# Sajith Wickramasekara

> Sajith (Saji) Wickramasekara is the co-founder and CEO of Benchling, the R&D cloud platform used by more than 200,000 scientists across pharma, biotech, and academia. He took leave from MIT in 2012 to rebuild the software scientists use at the bench, and has stayed in the CEO seat as the company grew to a roughly $6 billion valuation.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Benchling
- **Organizations:** Benchling, Liquidia Technologies (former), Duke University Medical Center (former)
- **From:** Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (left on leave, 2012), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, High school, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
- **Known for:** Co-founded Benchling in 2012 while still an undergraduate at MIT, Grew Benchling to a platform used by 200,000+ scientists across 900+ companies and 7,500+ research institutions, Raised over $400M in total funding from investors including Benchmark, Sequoia, a16z, Thrive, and Altimeter

## Career timeline

- **2007-2009** — Research assistant at Duke University Medical Center
- **2009** — Research assistant at Liquidia Technologies
- **2012** — Takes leave from MIT and co-founds Benchling with Ashu Singhal
- **2017** — Benchling announces Series B led by Benchmark
- **2021** — Benchling raises Series F at a $6.1B valuation
- **2022** — Latest large funding event recorded
- **2026** — Continues as CEO; Benchling serves 200,000+ scientists at 900+ companies

## Achievements

- Co-founded Benchling in 2012 while still an undergraduate at MIT
- Grew Benchling to a platform used by 200,000+ scientists across 900+ companies and 7,500+ research institutions
- Raised over $400M in total funding from investors including Benchmark, Sequoia, a16z, Thrive, and Altimeter
- Took Benchling to a reported $6.1B valuation in its 2021 funding round
- Featured on the a16z podcast, Inc. Founders Project, TechCrunch Equity, and PharmExec

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Listed as a featured speaker for the BIO International Convention 2026.
- **2025** — Benchling expands platform with AI-driven workflows and continues enterprise pharma adoption.

## Links

- Website: https://benchling.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sajithw/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/sajithw
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sajithmw
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sajithw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sajithw/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/sajith-wickramasekara
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-30