WASAI Technology

What WASAI Technology does

WASAI Technology is a Taipei-based FPGA acceleration platform company founded in 2015 that delivers on-premise hardware and software solutions for Big Data and Genomics workloads. Its core technology stack comprises field-programmable gate array (FPGA) accelerators that integrate with Intel and Achronix silicon, leveraging thousands of specialized processing cores to deliver 6x-11x speedups versus CPU-only implementations while consuming roughly one-third of the energy and compute resources. The company sells two primary platforms: WASAI-Lightning, an all-in-one DNA sequencing accelerator for BWA-MEM and GATK Best Practice pipelines, offered in three throughput tiers (Lightning, Lightning S, Lightning Plus) producing 4.8-12 WGS per day per node; and WASAI-Tachyon, a Hadoop MapReduce, Hive, and Spark acceleration platform for data-center search, sort, and compression workloads.

The portfolio targets three primary customer segments: healthcare and life sciences organizations running clinical and population genomics (hospitals, sequencing labs, pharmaceutical companies, academic medical centers); large data centers and HPC facilities running Hadoop/Spark workloads; and enterprise computing use cases including smart manufacturing and connected services. Customers are acquired through enterprise direct sales supplemented by Intel's Gold Partner FPGA ecosystem, OEM integration with Advantech SKY-series servers, and system integration via Garaotus.

The business model combines hardware appliance sales (configured servers integrated with qualified Intel FPGA PAC cards), technical licensing of acceleration IP, and ongoing maintenance and customization services, with quote-based pricing negotiated per deployment. Its customer base includes MedGenome in India for rare-disease and Parkinson's genomics, Yonsei University Mirae Campus in South Korea, and National Taiwan University College of Medicine for population genomics research. Co-founder and CEO Calvin Hung leads a 1-10 person team with engineering roots in MediaTek, MStar, and IBM.

Name

WASAI Technology

Legal name

WASAI Technology, Inc.

Website

https://wasaitech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WASAI Technology is a Taipei-based FPGA acceleration platform company founded in 2015 that sells on-premise hardware appliances to accelerate BWA+GATK genomic sequencing pipelines and Hadoop/Spark big-data workloads for hospitals, genomics labs, and data centers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

FPGA Hardware Acceleration Appliances (Genomics & Big Data)

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Server Appliances (Purpose-Built: Security, Backup, Analytics, etc.) (HDACABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC) (HDAHABAC)

Keywords

• FPGA acceleration appliances
• Genomics secondary analysis
• Big Data acceleration
• BWA-MEM GATK pipeline
• Hadoop Spark acceleration

Headquarters

HQ city

Taipei

HQ country

Taiwan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Appliance Sales: Sale of all-in-one optimized Big Data and Genomics Sequencing server appliances with integrated FPGA accelerators, commodity server compatibility, and optimized processing cores. Solutions sold as complete server appliances with Intel PAC Arria 10 GX and Intel PAC D5005 qualification.
2. Technical Licensing: Technical license fees for FPGA acceleration technology and optimized algorithms for mega data computation. Company provides patented solutions to key problems for large data centers.
3. Maintenance Royalties: Ongoing maintenance royalties and product customization and optimization services with high degree of competitiveness and growth.
4. FPGA Acceleration Card Integration: Integration of BWA+GATK pipeline with Intel 3rd Gen Xeon and Intel FPGA acceleration cards (Intel PAC D5005) for processing 6 billion DNA base pairs with cost-effective and scalable options.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

WASAI Technology designs and sells FPGA-based on-premise server appliances that accelerate two workload categories: genomic secondary analysis (BWA-MEM alignment + GATK Best Practice variant calling) under the WASAI-Lightning™ Family brand, and Apache Hadoop MapReduce/Hive/Spark big-data workloads under the WASAI-Tachyon™ brand. Solutions are delivered as integrated appliances combining Intel programmable acceleration cards (PAC Arria 10 GX / D5005) with WASAI's optimized algorithm IP, sold primarily to hospitals, genomics labs, pharmaceutical companies, research universities, and data-center/HPC operators via quote-based enterprise sales.

Product overview

WASAI Technology provides FPGA-based acceleration platforms for Big Data and Genomics analysis. The portfolio consists of two core platforms: WASAI-Lightning (genomics sequencing acceleration) and WASAI-Tachyon (big data processing acceleration). WASAI-Lightning offers three throughput tiers (Lightning, Lightning S, Lightning Plus) delivering 4.8 to 12 WGS per day, accelerated by Intel FPGA cards with the BWA-MEM and GATK Best Practice Pipeline. WASAI-Tachyon accelerates Apache Hadoop MapReduce, Apache Hive, and Apache Spark workloads with 6x-10x speedup. Both platforms are delivered as on-premise server appliances with FPGA cards integrated with WASAI-Lightning Manager for genomics workflows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WASAI-Lightning™ Family: All-in-one DNA sequencing acceleration solution integrating BWA-MEM, GATK, Intel Xeon CPU and FPGA acceleration cards for genomic analysis. Includes Lightning, Lightning S, and Lightning Plus models with varying throughput.
• WASAI-Tachyon™

Products and services

• WASAI-Lightning Family All-in-one on-premise DNA sequencing acceleration appliance integrating BWA-MEM alignment, GATK Best Practice variant calling, Intel Xeon CPUs, and FPGA acceleration cards. Delivers up to 11x speedup for 30x whole-genome sequencing analysis with accuracy consistent with GATK Best Practice, processing a single 30x WGS sample in 3 hours. Available in three throughput models (Lightning, Lightning S, Lightning Plus) for hospitals, genomics labs, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions running clinical, research, and population genomics programs.
• WASAI-Tachyon Big Data acceleration platform that delivers 6x-10x processing speedup for Apache Hadoop MapReduce, Apache Hive, and Apache Spark workloads using WASAI's FPGA accelerators. Provides tailored solutions for keyword searching, key-value sorting, query acceleration, data compression/decompression, log categorization, network traffic summarization, and real-time fraud detection, targeted at large data centers, telecom operators, cloud providers, and HPC facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11x speedup for whole genome at 30x depth compared to original platform
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and flagship.

• AdvantechcoreTechnology or Integration · 7 July 2022Partnership to deliver genomics workflow solutions using Advantech's high-performance servers (SKY-820V3, SKY-620V3, SKY-8234D, SKY-8232D, SKY-9232D, SKY-5240). Servers are optimized for computationally demanding genomics tasks and integrated with WASAI's FPGA acceleration technology.
• GaraotussupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 7 July 2022System integration partner enabling seamless genetic analysis operations on all configured servers. Garaotus handles all integration aspects of WASAI solutions with Advantech hardware.
• MedGenome (India)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2022Advanced rare disease and Parkinson's disease genomics studies using hybrid CPU and FPGA accelerated solution. MedGenome evaluated WGS, WES, and standard benchmark samples with WASAI's accelerated architecture. Results demonstrate improved at-scale genomics analysis workloads and improved TCO.
• Intel CorporationcoreTechnology or IntegrationGold Partner in Intel FPGA Partner Program. WASAI solutions are qualified on Intel PAC Arria 10 GX and Intel PAC D5005 acceleration cards. Company participates in Intel's FPGA ecosystem initiatives in Taiwan and Japan, promoting FPGA technology adoption for data center acceleration.
• Yonsei University Mirae CampuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth Korean institution leverages WASAI-Lightning Bio-IT Platform with Agilex-based FPGA cards for disease research and AI-driven medical projects.
• National Taiwan University College of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaiwanese researchers use WASAI technology for large population cohort studies, advancing precision medicine research in the region.
• AchronixsupportingTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to empower FPGA acceleration through Achronix's programmable technology, expanding WASAI's FPGA ecosystem beyond Intel solutions.
• Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerMinistry of Science and Technology-backed startup hub that led delegation of Taiwanese technology startups to TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019, helping WASAI connect with international investors and mentors.
• National Yang Ming Chiao Tung UniversitysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerUniversity hosted WASAI at their booth during BioAsia Taiwan 2022, facilitating connections with biomedical industry professionals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fabric Genomics: Fabric Genomics provides AI-driven variant calling and clinical interpretation (including the Opal clinical platform), competing directly with WASAI-Lightning for clinical genomics secondary analysis and downstream interpretation workflows.
• Maxeler Technologies: Maxeler Technologies builds dataflow computing platforms based on FPGAs (and historically custom silicon) for high-performance analytics, similar in concept to WASAI-Tachyon's Hadoop/Spark acceleration approach. Both companies target large-scale data center workloads via high-level programming models that abstract FPGA parallelism.
• Sentieon: Sentieon provides software-optimized BWA-MEM and GATK-equivalent pipelines (Sentieon DNAscope, TNscope) for accurate variant calling on commodity CPU hardware. It is the primary software-only competitive alternative to WASAI's FPGA acceleration in precisionFDA-style accuracy benchmarks.
• Edico Genome / Illumina DRAGEN: Edico Genome pioneered FPGA-based secondary genomic analysis (DRAGEN) and was acquired by Illumina in 2018. It is the closest direct competitor to WASAI-Lightning, addressing the same BWA-MEM + GATK pipeline acceleration problem with FPGA (and now CPU-optimized) hardware for clinical and research customers.
• Parabricks (NVIDIA): Parabricks delivers GPU-accelerated secondary and tertiary genomic analysis (BWA-MEM, GATK, DeepVariant) on NVIDIA hardware. It competes head-to-head with WASAI for the same genomics secondary analysis workloads, differentiated by GPU vs FPGA architecture and cloud/on-prem deployment flexibility.
• Eideticom (now part of Western Digital): Eideticom developed FPGA-based computational storage and data acceleration IP for hyperscale data centers, paralleling WASAI-Tachyon's Hadoop/Spark acceleration thesis. Acquired by Western Digital, Eideticom's IP competes with WASAI in FPGA-accelerated data center workloads.

Broad incumbents

• DNAnexus: DNAnexus operates a cloud genomics platform used by large-scale programs (NIH All of Us, Genomics England). It is a broad incumbent in the same genomic data analysis market that WASAI-Lightning targets, with a cloud-delivery model that competes with WASAI's on-premise FPGA appliances.
• Velsera (formerly Seven Bridges Genomics): Velsera (formed from Seven Bridges Genomics and Eagle Genomics) provides cloud-native bioinformatics and clinical genomics platforms for pharma, research, and diagnostics customers. It is a broad incumbent alternative to WASAI for organizations that prefer cloud-delivered, integrated analysis over on-premise FPGA acceleration.
• Achronix Semiconductor: Achronix is a fabless FPGA and eFPGA IP vendor (Speedcore, VectorPath) that supplies programmable silicon to FPGA acceleration systems. It is both a partnership partner (referenced in WASAI distribution data) and a broad incumbent whose silicon and reference acceleration designs sit in adjacent competition with WASAI's Intel-PAC-based appliance portfolio.
• Intel Programmable Solutions Group (now Altera): Intel's Programmable Solutions Group (PSG, now rebranded as Altera following the 2024 spin-off) supplies the Intel FPGA silicon (PAC Arria 10 GX, PAC D5005, Agilex) on which WASAI's appliances are built. PSG/Altera operates broadly across FPGA hardware, software, and reference designs, with its own acceleration IP that overlaps WASAI-Lightning and Tachyon workloads.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wasaitech
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCT2nymnVQ0I8nBBLWm4gbQg
• Facebookfacebook.com/wasaitech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wasai-technology

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 WASAI Technology