Catalog Technologies, Inc. collaborating with Seagate Technology Holdings plc on several initiatives to advance scalable and automated DNA-based storage and computation platforms, including making DNA-based platforms up to 1000 times smaller. The collaboration will center on using Seagate's “lab on a chip” technology to reduce the volume of chemistry required for DNA-based storage and computation. Using the Seagate platform, tiny droplets of synthetic DNA can test chemistry at significantly smaller levels.

These droplets will be processed through dozens of reservoirs on the Seagate platform. DNA from individual reservoirs is mixed to produce chemical reactions for a range of computing functions, including search and analytics, machine learning, and process optimization. This research will provide valuable insights into possibilities for the next generation of DNA-based storage and computation platforms in various form factors, including desktop and IoT-sized versions.

CATALOG's first-generation automated and scalable DNA computation and storage platform, Shannon, is about the size of an average family kitchen and was developed as a proof of concept to demonstrate the potential of DNA computation and storage. The goals for the next-generation platform are to use significantly smaller amounts of chemicals, require less energy, and operate almost anywhere-including in offices, on ships in the middle of the ocean, and potentially in space.