Ultima Genomics struck an agreement with Hamilton to automate sample preparation and amplification workflows on Hamilton’s Microlab Star platform, supporting scale‑up of Ultima’s high‑throughput sequencing platform. The deal aims to streamline labs’ transition to automated sample prep for large‑scale sequencing operations. Separately, SPT Labtech and Illumina announced a collaboration to develop an automated sample‑preparation platform for the MiSeq i100 benchtop system, targeting decentralized clinical genomics settings. Both alliances reflect industry pressure to lower hands‑on time, reduce variability and enable clinical adoption of NGS through integrated automation. The deals address bottlenecks in library prep and sample throughput and will be watched by core labs and clinical sequencing customers planning capacity expansion.