Biomanufacturing can produce a wide array of protein and small molecule products in a suite of optimized production strains, but engineering cells to specifically make one target molecule requires significant time and optimization. Here, I will discuss pathway prototyping to accelerate the design of non-model bacteria for carbon-negative chemical synthesis, highlight the ability for cell-free systems to achieve greater volumetric productivities than whole cells, and describe the ease with which diverse chemicals can be synthesized using crude cell extracts. I will also preview the new projects in my lab focused on biomanufacturing with light and CO₂.