Sapphiros
Sapphiros is a privately held consumer diagnostics platform company developing low-cost molecular, lateral flow, and patch-based diagnostic tests. Backed by KKR and Neoenta, it serves healthcare providers, government agencies, and consumers through its 5-billion-unit annual manufacturing capacity.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Sapphiros does
Sapphiros is a privately held consumer diagnostics platform company founded in 2021 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is backed by KKR and Neoenta (with KKR board representation from Ali Satvat and Anuv Ratan) and operates through multiple wholly-owned subsidiaries including Biocrucible (isothermal molecular diagnostics), Satio (patch-based blood collection and drug delivery), GrapheneDx (graphene field effect transistor biosensors), Flexotronix (printed electronics manufacturing), GoToKnow (COVID-19 antigen rapid tests), and NowFuture (DTC wellness brand). It maintains engineering/R&D operations in Cambridge, UK and high-volume manufacturing in Hove, UK, with operating geographies spanning the USA, UK, and Senegal.
The company's core technology platform centers on four diagnostic technology lines: Handheld 1-step Molecular (instrument-free isothermal nucleic acid amplification via RPA technology invented by CTO Niall Armes), Digital Lateral Flow (connected lateral flow tests with electronic readout via exclusive Ynvisible e-paper display supply), Blood Collection & Detection (Satio Draw upper-arm patch replacing finger pricks), and traditional Lateral Flow. These are underpinned by vertically integrated capabilities including Extreme Volume Manufacturing (5 billion unit annual capacity, 16 million tests per day using 35 operators via reel-to-reel processes), Printed Electronics (integration of heaters, batteries, sensors, and antennae onto flexible materials), and In-house Molecular Reagents (peptides, oligonucleotides, recombinant proteins).
Sapphiros generates revenue through hardware sales of diagnostic products, manufacturing capacity access via strategic agreements (notably the Roche agreement providing access to 1 billion lateral flow tests annually), technology licensing, and DTC consumer wellness products via NowFuture.com and Amazon.com. Distribution occurs through multiple channels: enterprise sales to healthcare providers and government health agencies, pharmacy distribution via Cencora, exclusive distribution rights with OraSure Technologies, and DTC e-commerce. The company has accumulated over $14.6M in non-dilutive government grants from NIH RADx, ARPA-H, BARDA, and the Gates Foundation. Its customer base spans enterprise (Roche, OraSure, Cencora, Ynvisible, Visby), government (NIH, BARDA, ARPA-H, Gates Foundation), and global health (Institut Pasteur de Dakar).
Sapphiros firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sapphiros
- Legal name
- Sapphiros LLC
- Website
- https://sapphiros.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Sapphiros is a privately held consumer diagnostics platform company developing low-cost molecular, lateral flow, and patch-based diagnostic tests. Backed by KKR and Neoenta, it serves healthcare providers, government agencies, and consumers through its 5-billion-unit annual manufacturing capacity.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sapphiros industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consumer Diagnostics
- NAICS
- In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411)
- SIC
- Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Drug Substance–Drug Product Integrated CDMO (HLAGABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Small-Molecule Drug Product (Solid/Oral/Parenteral) CDMO (HLAGABAB)
Keywords
Where Sapphiros is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Sapphiros business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Diagnostic Products: Sale of consumer and professional diagnostic tests including lateral flow tests, molecular diagnostics, digital lateral flow devices, and blood collection/detection products. Revenue from product sales to healthcare providers, pharmacies, and consumers.
- Manufacturing Capacity Access: Strategic supply and manufacturing agreements providing partners like Roche access to manufacturing capacity for lateral flow tests and future molecular point-of-care tests.
- Technology Licensing: Licensing of proprietary technologies and platforms to partners for development and commercialization of diagnostic products.
- Consumer Wellness Products: Direct-to-consumer genomic and wellness testing through NowFuture brand, sold via website, Amazon.com, and retail partners.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sapphiros product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sapphiros develops and manufactures low-cost, scalable consumer and clinical diagnostic platforms spanning molecular diagnostics, lateral flow, digital lateral flow, and at-home blood collection systems. The company operates a UK-based extreme volume manufacturing facility with annual capacity of 5 billion tests, combining proprietary printed electronics, in-house molecular reagents, and novel sample collection technologies. It sells through its NowFuture direct-to-consumer wellness brand and through strategic distribution partnerships with Cencora, OraSure, and Roche.
Product overview
Sapphiros is a privately held consumer diagnostics platform company offering a multi-product portfolio across four core diagnostic technology lines: Handheld 1-step Molecular (instrument-free isothermal nucleic acid testing for home and point-of-care), Digital Lateral Flow (connected lateral flow with electronic readout and NFC smartphone app connectivity), Blood Collection & Detection (Satio Draw and Satio Dot at-home blood collection patches replacing finger pricks), and Lateral Flow (extreme-scale rapid tests for global health). The company also operates a direct-to-consumer wellness sub-brand, NowFuture, offering genomic tests. Underpinning the product portfolio are four manufacturing and technology capabilities: Extreme Volume Manufacturing (EVM, producing up to 5 billion tests annually via reel-to-reel processes), Printed Electronics (reel-to-reel integration of batteries, heaters, sensors, and antennae), In-house Molecular Reagents (vertically integrated probe/protein/biochemistry production), and Visual Lateral Flow. Sapphiros also integrates Ynvisible e-paper displays into its next-generation diagnostic devices. The platform targets respiratory disease, infectious disease, and blood collection/detection focus areas.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GoToKnow: Brand for COVID-19 antigen rapid tests and related diagnostic products
- NowFuture
- Biocrucible
- Satio
- GrapheneDx
Products and services
- Handheld 1-step Molecular Platform Instrument-free, connected molecular diagnostics platform bringing lab-quality nucleic acid testing to point-of-care and home settings via isothermal amplification in a single user step, with built-in connectivity and multiplex capabilities for multiple answers from a single test.
- Digital Lateral Flow Connected lateral flow testing platform with digital readout that eliminates ambiguous visual interpretation, delivering clear objective results on a large display with optional NFC-based app connectivity for tracking and healthcare system integration.
- Blood Collection & Detection (Satio) At-home blood collection systems comprising Satio Draw (upper-arm self-collection for lab analysis) and Satio Dot (dried blood spot collection), designed to replace finger pricks and clinic visits with comfortable simple home-based sampling.
- Lateral Flow Diagnostics (GoToKnow) Rapid lateral flow diagnostic platform engineered for extreme manufacturing scale and ultra-low costs, with five billion unit annual production capacity, integrated packaging reducing material costs and environmental impact, including the GoToKnow brand of COVID-19 antigen rapid tests.
- NowFuture Wellness Brand Direct-to-consumer wellness brand offering genomic tests for nutrition, fitness, and sleep, with planned expansion into at-home blood collection and detection, women's health, and infectious disease testing.
- SatioRx Intradermal Drug Delivery System Remotely controllable intradermal drug delivery device with disposable microneedle components designed for precise metered dose delivery of liquid drugs in compact, inexpensive form factor.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5 billion tests annually manufacturing capacity
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sapphiros
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Sapphiros technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Sapphiros partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and strategic.
- YnvisiblecoreLetter of Intent for Sapphiros to become exclusive supplier of e-paper displays for Sapphiros' lateral flow and molecular diagnostic tests. Three-year exclusive supply agreement planned. Represents Ynvisible's first commercial entry into medical diagnostics market with commercial sales expected to accelerate throughout 2026 pending FDA approval.
- YnvisibleminorDelivered more than 10,000 units of e-paper displays to Sapphiros supporting clinical trials and next-generation diagnostic devices.
- BARDAstrategicCollaboration for development of OTC single-use, low-cost digital antigen test that can detect and differentiate between respiratory viruses. The NowFuture Digital Flu/COVID Test incorporates digital readout and smartphone app connectivity.
- RochecoreStrategic supply and manufacturing option agreement granting Roche exclusive rights to lateral flow technology manufacturing capacity of at least 1 billion tests annually. Includes access to Sapphiros' future instrument-free, multiplex molecular platform for point-of-care and home testing. Secures rapid global access to tests for future pandemics and health emergencies.
- OraSure TechnologiescoreStrategic distribution agreement and investment. OraSure secured exclusive distribution rights for Sapphiros products in development. Partnership leverages OraSure's commercial infrastructure to scale diagnostics following regulatory approvals with initial distribution planned for 2024 and more launches expected in 2025.
- CencoracoreDistribution agreement for GoToKnow COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests to pharmacies across the United States. Future access to Sapphiros technologies including multiplexed molecular diagnostics platform, additional rapid lateral flow tests, and Satio blood collection patches.
- GrapheneDxcoreStrategic partnership to industrialize graphene-based biosensors for medical devices. GrapheneDx brings GFET biosensor technology, General Graphene supplies CVD graphene, and Sapphiros contributes extreme volume manufacturing and commercialization expertise.
- General Graphene CorporationcorePreferred supplier of sheet-based CVD graphene in roll-to-roll format for use in Sapphiros' extreme volume manufacturing facility. Annual capacity to supply 100,000 square meters of sheet graphene.
- Institut Pasteur de DakarstrategicStrategic partnership for research, development, manufacture, and distribution of next generation healthcare technologies. Aims to enable low-cost access to vaccines and diagnostics to advance public health in Africa and beyond.
- INTACT SolutionsstrategicStrategic partnership to jointly improve delivery of mass vaccination using SatioRx intradermal patches and INTACT aseptic fluid transfer technology. Focus on Yellow Fever, COVID (mRNA), and malaria vaccines for African Union Member States.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Sapphiros competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- OraSure Technologies: OraSure is both a strategic investor/distribution partner and a competitor in consumer and point-of-care diagnostics (HIV self-testing, HCV, COVID). Its dual role mirrors Sapphiros' own position across consumer wellness, infectious disease, and OTC channels, making it a uniquely comparable peer.
- Visby Medical: Visby Medical develops single-use, instrument-free PCR diagnostic platforms for respiratory infections and sexual health. It is the closest direct competitor to Sapphiros' handheld 1-step molecular platform, sharing the same instrument-free point-of-care thesis; multiple Sapphiros executives (including Teresa Abraham, KC McGrath, and Ryan Schmidt) came from Visby, making it an unusually clean comparable.
- 23andMe: 23andMe is a consumer genomics company selling direct-to-consumer DNA tests for ancestry, health, and wellness. It is the dominant competitor to NowFuture's genomic test line for nutrition, fitness, and sleep, with comparable e-commerce and Amazon distribution.
- Cue Health: Cue Health is a consumer-focused molecular diagnostics company offering connected at-home COVID and respiratory tests. It overlaps directly with Sapphiros' NowFuture DTC strategy and handheld molecular platform, with similar go-to-market emphasis on direct consumer and pharmacy channels.
- iHealth Labs: iHealth Labs scaled rapidly into consumer COVID and at-home diagnostic testing through Amazon and pharmacy distribution, directly mirroring Sapphiros' NowFuture DTC and Cencora pharmacy channel strategy. Both target the same OTC rapid-test buyer.
- Everlywell: Everlywell is a leading direct-to-consumer diagnostic testing brand offering at-home collection for a broad menu of wellness and infectious disease tests. It is the closest consumer-brand analog to Sapphiros' NowFuture genomic and wellness offering.
Emerging players
- Tasso: Tasso develops at-home blood collection patches (OnDemand) that enable remote sample collection for laboratory analysis. It is the most direct emerging competitor to Sapphiros' Satio Draw and Satio Dot patch-based blood collection technology, sharing the same painless at-home sample collection value proposition.
Broad incumbents
- QuidelOrtho: QuidelOrtho is a major diagnostics incumbent with QuickVue and Sofia lateral flow franchises and a broader immunoassay portfolio. It competes directly with Sapphiros in respiratory rapid antigen testing and shares the same retail pharmacy and hospital channels.
- BD (Becton Dickinson) - Diagnostic Systems: BD's Diagnostic Systems segment includes the Veritor lateral flow platform and a broad rapid testing portfolio sold into US hospitals and pharmacies. It is an incumbent competitor with overlapping respiratory and infectious disease menu and similar scale economics ambitions.
- Abbott Diagnostics (BinaxNOW / Panbio): Abbott is the dominant incumbent in lateral flow rapid antigen testing through BinaxNOW and Panbio, with deep retail pharmacy and global health distribution. It is the benchmark competitor for Sapphiros' lateral flow scale strategy and the legacy operator Sapphiros' founder previously ran (Alere, acquired by Abbott for $8B).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sapphiros social profiles
Digital presenceSapphiros compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Sapphiros financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sapphiros leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Sapphiros subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries7 records
Sapphiros funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sapphiros M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sapphiros
What does Sapphiros do?
Sapphiros develops and manufactures low-cost, scalable consumer and clinical diagnostic platforms spanning molecular diagnostics, lateral flow, digital lateral flow, and at-home blood collection systems. The company operates a UK-based extreme volume manufacturing facility with annual capacity of 5 billion tests, combining proprietary printed electronics, in-house molecular reagents, and novel sample collection technologies. It sells through its NowFuture direct-to-consumer wellness brand and through strategic distribution partnerships with Cencora, OraSure, and Roche.
Is Sapphiros a public or private company?
Sapphiros is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Sapphiros founded?
Sapphiros was founded in 2021. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Sapphiros based?
Sapphiros is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sapphiros make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Diagnostic Products are the primary driver. The others are manufacturing Capacity Access, technology Licensing and consumer Wellness Products.
Who are Sapphiros's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are OraSure Technologies, Visby Medical, 23andMe, Cue Health, iHealth Labs and Everlywell. Tasso is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are QuidelOrtho, BD (Becton Dickinson) - Diagnostic Systems and Abbott Diagnostics (BinaxNOW / Panbio).
Does Sapphiros have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sapphiros.
What industry is Sapphiros in?
Sapphiros's product category is Consumer Diagnostics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGABAG, Drug Substance–Drug Product Integrated CDMO, with a secondary code of HLAGABAB, Small-Molecule Drug Product (Solid/Oral/Parenteral) CDMO. Its NAICS code is 325413 and its SIC code is 2834.