On the TechTO stage ×2
Life Sciences: An Industry Stuck in the Middle Ages
Watch on YouTube ↗What YC Doesn't Tell Canadian Founders
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO stage in 2019. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Ryan ↗
In their words
There's 30 trained science illustrators every year, I found out, and that's to service eight million life scientists.
We've now created a 30,000-image standard library, a standard language for life science, which scientists around the world are using to communicate.
We raised our entire round basically on demo day within like 24 hours. Americans take you seriously.
BioRender has been profitable since 2019, and we've grown about 70 to 100 times since.
More from TechTO ×4
Quick answers
What is Ryan Marien known for?
Co-founding BioRender in 2017 with Shiz Aoki and Katya Shteyn. BioRender is a Toronto software tool for building scientific figures; it has been profitable since 2019 and serves 4 million+ researchers.
How did BioRender do at Y Combinator?
BioRender went through YC in early 2018 (W18) and raised its round on demo day within about 24 hours. Marien has said Canadian investors had repeatedly passed before that.
How many times has Ryan Marien spoken at TechTO?
Twice — 'Life Sciences: An Industry Stuck in the Middle Ages' in August 2019, and 'What YC Doesn't Tell Canadian Founders' in February 2026.