What SiMPore does

SiMPore Inc. is a privately held nanomembrane technology company founded in 2007 and headquartered in West Henrietta, New York. The company develops and manufactures freely suspended silicon nanomembrane products using proprietary etching methods combined with bioMEMS and thin-film processing, producing ultrathin membranes (5nm-1000nm) with precisely controlled porosity and pore geometries for transmission electron microscopy, X-ray microscopy, microplastic analysis, cell culture, and tissue-on-chip applications. Its product portfolio spans TEM grids (silicon nitride, silicon, silicon dioxide, and germanium-coated variants), X-ray windows, nanoporous/microporous/microslit/dual-scale porous membrane chips, gold-coated and non-coated filter disks, and the µSiM microphysiological system platform, supported by an accessory ecosystem of PDMS sheets, gaskets, holders, and storage solutions.

The business model is primarily hardware product sales through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site (prices ranging from $18.20 to $842.20 per unit), supplemented by custom fabrication services, inside sales via phone, and a network of international distributors. SiMPore serves academic, industrial, and government researchers in life sciences, environmental and materials science, and biotechnology/diagnostics, with notable collaborations including the University of Rochester on BARDA-funded tissue-on-chip research and RIT on Great Lakes microplastics studies. The company has received NSF SBIR funding (cumulative disclosed total approximately $1.13M across 2015 and 2017), achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification in 2025, and was named a Top 10 Nano Material Solution Company for 2023 by Manufacturing Technology Insights.

Name

SiMPore

Legal name

SiMPore Inc.

Website

https://simpore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SiMPore Inc. is a private West Henrietta, NY nanomembrane manufacturer that develops and sells freely suspended silicon nitride and silicon membrane products for electron microscopy, microplastic analysis, and tissue-on-chip research, serving academic, government, and industrial laboratories globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Nanomembrane Products

NAICS

Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674), Miscellaneous Manufacturing Industries (3990)

akta.pro primary industry

Silicon Wafers (Prime/Test/SOI) (HDAHAGAA)

Keywords

• Silicon nanomembranes
• Electron microscopy grids
• Nanofiltration membranes
• Microplastic analysis filters
• Microphysiological systems

Headquarters

HQ city

West Henrietta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales: Direct sales of membrane products including TEM grids, X-Ray windows, porous membrane chips, filter disks, and accessories. Products sold via e-commerce with prices ranging from $18.20 to $842.20 per unit. Volume discounts available (15% for 6+ filter disks).
2. Custom Fabrication Services: Custom membrane fabrication services for unique membrane applications beyond standard product offerings. SiMPore ensures the perfect product to meet unique needs.
3. International Distribution: Products available through international distributors, with shipments via Priority International or similar services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SiMPore develops and manufactures freely suspended silicon nanomembrane products for biomedical and material science applications. Its portfolio includes TEM grids, X-ray microscopy windows, porous membrane chips, and filter disks used in electron microscopy, X-ray microscopy, microplastic analysis, cell culture, and nanofiltration. The company also offers the µSiM microphysiological system platform and custom membrane fabrication services.

Product overview

SiMPore is a nanomembrane technology company that develops and manufactures freely suspended silicon nanomembrane products for biomedical and material science applications. The product portfolio consists of two main categories: Environmental & Materials Science products (TEM grids, X-ray windows, and particle filters for electron microscopy, X-ray microscopy, and microplastic analysis) and Life Sciences products (porous membrane chips and accessories for cell culture, nanofiltration, and particle filtration). Core product lines include TEM Silicon Nitride/Silicon/Silicon Dioxide Grids in various configurations (single window, 3×3 windows, two slot windows), X-Ray Silicon Nitride Windows, Nanoporous/Microporous/Microslit Membrane Chips, Dual-Scale Micro+Nanoporous Membrane Chips, and Filter Disk Sets (gold coated and non-coated). Supporting accessories include PDMS sheets, gel boxes, tweezers, gaskets, and reusable holders. The µSiM (microphysiological system) platform enables tissue-on-chip applications. The company also offers custom fabrication capabilities and maintains ISO 9001:2015 certification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TEM Silicon Nitride Grids
• TEM Pure Silicon Grids Transmission electron microscopy grids featuring ultra-thin amorphous or single-crystal silicon membranes (5nm–25nm thickness) in single window, 3x3 window, and two-slot window configurations for high-resolution imaging.
• TEM Silicon Dioxide Grids (3x3 Windows) Transmission electron microscopy grids with 3x3 window configuration featuring G-FLAT or standard silicon dioxide membranes for high-resolution imaging applications.
• TEM Lift-Out Grids Specialized TEM grids with 400nm thick silicon nitride membranes and a free-edge design for focused ion beam (FIB) sample preparation and lift-out procedures; available with or without gold contacts.
• TEM Aperture Grids TEM aperture grids with single window configuration in silicon material for FIB sample preparation, high-resolution EM, and sample deposition applications.
• Germanium-Coated Silicon Nitride Grids TEM grids with a 20nm germanium coating on 20nm microporous silicon nitride and labeled grid pattern, designed for calibration specimens in electron microscopy.
• X-Ray Silicon Nitride Windows X-ray microscopy windows with nonporous silicon nitride membranes in 50nm or 100nm thickness and various window sizes (500µm–2500µm) for structural and compositional studies.
• Nanoporous Membrane Chips Silicon nitride membrane chips with 100nm thickness, ~50nm pore size, and 15% porosity for life sciences applications including cell culture, nanofiltration, and particle filtration.
• Microporous Membrane Chips Silicon nitride membrane chips with microporous structure (400nm–1000nm thickness) and pore sizes from 0.5µm to 20µm for cell culture, electron microscopy, microplastic capture, and nanofiltration applications.
• Microslit Membrane Chips Silicon nitride membrane chips featuring microslit pore geometry with sizes from 1x10µm to 10x50µm and porosity options of 11%–16.7% for particle filtration and microplastic capture.
• Dual-Scale Micro+Nanoporous Membrane Chips Advanced silicon nitride membrane chips combining microporous and nanoporous structures with dual-scale pore geometries (~50nm + 3µm or 5µm) for barrier cell assays, cell maturation, and cell migration studies.
• Filter Disk Sets – Gold Coated 25mm diameter filter disks with 120nm gold coating for enhanced microplastic capture and analysis, available in pore sizes from 3µm to 20µm with different surface areas.
• Filter Disk Sets – Noncoated 25mm diameter non-coated filter disks for standard microplastic capture and analysis, available in pore sizes from 1µm to 20µm with different membrane surface areas (6.3mm²–9.0mm²).
• µSiM Microphysiological System Platform Microphysiological system (MPS) platform featuring ultrathin silicon nanomembranes for tissue-on-chip applications, including barrier cell studies, drug testing, and disease modeling, with modular components for customized chip design.
• Custom Membrane Fabrication Services Bespoke silicon nanomembrane design and fabrication services for research applications that cannot be addressed by standard catalog products, including unique membrane dimensions, thicknesses, pore geometries, and material specifications.
• Silicon Nitride Membrane Accessories Supporting accessories for SiMPore membrane products, including PDMS sheets, silicone gasket sets, gel-boxes with 5x5 grid labeling, reusable aluminum holders for porous membrane chips, chip mounting gaskets, TEM window handling tweezers, porous membrane chip support gaskets, and filter disk storage boxes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Significantly improved particle capture efficiency through planarized observation areas enabling concentration factor
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of RochestercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2024Collaboration on BARDA-funded $7.1M tissue-on-chip project developing innovative lung-to-brain microphysiological systems. Project builds on Rochester's Translational Center for Barrier Microphysiological Systems (TraCe-bMPS). SiMPore contributes membrane technology for tissue chip development to study respiratory disease impacts on brain health.
• Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2024Support for the Lake Ontario Center for Microplastics and Human Health in a Changing Environment. Collaborative effort between University of Rochester and RIT backed by NIH and NSF grants to study microplastics impact on Great Lakes ecosystem and human health.
• NidusminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 October 2020Manufacturing and distribution partnership for Nidus Microbubble Array™ single cell culture products. SiMPore to manufacture and distribute Nidus products.
• ParVerio LLCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2020Collaboration to launch a consumer microplastic water test. Partnership combining SiMPore's filtration technology with ParVerio's consumer testing capabilities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• Ted Pella, Inc. Ted Pella is one of the largest specialty suppliers of TEM grids, calibration specimens, and microscopy consumables, competing head-on with SiMPore's TEM Silicon Nitride and Lift-Out grid SKUs in academic and industrial EM labs.
• Norcada: Norcada designs and manufactures MEMS-based silicon nitride TEM windows, X-ray windows, and microfiltration membranes — directly overlapping SiMPore's core silicon nanomembrane product portfolio for electron and X-ray microscopy. Closest like-for-like competitor in the freely suspended silicon nitride window category.
• SPI Supplies: SPI Supplies distributes TEM grids, support films, and microscopy consumables to the same research customer base as SiMPore, with overlapping SKUs in TEM windows and calibration specimens.
• Hummingbird Scientific: Hummingbird Scientific manufactures MEMS-based TEM holders, chips, and in-situ devices, sharing SiMPore's MEMS/silicon fabrication heritage and competing for cryo-EM and in-situ microscopy applications.
• Electron Microscopy Sciences (EMS): EMS supplies a broad catalog of TEM grids, support films, and microscopy accessories, including silicon nitride window products, making it a direct channel-level competitor for SiMPore's environmental and materials science customers.

Emerging players

• Emulate, Inc. Emulate's organ-on-chip platform competes with SiMPore's µSiM microphysiological system in drug-discovery and barrier-tissue applications, though Emulate focuses on integrated plastic chips whereas SiMPore supplies the underlying membrane substrate.
• CN Bio Innovations: CN Bio provides microphysiological organ-on-chip systems and consumables for pharma research, overlapping with SiMPore's life sciences segment as an alternative platform for barrier tissue and disease modeling.

Broad incumbents

• Cytiva (Whatman filters): Cytiva/Whatman is a large incumbent in lab filtration with extensive membrane filter product lines, competing with SiMPore's filter disk offerings in environmental and life science applications.
• Merck Millipore (now MilliporeSigma): MilliporeSigma offers a broad portfolio of membrane filters and lab consumables that compete with SiMPore's microporous membrane chips and filter disks, particularly in nanofiltration and particle analysis use cases.

Others

• Nidus BioSciences: SiMPore has an active manufacturing/distribution partnership with Nidus for the Microbubble Array single-cell culture product, making Nidus a directly adjacent ecosystem partner and partial overlap in cell-culture consumables.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 SiMPore