Biofoundries are the place where synthetic biology and artificial intelligence are converging into technology platforms with the capacity to create synthetic organisms at a massive scale. This will not just generate new approaches to and solutions for intractable policy problems, but biofoundries stand to transform society itself. The confluence of the life sciences and the information sciences gives rise to future scenarios that can be broadly categorised as bio-informational futures. It is therefore important to recognise and evaluate their transformational potential for the coming decade when synthetic biology applications in commercial, government and research organisations will become increasingly visible to the public. Scientists, technologists, practitioners and policy makers need to work closely with biofoundry operators and the public to shape and guide this bio-informational future.