Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Expands R&D Capacity for Spider Silk Breakthroughs

Company triples screening throughput to keep pace with rapid progress of advanced materials initiative, Project Atlas

Mar. 23, 2026 at 12:05pm

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Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, a leader in spider silk technology, has significantly expanded its research and development capacity to support the rapid progress of its advanced materials program, Project Atlas. The company has onboarded new scientific personnel, deployed new equipment, and automated portions of its testing workflow, allowing it to rapidly process and evaluate more transgenic samples than ever before. These upgrades are in direct response to the breakthroughs being made under Project Atlas, which is focused on creating innovative spider silk-based biomaterials with potential industrial and defense applications.

Why it matters

Kraig Biocraft's leadership in spider silk biotechnology has been highlighted in national media, underscoring the growing importance of this field. The company's ability to quickly identify and advance the most promising transgenic lines is crucial to maintaining its competitive edge and delivering breakthrough materials to the market.

The details

The recently commissioned equipment and expanded analytical capabilities allow Kraig Labs to streamline the screening of newly created transgenic lines and analyze their spider silk expression levels. This increased capacity is needed to keep pace with the rapid development of new transgenics under Project Atlas, which is now generating significant numbers of potential candidates for new production materials. By automating portions of the testing workflow, Kraig Labs can now rapidly process and evaluate more samples, quickly identifying the most promising genetic designs for advancement into the company's production pipeline.

  • Kraig Biocraft Laboratories announced the expansion of its R&D capacity on March 23, 2026.
  • Project Atlas, the company's next-generation recombinant spider silk program, has been making rapid technical progress.

The players

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories

A biotechnology company that is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk-based fiber technologies.

Kim Thompson

The Founder and CEO of Kraig Biocraft Laboratories.

Dr. Zhang

The Chief Scientist of Kraig Biocraft Laboratories.

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What they’re saying

“With the pace of discovery we are seeing in Project Atlas, it became clear that we needed to expand our screening and analysis capacity to keep up with the speed of innovation.”

— Kim Thompson, Founder and CEO of Kraig Biocraft Laboratories

“Project Atlas involves the creation and evaluation of numerous complex genetic constructs designed to work together to produce highly specialized silk proteins. The expansion of our testing infrastructure dramatically increases our testing capacity to match the increased pace of transgenic creation.”

— Dr. Zhang, Chief Scientist of Kraig Biocraft Laboratories

What’s next

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories expects the expanded screening capacity and analytical insight to shorten development timelines and improve its ability to identify breakthrough material candidates under Project Atlas.

The takeaway

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories' investment in expanding its R&D capabilities demonstrates its commitment to maintaining its leadership in the rapidly evolving field of spider silk biotechnology. The company's ability to quickly identify and advance promising transgenic lines will be crucial in delivering innovative biomaterials to the market.