example, Illumina (ILMN +5.54%) genome sequencing machines are using advanced lasers and silicon chips to read an entire genome for less than $200 per genome.

The more silicon chips were manufactured, the more Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) became efficient.

In just the last 10 years, the cost per genome has been decreasing to the point that it is becoming a relatively inexpensive test among the arsenal of tests available to medical professionals.

Source: Illumina

Another company is now using silicon chip technology to completely change what is possible to achieve with biotechnology, making DNA as easy to “write” as computer code: Twist Bioscience.

Writing DNA On Demand

DNA, RNA, And Proteins

Living cells are controlled through a complex setup of instructions encoded into the organism’s genome, in the form of DNA sequences.

These genes are “read” and converted into mRNA, which is then used to produce proteins (including enzymes). If cells were factories, genes would be the blueprint, mRNA would be management’s instructions, and proteins would be the machines and tools equipping the factory.

For a long time, biologists could only duplicate existing genetic sequences through PCR technology. They then slowly learned how to modify DNA sequences, in increasingly controlled fashion, to the point where they could manufacture almost any genetic sequence on demand.

The DNA synthesis market grew quickly, reaching $4.5B in 2024, and is expected to keep growing by a 17.5% CAGR between 2025 and 2032.

Source: Fortune Business Insights

While initially dominated by biology and medical researchers, DNA synthesis is now mostly used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, a trend expected to persist moving forward.

Source: Fortune Business Insights

This was, however, still a painstaking process, requiring a lot of design by PhD-level scientists, manual labor, and expensive chemicals. So while sequence generation capacity increased together with genome reading capacity, larger DNA-writing volume was still out of reach.

Source: MDPI

From Column Synthesis to Silicon Chips (9,600 Genes/Run)

With miniaturized silicon chips, it became progressively possible to handle DNA in very small quantities and to synthesize it the same way.

It means that DNA synthesis can now be done at the nanoscale, with an unprecedented level of control, with one silicon chip able to produce almost 10,000 genes at once, instead of one at a time with the classical methods.

Source: Twist Bioscience

This is a method that is not only more productive, but can and really must be entirely automated, speeding up production and reducing the associated labor costs.

Twist Bioscience Overview

Founded in 2013, Twist was a pioneer in deploying DNA synthesis in chips, a part of the growing field of synthetic biology.

12 years later, the company is generating almost $100M in revenues quarterly ($96.1M in Q3 2025, up 18% year-to-year), with its aim toward the billion-dollar mark of annual revenues.

“In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, we delivered another quarter of record revenue.

We added hundreds of net new customers and launched the first in a series of planned SynBio portfolio expansions, laying the groundwork for robust, sustained growth ahead.”

Emily M. Leproust – CEO & co-founder of Twist Bioscience.

Source: Twist Bioscience

Twist employs around 1.100+ people. It is based in San Francisco, with other offices in the USA, Israel, China, Singapore, and Korea. Most of manufacturing is done either in San Francisco or at the company’s $100M “Factory of the Future” in Wilsonville, Oregon, providing a 210,000-square-foot surface.

“We need to plan for space about 18 to 24 months in the future. While we are focused on successfully building out our initial Portland site to deliver initial products in 2022, we believe it imperative to plan for the longer-term growth we see ahead.”

Emily M. Leproust (In 2021)- CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience

Most of the company’s revenues are derived from the North American markets, but European sales are growing quickly as well.

Source: Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Divisions

The company subdivisions are all based on one common foundational technology, its DNA-on-silicon platform, but with significant differences in end products and markets addressed.

Source: Twist Bioscience

NGS

The next-generation sequencing activity is the largest of the company, responsible for more than half of total revenues.

It allows for analysis of complex DNA sequences, including tasks like liquid biopsy, the detection of cancer cells’ genetic material from a simple blood sample.

In Q3 2025, NGS grew 27% year-to-year, making it by far the largest growth driver of the company’s revenues. As a result, this segment should become even more preeminent in the near future.

The company’s new “Twist cfDNA Pan-Cancer Reference Standard v2” is able to detect 458 unique naturally occurring cancer variants (circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA), covering 84 different genes involved in cancer.

Source: MedLine Plus

Other NGS products produced by Twist include tools going beyond just genetic sequence reading, for example:

• Exome 2.0,to detect rare and inherited diseases.
• Twist Genotyping Panel – Human 600k, to identify the genetic driver of diseases linked to multiple genes.
• MRD Rapid 500 Panel, detecting a small number of malignant cancer cells that remain in the body after a successful cancer therapy, a major risk factor for recurrence.
• Twist Human Methylome Panel, for applications from cancer metastasis, human development, and functional genomics.

“Sequencing cfDNA gives us a chance to learn significantly more about the cancer’s status—what kind of cancer is present, is it likely to respond to frontline therapy, and are there any emergent mutations that might affect that response?”

Mark Murakami – MD & assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School

SynBio

Synbio moves beyond genetic reading (NGS), onto more specialized tools for specific biotech research or medical needs. For example:

• TCR Libraries, used for adoptive cell therapy (ACT), use engineered T-cell receptors to target tumor-specific antigens.
• Spread-Out Low Diversity (SOLD) libraries, for analyzing a databank of variations in proteins.
• Oligopools, gene fragments, & vectors, ensuring production of high-quality genetic sequences and removing the need for researchers to generate them on their own, often at a higher cost and lower quality level.
• Custom Antigen and Antibody Design and Production, from 1,000 off-the-shelf ready antigens to custom production of other antigens using proprietary immunization vectors for production in mice.

BioPharma Solutions

This segment is the smallest in terms of revenues, and essentially consists of tools developed internally for Twist R&D needs, later on repurposed into services. This includes, for example:

• In Silico Antibody Humanization& Humanized Transgenic (HuTg) Mice, using machine learning AIs to turn antibodies developed in mice into human functional ones.
• DiversimAb™ mouse platform, designed to deliver maximum antibody diversity.

This segment reflects the potential of the company’s long-term focus on R&D, with many of the other activities stemming from research programs initiated many years ago.

Source: Twist Bioscience

Other Applications

AgriBio

Not all applications of synthetic biology and DNA sequence production on chips are biomedical. Another major field, expanding quickly, is agriculture and food production.

These methods can be used to improve plants, as well as livestock, such as plants and animals’ ability to survive or even thrive despite extreme temperatures, drought, salinity, or pest pressure.

Synthetic biology tools can also identify new genes and then use them to engineer microbes that fix nitrogen more efficiently, sequester more carbon, and grow in adverse conditions.

Lastly, NGS tools can be used for the rapid detection and surveillance of plant and animal pathogens.

Data Storage

An even more novel application of Twist Bioscience’s tools is in data storage, with DNA potentially replacing silicon-based memory for some applications, demonstrating further the interconnection of silicon tech and biotech.

DNA is actually an extraordinarily dense medium for information, with DNA information density being 1.47 terabit/mm2 or 950 terabit/in2, or more than 800 times the density of computers’ HDDs.

Declining costs and improvements in the accuracy of synthetic DNA synthesis, in large part driven by Twist Bioscience, now make high-quality DNA data storage possible.

DNA data storage is stable over a very long period, while not requiring expensive or polluting materials. Storage also does not require energy.

Traditional media degrades over time — even in tightly controlled environments. Synthetic DNA storage is stable in a normal office environment with 99.99999999999% reliability.

The DNA Data Storage Alliance was recently formed and includes DNA synthesis company Twist Bioscience, genomic sequencer company Illumina, data storage company Western Digital, Microsoft, Lenovo, and many others.

This technology was spun off into a separate company in May 2025, under the name Atlas Data Storage, which consequently raised $155M in seed financing.

Atlas will license Twist’s existing DNA data storage technology and pursue commercialization through early access programs.

“The opportunity to create an entirely new storage medium does not arise often. At Atlas Data Storage, we are pioneering the use of DNA for high-capacity storage.

DNA enables highly scalable, ultra-dense, secure, permanent data storage, and the potential to reshape storage is tremendous. Atlas has the right team and technology to realize this promise.”

Varun Mehta, CEO of Atlas Data Storage.

While more stable and energy efficient, reading DNA is still a lot more complex than reading a hard drive. So, DNA data storage is likely most fit for archival data and other data not consulted often for the foreseeable future.

Source: Atlas Data Storage

Innovative Sales Channel

If technological innovation is at the core of Twist Bioscience, the company is also very innovative when it comes to its sales channel.

Traditionally, ordering custom DNA or RNA sequences is a rather slow and complex process, requiring time and experienced professionals, and it is very hard to estimate its final costs.

Instead, Twist offers an online service with instant estimation of whether the sequence can be produced, automated quotations, and automated order tracking.

Source: Twist Bioscience

Source: Twist Bioscience

As scientists and medical professionals rarely enjoy more bureaucratic steps hindering their research, or really any interaction with salespersons, this turns into a strong competitive advantage for the company.

Twist has some really good internal tools that the design team uses to help us improve the efficiency of early panel development.

This is why we continue to use Twist, because we’ve really appreciated the consistent coverage on the chemistry side, and working with the design team has been a real pleasure. That counts for a lot in my book.

Mark Murakami – MD & assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School

The company also provides online tools for optimization of the ordered genetic sequence, with ergonomic features rarely available in academia-developed tools.

Source: Twist Bioscience

The ease of use also helps onboarding new customers, with the company seeing customers’ spending grow over time, “from a $100 gene to a $250.000 discovery project”.

For larger order volume, it is also possible to integrate with the company’s API for procurement integration, secured whitelisting of IP addresses, and budget forecasts.

Green Biotech

Thanks to the much smaller volume of chemical compound used on its silicon chips, compared to traditional methods, Twist’s DNA synthesis is also a lot greener.

For example, the company’s NGS oligopanels are emitting almost 3,000x less CO2 than older methods.

Source: Twist Bioscience

The same is true for the SynBio DNA writing capacity, which is surprisingly polluting for the conventional approach, equivalent to 59 miles driven with a car for producing one gene, compared to 0.092 miles with Twist Bioscience.

Source: Twist Bioscience

As the industry is moving from a low-volume, R&D-focused demand, to much more massive consumption for diagnostic, therapy, and environmental monitoring, the associated carbon emissions and pollution are going to be a growing concern.

This could impact the manufacturing partner choice when looking at options for DNA synthesis, especially in regard to the impact on a company’s ESG profile.

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Conclusion

On-demand printing of DNA sequences by the thousands at a low cost is revolutionizing what biotechnology can do.

For example, detection of cancer might soon need only a blood sample, instead of expensive, unpleasant, and often unreliable screening methods like scanners and biopsies.

In the same way, the possibility for writing entire genomes worth of genetic sequence radically changes the potential for genetic engineering of plants, animals, or maybe one day people, especially when combined with genetic engineering methods like CRISPR to insert the artificial sequences into living organisms.

It could even become a way to store data for posterity.

This makes Twist Bioscience a potential key supplier to most of the world’s pharmaceutical companies, which will rely on companies like Twist to provide them with an abundance of cheap and reliable synthetic DNA & RNA sequences.

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