The Aclid Guide to Category Creation: Building Infrastructure for an Emerging Industry

Creating a new category requires more than just building a better product—it demands rethinking how an entire industry operates. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Aclid founder Kevin Flyangolts revealed their strategy for building the security infrastructure layer for synthetic biology.

Seeing the Infrastructure Opportunity

While most startups focus on point solutions, Aclid recognized a more fundamental need. “It was crazy to me to believe that you can order DNA from anthrax, from controlled agents really just online,” Kevin explains. “And a lot of the process to do that was really manual.” This insight led them to envision not just a security tool, but an entire infrastructure layer for the industry.

Learning from Financial Infrastructure

Aclid’s vision draws inspiration from established infrastructure markets. Kevin draws a direct parallel to financial systems: “Like what you have in finance, there’s a whole bunch of things that happen every time a transaction goes through, every time you swipe a credit card, every time you send a wire a whole bunch of checks to make sure that there’s no fraud. We want to help build that for synthetic biology.”

Timing the Market with Regulatory Changes

Aclid’s timing proved strategic. “This was at the height of the pandemic,” Kevin notes. “Obviously, security was top of mind. There was a whole ton of attention being put on this space of synthetic biology and what it means to do it safely.”

The parallel to current AI regulation discussions is striking: “Similar to kind of what’s happening with AI now, with government taking a precautionary measure and starting to look at it much more carefully ahead of problems actually being there.”

Shaping the Regulatory Landscape

Instead of waiting for regulations to be imposed, Aclid actively participates in shaping them. “We’re working with both policymakers and industry, academia as well as politicians directly to make sure that our voice is heard and the right technical implementation is made,” Kevin explains. This proactive engagement ensures that upcoming requirements align with practical industry needs.

Building for Industry Evolution

The regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving. “Last year, we had two bills in Congress, one in the Senate, one in the House, that were both going through their committees to start drafting the first requirements for the industry,” Kevin notes. This momentum creates opportunities for companies positioned to provide compliance infrastructure.

Creating a New Standard

Rather than competing with existing solutions, Aclid is creating new standards for the industry. Their goal is to help manufacturers “focus back on the chemistry and the manufacturing, rather than on the administrative burden of compliance.” This approach positions them not as a competitor to in-house systems, but as essential infrastructure.

The Long-Term Vision

Kevin’s vision extends beyond immediate compliance needs: “What I really want to see in the next five to ten years is us be the security and safety layer for this industry. Helping build the infrastructure that helps scientists get access to the tools and the products that they need with as little as possible hurdles.”

This infrastructure-first mindset has profound implications. Instead of building features, they’re creating systems that can grow with the industry while maintaining necessary security guardrails.

Lessons for Category Creators

Aclid’s approach to category creation offers valuable lessons for founders:

1. Look for manual processes that could be infrastructure
2. Time market entry with regulatory momentum
3. Help shape industry standards rather than just following them
4. Position yourself as essential infrastructure rather than a point solution
5. Build for where the industry is going, not just where it is

The key is thinking beyond individual products to envision how an entire industry could operate more efficiently. As Kevin puts it, they’re building “automation to tell them when there are real risks and help the customer automatically certifying that they have the right permissions, the right facilities and the right documents.”

For founders aiming to create new categories, the lesson is clear: don’t just build a better tool—build the infrastructure that makes an entire industry possible.