Cytosmart
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersEindhoven, Netherlands
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cytosmart does
CytoSMART is a Dutch life-sciences instrumentation company founded in 2012 as a spin-off of Eindhoven University of Technology. The company develops smart devices for use in laboratories around the world, with its headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It operates as a privately held for-profit business with a headcount in the 51-100 range, indicating an established small-to-mid-sized instrumentation vendor rather than an early-stage startup.
The company is led by co-founders Joffry Maltha (CEO) and Charles Maltha, with Jan-Willem Van Bree serving as Co-owner and CTO and William Rhodes as Chairman of the supervisory board. Cytosmart has raised approximately $7.58M in cumulative disclosed funding across two rounds (2016 and 2019), with backing from Dutch and regional investors including BOM Brabant Ventures, Holland Capital, and Eindhoven Venture Capital Fund II. Its business model centers on selling smart laboratory instrumentation globally to research and clinical lab customers, though specific product lines, pricing, customer segments, and revenue mechanics are not disclosed in the available data.
Based on the available evidence, Cytosmart operates in the broader laboratory live-cell analysis and smart-lab instrumentation category — a market segment where competitor Axion BioSystems reports an installed base of 1,000+ systems and adoption across 10 of 10 top global pharmaceutical companies. While this competitive context is derived from public competitor data rather than Cytosmart-specific disclosures, it suggests the addressable market for compact, connected lab instruments is established and growing, with demand drivers including label-free live-cell analysis, automated imaging, and incubator-compatible workflows. Detailed product specifications, revenue split by segment, and named customers for Cytosmart are not present in the input and represent a data gap for deeper commercial diligence.
Cytosmart firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cytosmart
- Legal name
- Axion BioSystems, Inc.
- Website
- https://cytosmart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cytosmart industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Laboratory Instruments
- NAICS
- Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing (334), Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411)
- SIC
- Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Biosensors & Lab-on-Chip (BioMEMS) (HDAHALAK)
Keywords
Where Cytosmart is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Eindhoven
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cytosmart business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Hardware Systems Sales: Sale of live-cell analysis instruments including Maestro Pro, Maestro Edge, Maestro Volt, Maestro Z, Maestro ZHT, Maestro TrayZ, Omni, Lux, and Lumos systems. Instruments are sold with associated software modules.
- Software Modules: Modular software packages including Neural Module, MEA Viability Module, Cardiac Module, Impedance Module, Clonogenic Assay Module, Confluency Module, Fluorescence Module, iPSC Module, Organoid Analysis Module, and Scratch Assay Module
- Specialty Plates and Consumables: Proprietary plates including Organoid MEA, BioCircuit MEA Plate, CytoView MEA Plate, Lumos MEA Plate, SpheroGuide MEA Plate, CytoView-Z Plate
- Axion Insights Lab Services: Contract research services providing Maestro MEA assay services from study design through data analysis, delivered by in-house experts
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise instrumentation - quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cytosmart product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CytoSMART develops smart devices for use in laboratories around the world. The company is a spin-off of Eindhoven University of Technology, applying smart-device engineering to laboratory workflows. Its products are aimed at life-science research and cell-based applications, supporting laboratory operations with technology-enabled instruments.
Product overview
Axion BioSystems offers a multi-product platform for live-cell analysis with three main product families: Maestro MEA (multi-electrode array) systems for recording electrical activity from neurons and cardiomyocytes; Maestro Z platforms for impedance-based live-cell analysis; and Omni/Lux imaging systems for brightfield and fluorescence live-cell imaging. The platform-plus-modules architecture includes specialized software modules (Neural Module, Cardiac Module, Impedance Module, Fluorescence Module, etc.) that add assay-specific capabilities to the core hardware platforms. Consumable plates (MEA plates, CytoView plates, impedance plates) and cell counting solutions (Corning Cell Counter, Exact FL) complement the instrument portfolio. Assay services are offered through Axion Insights Lab.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Maestro: Product platform family including Maestro Pro, Maestro Edge, Maestro Volt, Maestro Z, Maestro ZHT, and Maestro TrayZ for live-cell analysis and MEA recording
- Lumos
- Omni
- Lux
- Axion Insights Lab
- AIMS (Axion iPSC Model Standards)
Quantifiable outcome
- 1000+ systems sold globally
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cytosmart
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Cytosmart technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Cytosmart partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Cytosmart competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Axion BioSystems: Direct competitor in the live-cell analysis market, offering MEA, impedance-based, and brightfield/fluorescence imaging platforms (Maestro, Omni, Lux) for pharma, biotech, and academic customers. Highly comparable product/market overlap with CytoSMART's smart live-cell imaging devices.
- Sartorius (Essen BioScience / IncuCyte): Through its Essen BioScience subsidiary (IncuCyte platform), Sartorius is a leading provider of real-time, live-cell imaging systems inside incubators. Directly comparable live-cell imaging form factor and pharma/biotech customer base.
- Revvity (Nexcelom): Nexcelom (now part of Revvity/PerkinElmer) specializes in automated cell counting and live-cell imaging for cell therapy and bioprocessing workflows — closely comparable to CytoSMART's cell-counting and imaging devices.
Broad incumbents
- Molecular Devices (Danaher): Established life-science instrument vendor (part of Danaher) offering high-content imaging, microplate readers, and cell-analysis systems. Overlaps with CytoSMART's imaging-plus-analysis positioning and serves similar pharma/biotech accounts.
- Agilent (BioTek): Through BioTek, Agilent offers microplate readers, imagers, and cell-analysis instruments widely used in pharma and academic labs. Broad incumbent portfolio that competes for the same lab-imaging budget as CytoSMART.
- Tecan: Swiss lab-automation and detection platform company offering microplate readers, imaging systems, and integrated workflow solutions. Comparable in serving pharma/biotech labs with imaging and cell-analysis workflows.
- Evident (Olympus Life Science): Former Olympus Life Science division offering a broad range of inverted and confocal microscopes for cell biology. Comparable in live-cell and cell-culture imaging, though generally higher-priced and more complex systems.
- Leica Microsystems (Danaher): Danaher-owned microscopy brand offering advanced widefield, confocal, and live-cell imaging systems used in academic and pharma research. Adjacent competitor for cell-imaging budgets.
- Carl Zeiss Microscopy: Premium microscopy and imaging solutions for life sciences, including live-cell imaging platforms. Adjacent competitor for high-end cell-imaging workflows that overlap with CytoSMART's applications.
- Bruker: Scientific instrument provider with cell-analysis and microscopy offerings. Comparable in serving pharma/biotech labs needing quantitative live-cell and high-content imaging.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Cytosmart social profiles
Digital presenceCytosmart compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Cytosmart financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cytosmart leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Cytosmart funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cytosmart M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cytosmart
What does Cytosmart do?
CytoSMART develops smart devices for use in laboratories around the world. The company is a spin-off of Eindhoven University of Technology, applying smart-device engineering to laboratory workflows. Its products are aimed at life-science research and cell-based applications, supporting laboratory operations with technology-enabled instruments.
Is Cytosmart a public or private company?
Cytosmart is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Cytosmart founded?
Cytosmart was founded in 2006. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cytosmart based?
Cytosmart is headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Cytosmart make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Hardware Systems Sales are the primary driver. The others are software Modules, specialty Plates and Consumables and axion Insights Lab Services.
Who are Cytosmart's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Axion BioSystems, Sartorius (Essen BioScience / IncuCyte) and Revvity (Nexcelom). Broad incumbents are Molecular Devices (Danaher), Agilent (BioTek), Tecan, Evident (Olympus Life Science), Leica Microsystems (Danaher), Carl Zeiss Microscopy and Bruker.
Does Cytosmart have an API?
Yes. API for interfacing with liquid handling platforms to automate Cardiac and Neural MEA assays (MEA Automation Module) and Impedance assays (Impedance Automation Module). Developer documentation is at axionbiosystems.com/products/mea/mea-software/mea-automation-module.
What industry is Cytosmart in?
Cytosmart's product category is Laboratory Instruments. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHALAK, Biosensors & Lab-on-Chip (BioMEMS). Its NAICS code is 334 and its SIC code is 3845.