Health diagnostics ‘unicorn’ to bring more than 1,000 jobs to bolster Austin’s life sciences sector

The city is expected to see an influx of more than 1,000 life sciences jobs in the coming years, with a California-based molecular diagnostics company announcing a major move into Austin.

BillionToOne broke ground Wednesday on a 220,000-square-foot facility expected to occupy six buildings in the EastVillage ATX development on Parmer Lane near Samsung Austin Semiconductor. Political and business leaders on hand for the announcement touted the company’s move as another win in the push to make life sciences another major pillar of the area’s economy.

“BTO points to Austin’s energy and culture and attractiveness to young people as a key reason for choosing to expand here. BTO gets it. Austin is Austin in part because we’ve always had what I refer to as our fountain of youth,” Mayor Kirk Watson said, pointing to the importance of the University of Texas, Huston-Tillotson University, Concordia University, St. Edward’s University and Austin Community College in drawing and training highly educated professionals in the area. “Every year, thousands of new young people come into town to attend those schools. They’re young, they’re vibrant, they’re vital, they’re looking to the future and they’ve got new thoughts, new ideas, new music, new culture, greater diversity.”

BillionToOne is focused in the fields of prenatal and oncology diagnostics, and was valued at over $1 billion as of late last year when it raised more than $100 million in funding. The new facility is forecast to be able to handle up to 6 million molecular diagnostics tests annually, with job roles ranging from lab technicians to post-doctoral researchers.

The development, which is being led by California-based Tarlton Properties, is expected to be occupied by the end of 2026. CEO John Tarlton praised the city and Opportunity Austin, which spearheads efforts to attract and grow major employers in the area, along with local firms STG Designs and White Construction for making the project possible.

“It has been a pleasure to work with the city of Austin and we look forward to continuing the partnership,” he said. “(BillionToOne) came to our incubator in Menlo Park when they were just a team of four. Over the last decade, they have grown tremendously expanding both their vision and scope. Like the city of Austin, (CEO) Oguzhan Atay and the BTO team do exactly what they say they’re going to do.”

There were no incentives used to complete the deal to bring BillionToOne to Austin. Leaders in local economic development and life sciences circles began dropping hints of a major announcement late last year, though there was speculation the project could be located in Northwest Austin near UT’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus on Burnet Road.

At that time, the new project was expected to be closer to 250,000 square feet, or slightly larger than the scale announced yesterday.

Last November, City Council approved a change to the Land Development Code’s North Burnet/Gateway Regulating Plan that covers the Pickle campus to include uses such as life sciences, lab and biomedical, with the creation of development regulations and standards needed for those industries. The area is also seen as a potential hot spot for the semiconductor industry, which has an increasingly large foothold in Austin.

Another major space in play for the life sciences sector is the former 3M campus in Northwest Austin, which measures 156 acres. Karlin Real Estate LLC is working to find assorted smaller tenants to move into portions of the lab space facilities available there.

Opportunity Austin CEO Ed Latson praised the project in a prepared statement: “We are thrilled to welcome BillionToOne to the Austin region. Their decision to expand here aligns with the strategic focus outlined in our new Life Science Study conducted by McKinsey. This move not only strengthens our position as a burgeoning life sciences hub but also showcases Austin’s unique technology foundation that continues to attract world-class companies.”

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