Rapid three-week deployment, onsite support from two-time Nobel Laureate, and deep Canada-Korea collaboration underscore accelerating commercial momentum
HIGHLIGHTS
- Telescope Innovations’ installation of Korea’s first Self-Driving Lab for pharmaceutical research completed just three weeks after contract signing
- Project facilitated by collaboration with the Acceleration Consortium (AC) and supported on site by two-time Chemistry Nobel Laureate Prof. Barry Sharpless
- Successful SDL delivery demonstrates Telescope’s growing commercial momentum, positioning Telescope and the AC to expand SDL adoption across pharma, industrial chemistry, energy, and agriculture
Vancouver, BC — December 9, 2025 — Telescope Innovations Corp. (“Telescope Innovations”, “Telescope”, or the “Company”) (CSE: TELI) (OTCQB: TELIF) (FSE:J4U) announces the successful installation of the first pharmaceutical Self-Driving Lab (“SDL”) in South Korea, delivered to the Korean Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (“KPBMA”) for its new AI-focused R&D training centre in Seoul. The installation, completed only three weeks after the purchase was finalized, highlights the Company’s ability to deploy integrated robotic and analytical systems on ambitious timelines, enabled in part by the Acceleration Consortium (“AC”). Two-time Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and Telescope Advisor, Prof. Barry Sharpless joined the team on site to mark the installation and discuss the future of chemistry R&D with KPBMA leadership.
A HUGE MILESTONE TOWARD PRACTICAL, AUTONOMOUS R&D
“Our work in Seoul is a huge milestone toward making autonomous R&D a practical reality for pharmaceutical innovation,” said Jason Hein, Telescope CTO and a member of the scientific leadership at the Acceleration Consortium. “This installation is a tangible result of a deep, almost decade-long collaboration between universities, industry partners, and government organizations in both Canada and Korea. We’re thrilled to be giving researchers the ability to explore chemical space faster and with greater precision than ever before.”
SELF-DRIVING LABS EXEMPLIFY A NEW MODEL FOR PHARMACEUTICAL DEVELOPMENT
A Self-Driving Lab is an automated platform that uses robotics, inline analytics, and AI to run and optimize experiments in a continuous closed-loop workflow. By operating nonstop and adjusting parameters on the fly, it completes hundreds of experiments far faster and more consistently than manual work. SDLs can significantly speed up R&D, potentially cutting years from development timelines while significantly lowering costs. Telescope and the AC are widely recognized as world leaders in developing the most advanced Self-Driving Lab systems, with uniquely integrated platforms that enable true closed-loop, autonomous chemical experimentation.
Footage of Telescope’s SDL is available at: https://youtu.be/9m4F78sUdII
FUELED BY NOBEL-PRIZE-WINNING LEADERSHIP
Telescope’s Senior Scientific Advisor Prof. Barry Sharpless is the only living two-time winner of the Chemistry Nobel Prize, having shaped many of the foundational principles behind modern reaction discovery. Telescope carries this legacy forward through its Self-Driving Labs, to enable researchers to move from molecular discovery to scalable deployment with unprecedented speed, precision, and reliability.
Prof. Sharpless joined the Telescope team on site in Seoul for the SDL installation and demonstration. At the facility he offered his perspective on the milestone:
“When you make and break chemical bonds conventionally, there are too many variables to make predictions; too many by-products to move forward. AI is good at predicting trends, but it can only leap over and beyond our biases if the input is right. Providing reliable AI is the gap Telescope is addressing.”
Prof. Sharpless added, “AI is only as good as the chemistry it’s based on, and Telescope’s chemistry is superlative. It’s so exciting for me to participate in making Self-Driving Labs a reality with Jason Hein and his extraordinary team.”
SUPPORTED BY CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION
The SDL installation is built on an impressive history of collaboration:
- Initial investments by the Canadian government into the technology behind Self-Driving Labs (2018, 2023) catalyzed SDL research in Canada
- Telescope’s academic roots as a spin-off from the University of British Columbia enabled early collaborations with the world’s most prestigious universities and strategic industry partners
- CTO Jason Hein’s leadership in the Acceleration Consortium (a network of academia, industry, and government bodies dedicated to accelerating SDL deployment), directly led to the connection between KPBMA and Telescope, catalyzing the global commercialization of accelerated scientific discovery
- Telescope’s participation in B.C Premier David Eby’s trade mission to Korea earlier this year solidified relationships between Canadian and Korean partners, aligning Telescope’s efforts with government priorities
- Proven demand from Korea’s pharmaceutical industry highlights the commercial value of Telescope’s technology
“This milestone signals exactly the kind of global impact that emerges when industry and academia innovate together,” said Sean Caffrey, Executive Director of the Acceleration Consortium (AC). “Through the AC, we’re building a commercialization pathway that speeds up the translation of research into deployable technology. The sale of this self-driving lab is emblematic of the strides that we can make worldwide by bringing intelligent automation directly into the hands of researchers developing the pharmaceuticals we need the most.”
This successful installation marks a pivotal milestone for Telescope, reinforcing the Company’s ability to deploy advanced autonomous R&D systems at speed. Building on this achievement, Telescope will continue expanding its commercial opportunities in pharmaceutical research while opening new pathways in industrial chemistry, energy, and agriculture — sectors where Self-Driving Labs are emerging as one of the most compelling real-world examples of Physical AI.
About Telescope Innovations
Telescope Innovations is a chemical technology company developing scalable manufacturing processes and tools for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. The Company builds and deploys new enabling technologies including flexible robotic platforms and artificial intelligence software that improves experimental throughput, efficiency, and data quality. Our aim is to bring modern chemical technology solutions to meet the most serious challenges in health and sustainability.
About the Acceleration Consortium
Based at the University of Toronto (U of T), the Acceleration Consortium (AC) is a global community of academia, industry, not-for-profits, and government that is accelerating the discovery of materials and molecules needed for a sustainable future. We build self-driving labs (SDLs) that use AI and automation to reduce the time and cost of bringing materials to market, such as life-saving medications, renewable energy, and biodegradable plastics. We also evaluate the economic, ethical, and social dimensions of discovery, learning from Indigenous and community-based experts to guide our materials and technologies toward the benefit of society and the planet.
On behalf of the Board,
Telescope Innovations Corp.
Henry Dubina, Chief Executive Officer
E: [email protected]
Forward-looking information
Forward-looking information is based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.
Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding the Company’s expectations regarding future deployments of Self-Driving Labs; the expected benefits of Self-Driving Labs; anticipated market expansion across pharmaceutical and other industrial sectors; expected benefits of ongoing collaborations such as with the Acceleration Consortium; the Company’s strategic growth and commercialization plans , and all other statements that are not statements of historical fact.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
