What Adaptyv Biosystems does

Adaptyv Biosystems operates an automated cloud laboratory for protein validation, headquartered at the Biopole Life Science Campus in Epalinges, Switzerland. Founded in 2020–2021 as an EPFL spinout, the company combines cell-free protein expression with biophysical characterization instrumentation — biolayer interferometry (Gator Bio Pro), surface plasmon resonance (Carterra LSA XT), and nanoDSF — to deliver standardized experimental data for protein engineering teams. The platform runs four core assay types (binding affinity, expression screening, thermostability, and enzyme activity) and is accessible through a self-serve Foundry web portal, a public REST API, and an MCP server that lets AI agents submit experiments and retrieve structured results in JSON within an approximately three-week turnaround.

Revenue is generated via usage-based, per-protein unit pricing published transparently (binding screening from $149/protein with two replicates included, with higher pricing for full-affinity characterization, expression testing, thermostability, and enzyme activity). The customer base spans AI protein design companies (Cradle, Chai Discovery, Boltz, Escalante), large technology firms (Microsoft), academic institutions (MIT, EPFL, Harvard), and pharmaceutical/biotech R&D teams reached through a flagship Benchling One-Click Ordering integration. Distribution is multi-channel: product-led growth through the Foundry portal, API/MCP-first access for AI-agent workflows, and a partner program with platform integrations including Tamarind Bio and Phylo. To date the company has raised approximately $10.9M across pre-seed (Y Combinator, 2021), seed (Founderful-led, 2022), a non-dilutive FIT grant (2023), and a $8M round led by ACE Ventures (2025).

Name

Adaptyv Biosystems

Legal name

Adaptyv Biosystems Sarl

Website

https://adaptyvbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Adaptyv Biosystems operates an automated cloud laboratory providing protein validation services — binding, expression, thermostability, and enzyme activity assays — to AI protein design companies, biopharma R&D teams, and academic labs via a self-serve portal, REST API, and MCP server.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Protein Engineering Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lab Automation, Instrument Control & Workflow Orchestration Software (HLAGAJAG), Engineered Protein Therapeutics (de novo/AI-designed proteins, novel scaffolds) (HLAAAAAJ), Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations) (HLAGAIAD)

Keywords

• Protein characterization services
• Cloud lab platform
• Cell-free expression
• Protein binding assays
• Biologics discovery services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Protein Characterization Services: Per-protein pricing for experimental characterization services including binding screening, affinity characterization, expression testing, and thermostability measurements. Customers pay per protein variant with pricing based on assay type and resolution level. Transparent per-protein pricing model with cost estimates available before committing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Adaptyv Biosystems operates an automated cloud lab that performs high-throughput protein characterization assays on user-submitted sequences. Customers upload protein designs through the Foundry portal or API, and the company's automated wet lab runs Binding (BLI/SPR), Expression (cell-free), Thermostability (nanoDSF), and Enzyme Activity assays, returning structured data packages in approximately three weeks. The platform is purpose-built for AI-driven protein engineering and supports both human scientists and autonomous AI agents.

Product overview

Adaptyv Biosystems operates as a cloud-based protein testing platform with a unified product portfolio centered on wet-lab assay services. The core offering consists of four experiment types: Binding (protein-target interaction measurement via BLI/SPR), Expression (protein yield quantification), Thermostability (nanoDSF thermal stability), and Enzyme Activity (catalytic performance). These assays are accessed through multiple channels: the Foundry web portal for manual experiment management, the Foundry REST API for programmatic automation, and the MCP Server for AI agent integration. The Target Catalog provides a searchable database of available antigens. The platform processes protein sequences submitted by users, runs automated assays in its cloud lab, and delivers structured results (KD values, binding classifications, kinetic parameters, expression levels) within approximately 3 weeks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Binding Assay Measures whether and how strongly proteins bind their targets using biolayer interferometry (BLI) or surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Available as Binding Screening (2-concentration triage for binding yes/no) or Full Affinity Characterization (4+ concentrations yielding KD, kon, koff across a 0.1 nM to 10 uM range). Designed for AI protein designers, biopharma discovery teams, and academic labs validating designed or evolved proteins.
• Expression Testing Tests and quantifies expression for designed proteins using standardized cell-free expression with tag-based readouts. Returns expression calls (Expressed, Low, Not detected), relative yield, and QC flags for insolubility or tag issues. Used by protein designers to validate expression of 50–700 amino acid proteins before launching binding or activity campaigns.
• Thermostability (nanoDSF) Measures thermal stability of proteins using label-free nano Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (nanoDSF). Tracks intrinsic fluorescence during thermal unfolding to determine melting temperature (Tm), onset temperature, and transition width, supporting protein engineering applications from room temperature to 95°C.
• Enzyme Activity Assay Quantifies catalytic performance of enzyme variants, returning activity calls (Active, Low, Not detected), relative rate for fair comparison, and assay conditions. Available as endpoint assays for high-throughput use or kinetic assays for rate estimation, aimed at protein engineers evolving or designing new enzymes.
• Foundry API REST API providing programmatic access to Adaptyv's wet-lab infrastructure. Users can query the target catalogue, create experiments, track pipeline status, get cost estimates, and retrieve structured results including KD values, binding classifications, kinetic parameters, melting temperatures, and expression levels as JSON. Supports scoped read-only, org-specific, or time-limited API keys for AI agent workflows. The API base URL is foundry-api-public.adaptyvbio.com/api/v1.
• MCP Server Model Context Protocol server that exposes Foundry API endpoints as MCP tools, allowing Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and any MCP-aware client to drive protein experiments through natural language commands. Hosts the same APIs as the REST endpoint with tool-formatted inputs and outputs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 37% hit-rate on TREM2 target in one-day hackathon (vs 2.5% industry average)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and strategic.

• BenchlingflagshipTechnology or IntegrationIntegration of Adaptyv services into Benchling's One-Click Ordering platform. Scientists can design experiments in Benchling, submit orders to Adaptyv, and receive structured results without leaving their workflow. Available as Canvas app or via MCP to Benchling AI.
• Twist BiosciencecoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegrated into Benchling's One-Click Ordering alongside Adaptyv. Twist provides DNA synthesis services and is part of the biological materials ordering ecosystem available from within Benchling.
• Ginkgo BioworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegrated into Benchling's One-Click Ordering ecosystem for CRO services. Ginkgo integration enables access to Ginkgo's organism engineering services through the Benchling platform.
• Tamarind BiocoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegrated Adaptyv API into their computational design platform for proteins and antibodies. Tamarind users can order binding, expression, and stability assays without leaving Tamarind's platform.
• PhylocoreTechnology or IntegrationBuilding a biology IDE where agents plan and execute experiments and data analysis. Integrated Adaptyv API so agents can submit experimental campaigns, retrieve results, and reason over them within the same environment.
• munistrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted TREM2 binder design hackathon comparing human teams vs autonomous AI agents. Muni provides the platform for AI agents to design proteins autonomously. Joint research on AI protein design capabilities.
• ProteinbasecoreTechnology or IntegrationOpen protein data platform publishing Adaptyv's experimental results. Hackathon results are publicly available on Proteinbase under ODC-BY license, enabling community use of binding data.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Carterra: Carterra manufactures the LSA XT high-throughput SPR instrument that Adaptyv uses for binding kinetics. Not a competitor, but a key equipment supplier; relevant for understanding Adaptyv's technology stack and potential single-vendor dependency risk.
• Benchling: Benchling is the dominant cloud R&D platform for biopharma and Adaptyv's flagship integration partner. Not a direct competitor, but a critical distribution channel and ecosystem anchor; competitive overlap would arise only if Benchling vertically integrated wet-lab services.

Direct peers

• Strateos: Strateos operates a cloud lab platform for biology and chemistry with remote, programmable access to automated instruments. Directly comparable to Adaptyv in the cloud-lab-as-a-service model, though Strateos is more diversified across chemistry and biology, while Adaptyv specializes in protein characterization.
• Arctoris: Arctoris runs an automated, cloud-based drug discovery lab providing experimental data on-demand to biotech and pharma clients. Comparable to Adaptyv in offering programmable wet-lab services with structured outputs for drug discovery, with broader assay scope than Adaptyv's protein-focused menu.
• Synthace: Synthace provides a cloud-based lab automation platform (Antha) that lets scientists design and execute experiments programmatically. Comparable to Adaptyv's software/API-first philosophy, but Synthace is more software-focused and platform-agnostic rather than operating its own protein-validation lab.
• Emerald Cloud Lab: Emerald Cloud Lab pioneered the cloud lab concept with remotely operated chemistry and biology labs accessible via software. Closest analog in business model (lab-as-a-service via remote access), though Emerald is more chemistry-heavy and less focused on protein/AI workflows than Adaptyv.

Broad incumbents

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Ginkgo Bioworks is a large-scale synthetic biology services company with an automated foundry offering organism engineering, protein production, and biosecurity services. Comparable to Adaptyv in offering automated wet-lab services via Benchling's Direct Ordering Partners, but with broader scope, much larger footprint, and different customer profile (industrial biotech vs. AI-driven protein design).
• Twist Bioscience: Twist Bioscience is a leading DNA synthesis provider and a Benchling Direct Ordering Partner alongside Adaptyv. Comparable as a complementary upstream service in the protein engineering workflow (DNA synthesis for Adaptyv's protein validation), and could expand into adjacent protein characterization services.

Emerging players

• Cradle: Cradle is an AI protein design platform that uses generative models to engineer novel proteins. It is both an Adaptyv customer and a potential partial competitor as AI protein design platforms increasingly internalize validation capabilities or partner with other labs.
• Chai Discovery: Chai Discovery is an AI-driven protein design company focused on antibody and therapeutic protein engineering. Named Adaptyv customer; comparable to Adaptyv's other AI-bio customers and could evolve into either a deeper partner or a partial competitor as it builds experimental capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adaptyvbio
• GitHubgithub.com/adaptyvbio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adaptyvbio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Adaptyv Biosystems