Formulation is the process of combining ingredients, often familiar on their own, to create something with entirely new properties, similar to how a chef transforms basic staples into dishes with specific textures, tastes, and behaviours. But while the idea sounds simple, the reality is complex: even a small set of ingredients can be mixed in countless ways, with each ratio, processing step, and condition producing a different outcome. This combinatorial design space, regardless of the sector or application, means that finding the “right” formulation is rarely straightforward and often requires exploring an enormous number of possibilities. A well-designed formulation can make the difference between a life-saving drug and one that breaks down before it works, or between a crop treatment that protects plants and one that washes off in the first rain.

The Formulations Self-Driving Lab (SDL5) combines advanced artificial intelligence, active learning, and flexible automation to cut through formulation complexity in ways traditional high-throughput labs cannot. By steering experiments toward the most promising solutions, we achieve dramatically faster, lower-cost, and lower-waste discovery cycles. Our combination of custom-built tools and commercial equipment enables dynamic experimentation to address pressing needs in healthcare, agriculture, personal care, and many other industrial applications.