Nirmidas Biotech

What Nirmidas Biotech does

Nirmidas Biotech, Inc. is a privately held Stanford University spinout founded in September 2013 and headquartered in Mountain View, California. The company develops and commercializes proprietary plasmonic gold (pGOLD™) microarray technology and near-infrared (NIR-I 800–1000 nm and NIR-II/SWIR 1000–1700 nm) fluorescence dyes, probes, and imaging instruments for life-science research and clinical diagnostics. Core technology was developed in Professor Hongjie Dai's Stanford laboratory and is licensed to Nirmidas; the pGOLD platform delivers ~100-fold fluorescence signal enhancement enabling multiplexed detection of IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies from as little as 1 microliter of serum, plasma, or whole blood, while the licensed NIR-II dye portfolio achieves ~4x higher quantum yield than comparable Stanford and carbon nanotube dyes. The product portfolio spans diagnostic kits (pGOLD COVID-19 assays, Zika/Dengue IgG/IgM/IgA with avidity, MidaSpot® FDA-EUA COVID-19 antibody test), pGOLD slides and gold-coated microplates, MidaScan™/MidaScan-IR™ confocal scanners, the OptiMidas™ multiplexed assay platform, and a small-animal imaging line including DeepVision™, KingsVision™, SockEye™, and AlbertSurgical™.

The company generates revenue across four streams: one-time sale of diagnostic products and reagents (assay kits, slides, microplates), hardware sales of imaging instruments, fee-for-service sample testing using the pGOLD platform, and a managed-services arrangement with a CLIA-certified lab of a major California healthcare provider under a 5-year agreement (signed October 2018). Go-to-market is primarily direct e-commerce through nirmidas.com combined with channel partnerships — including a European distribution channel enabled by CE Mark registration of pGOLD slides (ISO 13485-compliant manufacturing). End customers are segmented into life-science researchers, clinical diagnostics labs, and pharmaceutical/biotech preclinical imaging users, with peer-reviewed validation in journals such as Nature Medicine, PNAS, and Diagnostic Microbiology & Infectious Disease providing third-party credibility. The company has raised approximately $7 million across a 2014 seed round and a 2016 follow-on, has 1–10 employees, and is not generating disclosed revenue at material scale.

Name

Nirmidas Biotech

Legal name

Nirmidas Biotech, Inc.

Website

https://nirmidas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nirmidas Biotech develops and sells plasmonic gold (pGOLD) microarray assay kits, NIR-II fluorescence dyes and probes, and small-animal imaging instruments for life-science researchers, clinical diagnostics labs, and pharmaceutical preclinical imaging users.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biotech Diagnostics and Imaging Instrumentation

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biosensors & Lab-on-Chip (BioMEMS) (HDAHALAK), Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments (HLAGAIAE)

Keywords

• Plasmonic gold assays
• NIR-II fluorescence imaging
• Multiplexed diagnostic arrays
• Preclinical animal imaging
• Near-infrared fluorescent dyes

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Diagnostic Products and Reagents: Sale of pGOLD assay kits, slides, microplates, and diagnostic products for research use and clinical applications. Includes multiplexed ELISA-like assay kits for infectious diseases and other biomarkers.
2. Imaging Instruments: Sale of imaging systems including DeepVision™, KingsVision™, SockEye™, and MidaScan™ instruments for small animal imaging and clinical diagnostics.
3. NIR-II Dyes and Probes: Sale of proprietary NIR-II fluorescent dyes and probes including IR-E1050, IR-12N3, np-IR-m1050, quantum dots, and carbon nanotube-based probes.
4. Testing Services: Fee-for-service testing using pGOLD platform for customer-provided samples, reporting IgG, IgM and IgA status against multiple antigens.
5. CLIA Lab Partnership Services: 5-year product and service agreement with CLIA-certified lab to provide plasmonic pGOLD based diagnostic tests for clinical testing nationwide.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nirmidas Biotech manufactures and sells plasmonic gold (pGOLD) microarray slides and assay kits for highly multiplexed, sensitive biomarker and immunoassay detection, bench-top and in vivo NIR-II / SWIR fluorescence imaging systems for preclinical small-ananimal imaging, and a catalog of near-infrared fluorescent dyes, labeling probes, and reagents used with those products. The company also operates an in-house CLIA-certified services lab that performs diagnostic and imaging tests on customer samples, and licenses its underlying pGOLD and NIR-II dye IP to outside parties.

Product overview

Nirmidas Biotech provides proprietary plasmonic gold (pGOLD™) microarray technology and near infra-red (NIR-II) fluorescence dyes for bio-analytical and diagnostic researchers. The product portfolio includes the pGOLD™ assay platform comprising plasmonic gold slides, the OptiMidas™ multiplexed assay system, and the MidaScan™/MidaScan-IR™ confocal scanners for reading assays. For in vivo imaging, they offer the DeepVision™ and KingsVision™ fluorescence imaging systems along with a comprehensive suite of NIR-I, NIR-II, and NIR-I-II dyes and probes. Additional products include gold-coated microplates for electrochemistry and fluorescence applications, and the FDA EUA authorized MidaSpot® COVID-19 antibody detection kit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• pGOLD™: Plasmonic gold microarray based assay platform for high sensitivity multiplexed detection of antibodies and biomarkers
• MidaScan™
• MidaScan-IR™
• DeepVision™
• KingsVision™
• MidaSpot®
• OptiMidas™
• AlbertSurgical™
• SockEye™

Products and services

• pGOLD Microarray Slides and Assay Kits Plasmonic gold (pGOLD) nanoparticle-coated glass microarray slides and complementary assay kits that deliver enhanced fluorescence and redox-based signal amplification for protein, peptide, antibody, and biomarker detection, sold to academic, translational, and industrial research customers.
• NIR-II / SWIR Fluorescence Imaging Instruments (NanoTantalus and related in vivo imagers) Bench-top and in vivo NIR-II / SWIR fluorescence imaging systems that enable deeper-tissue, lower-autofluorescence imaging of small animals and tissue samples, sold to pharmaceutical and academic preclinical imaging groups.
• NIR Fluorescent Dyes, Labeling Probes, and Reagents Catalog near-infrared fluorescent dyes, PEG-linked labeling probes, and bioconjugation reagents used as consumables for immunoassays and in vivo NIR-II imaging, sold to research and preclinical imaging customers.
• CLIA-Certified Diagnostic and Imaging Testing Services Outsourced, CLIA-certified diagnostic and imaging testing services in which customer samples are processed on the company's proprietary pGOLD and NIR-II platforms and results are returned to the client, sold to hospitals, reference labs, and diagnostic developers.

Quantifiable outcome

• LOD ~1.6 ng/mL (~11 pM) for purified SARS-CoV-2 IgG detection
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CLIA Lab of Major Healthcare Provider (California)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 October 20185-year Product and Service Agreement with LDT lab of major healthcare provider in California, establishing partnership with highly reputable diagnostic lab with CLIA certificates. Nirmidas provides its pGOLD NIR fluorescence enhancing slides and OptiMidas assay system to develop and launch next generation LDT serology clinical tests.
• Stanford University (Hongjie Dai, PhD, Department of Chemistry)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2017Collaboration to develop multiplexed serological test for distinguishing Zika virus from dengue virus infection. Technology published in Nature Medicine. Nanoscale pGOLD platform developed by Professor Hongjie Dai's laboratory and licensed from Stanford.
• Stanford University (Benjamin Pinsky, MD, PhD, Departments of Pathology and Medicine)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2017Collaboration on Zika and dengue diagnostic assays. Dr. Pinsky contributed expertise in clinical diagnostics and pathology, working with pGOLD platform for serological testing.
• JLABS (Johnson & Johnson Innovation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Janssen Labs (JLABS) and QB3 programs. JLABS is a premier life science incubator program providing access to networks, expertise, and capital for entrepreneurs developing healthcare solutions.
• StartX / StartX MedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Stanford StartX Med Program. StartX is a Stanford-affiliated nonprofit startup accelerator providing founders with access to network of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and industry partners. Nirmidas participated in StartX Med COVID-19 Task Force.
• MIT Industrial Liaison Program (MIT ILP)minorOthersMember of MIT ILP program for industry partnerships and technology transfer.
• QB3minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of QB3 programs, a California Institute for Science and Innovation focused on quantitative biology and biotechnology.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LI-COR Biosciences: LI-COR is the established leader in near-infrared fluorescence imaging systems for preclinical research (Odyssey, Pearl) and offers NIR dyes. Directly comparable to Nirmidas in NIR-I imaging instruments and reagents, though LI-COR has a much larger installed base and broader product portfolio.
• Meso Scale Diagnostics: MSD offers multiplexed electrochemiluminescence immunoassay platforms (Meso QuickPlex, U-PLEX) that compete directly with pGOLD-based multiplexed serology assays. Both target high-sensitivity multiplexed biomarker detection in clinical and research settings.

Broad incumbents

• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad is a major life science research and clinical diagnostics company offering microplate readers (Bio-Plex), ELISA kits, and digital PCR systems. Overlaps with Nirmidas in multiplexed immunoassays, microplate-based assays, and gold-coated consumables, but with vastly broader scale and product breadth.
• Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer Life Sciences): Revvity offers the IVIS family of in vivo imaging systems, AlphaLISA/AlphaPlex immunoassays, and a broad reagents portfolio. Comparable to Nirmidas across both NIR imaging instrumentation and high-sensitivity immunoassay platforms serving research and clinical diagnostics.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher is the dominant life sciences tools and diagnostics company, offering NIR imaging reagents, ELISA kits, microplate readers, and IVD products across most of Nirmidas' product categories. Represents the largest competitive threat through breadth, scale, and distribution.
• DiaSorin (Luminex): DiaSorin's acquisition of Luminex gives it the xMAP multiplexed bead-based assay platform, competing with Nirmidas' pGOLD in multiplexed serology and biomarker testing for clinical diagnostics and life science research.
• Abcam: Abcam is a major supplier of antibodies and immunoassay reagents to life science researchers, with growing presence in ELISA kits and recombinant proteins. Comparable to Nirmidas in antibody-based reagents and assay kits for research customers.
• Bio-Techne: Bio-Techne offers a broad portfolio of reagents, immunoassays (Ella, Quantikine ELISA), and small animal imaging consumables. Overlaps with Nirmidas in ELISA-equivalent immunoassay kits and life science reagents serving translational research customers.

Emerging players

• Quanterix: Quanterix's Simoa single-molecule array technology targets ultra-sensitive biomarker detection with ~1000x improvement over conventional ELISA. Comparable to Nirmidas' pGOLD positioning around high-sensitivity multiplexed detection for neurology, infectious disease, and inflammation applications.
• Cytek Biosciences: Cytek provides high-parameter spectral flow cytometry and small animal imaging solutions serving immunology, oncology, and infectious disease research. Comparable to Nirmidas in advanced fluorescence instrumentation for life science applications, though focused on flow cytometry rather than plate-based assays.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nirmidas
• Facebookfacebook.com/nirmidas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nirmidas-biotech-inc-
• Instagraminstagram.com/nirmidasbiotech

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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 Nirmidas Biotech