FROM DRUDGERY TO DISCOVERY

At Lab Donkey, we do the donkey-work, so you don't have to.

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What is Donkey-Work?

don·key-work/ˈdɒŋki wɜːk/
noun, informal (British)
The boring or laborious part of a job; drudgery.
"Scientists who use Lab Donkey let automation handle the donkey-work of the lab."
Max and Petia
Lab Donkey mascot

Our Mission

We believe automation should work for every lab. Practical to run, resilient when things go wrong, and built for scientists.

Scientist-First

Clear controls and human‑readable logs so anyone in the lab can run and troubleshoot workflows.

Open By Design

Hardware‑agnostic drivers. If it has an API, TCP/IP, or serial, we can integrate it.

Reliable by Default

Deterministic scheduling, built‑in recovery, and safe rerouting keep work moving without black boxes.

Our Story

After years in labs and automation projects, we saw the same problems repeat: rigid systems, vendor lock‑in, and runs that stopped at the first hiccup. We built Lab Donkey to fix that: software-first, hardware-agnostic automation that keeps going when real-world things happen.

We're based near London in the United Kingdom (UK), with partners in San Diego and Boston in the United States (US). We launched at SLAS San Diego in 2025, earned strong interest, and now help teams, from pharma to research, run dependable automation without lock‑in.

Lab Donkey Founders

Leadership

The leaders behind Lab Donkey

Petia Hak — Chief Executive Officer
CEO

Petia Hak

Chief Executive Officer

Leading Lab Donkey’s mission to make advanced automation simple, open, and accessible for every lab.

Safwan Hak — Chief Technology Officer
CTO

Safwan Hak

Chief Technology Officer

Building cutting-edge automation solutions that seamlessly integrate with laboratory workflows and empower scientists worldwide.

Maxim Cooper — Lead Automation Engineer
LEAD ENGINEER

Maxim Cooper

Lead Automation Engineer

Architecting robust automation systems and leading technical innovation to transform how laboratories operate in the modern world.

Ready to Transform Your Lab?

Join leading laboratories worldwide who trust Lab Donkey to automate their workflows and accelerate discovery

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