SPT Labtech
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersMelbourn, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What SPT Labtech does
SPT Labtech is a UK-headquartered laboratory automation specialist that designs, manufactures, and sells precision instruments, consumables, and recurring service contracts for life sciences research and drug discovery customers. The product portfolio is organized into three franchises: liquid handling (firefly all-in-one platform, mosquito nanolitre positive displacement pipetting with multiple variants, dragonfly non-contact dispensing, and the apricot range from DC1 to S3 and PP5), sample preparation (chameleon for cryo-EM grids and Quantifoil sample supports), and sample management (comPOUND, BioMicroLab instruments, arktic/arktic XC, lab2lab pneumatic transport, and comPACT). Underlying technology relies on proprietary true positive displacement pipetting with disposable pistons and EZ-Load elastomer sealing, enabling nanolitre-to-millilitre accuracy independent of liquid viscosity and removing the need for calibration.
SPT Labtech firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SPT Labtech
- Legal name
- SPT Labtech Ltd
- Website
- https://sptlabtech.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SPT Labtech industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Laboratory Automation Instruments
- NAICS
- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513)
- SIC
- Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations) (HLAGAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH), Laboratory Automation, Sample Prep & Liquid Handling (IVD Lab Diagnostics) (HLAHAAAN)
Keywords
Where SPT Labtech is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourn
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices12 records
Markets served
SPT Labtech business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Laboratory automation instruments: Sale of liquid handling, sample preparation, and sample management instruments including firefly, mosquito, dragonfly, apricot product lines and accessories.
- Consumables: Ongoing sales of consumables including pipette tips (EZ-load and AL tips), syringes for dragonfly, spools for mosquito, and other instrument-specific consumables through e-commerce store.
- Service and support (reliance): Service packages providing technical support, maintenance, remote diagnostics, and instrument longevity coverage including guaranteed core replacement.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | reliance core essentials service package |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Consumables (pipette tips, syringes, spools) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | apricot S3 KickStarter bundle |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
SPT Labtech product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SPT Labtech designs, manufactures, and sells laboratory automation instruments and consumables for life sciences research. The portfolio spans liquid handling platforms (firefly, mosquito, dragonfly, apricot), sample preparation systems (chameleon for cryo-EM, Quantifoil grids), and sample management solutions (comPOUND, arktic, lab2lab, comPACT, BioMicroLab), supplemented by the reliance service and support package.
Product overview
SPT Labtech offers a comprehensive portfolio of laboratory automation solutions organized into three core technology areas: liquid handling, sample preparation, and sample management. The liquid handling portfolio includes firefly (all-in-one compact system for NGS library preparation), mosquito (nanoliter positive displacement pipetting with multiple variants including Gen3, crystal, HV/LV genomics, X1, LCP), dragonfly (non-contact positive displacement dispensing from nanoliters to milliliters in discovery and crystal variants), and apricot (accessible automated pipetting with DC1 dual-core, S1, S3, and PP5 models). Sample preparation includes chameleon for cryo-EM grid preparation and Quantifoil sample supports. Sample management encompasses comPOUND (compound management), BioMicroLab instruments (acquired brand), arktic/arktic XC (biospecimen storage), lab2lab (pneumatic transport), and comPACT (-20°C storage). The company also provides reliance service packages for ongoing support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- firefly: Innovative all-in-one liquid handling platform for genomic research
- mosquito
- dragonfly
- apricot
- chameleon
- comPOUND
- arktic
- comPACT
- lab2lab
- BioMicroLab
- Quantifoil
- reliance
Products and services
- firefly All-in-one liquid handling platform that brings together multiple technologies within a single compact design for efficient NGS library preparation with walk-away automation for genomics workflows.
- firefly+ Enhanced firefly platform offering greater walk-away automation capabilities for genomic research workflows.
- mosquito Gen3 Innovative positive displacement pipetting solution combining miniaturization and automation to reduce costs, improve productivity, and maximize research output at nanoliter volumes.
- mosquito xtal3 Mosquito variant optimized for protein crystallography applications with high precision nanoliter pipetting.
- mosquito LCP Mosquito variant for lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallization applications.
- mosquito HV genomics High volume genomics variant for pipetting from 500nL to 5µL with highly accurate and precise multichannel pipetting.
- mosquito LV genomics Low volume genomics variant for nanoliter-scale liquid handling in genomics applications.
- mosquito X1 High speed low volume cherry picking system for rapid sample selection and transfer.
- mosquito HV High volume mosquito variant for broader volume range liquid handling applications.
- mosquito LV Low volume mosquito variant for nanoliter precision applications.
- mosquito crystal Protein crystallography drop setting instrument combining speed, accuracy, and high precision pipetting of nanolitre volumes with zero cross-contamination from disposable tips.
- dragonfly discovery Multi-channel non-contact dispensing system using positive displacement syringes that delivers accurate and repeatable nanoliter to milliliter dispensing irrespective of liquid viscosity or environmental conditions.
- dragonfly crystal Protein crystal optimization system using positive displacement pipetting for rapid and accurate preparation of complex crystallization gradients and optimization screens.
- apricot DC1 Dual-core pipetting technology combining the functionality of four pipette tools in one versatile and affordable platform with 9 flexible deck positions and automatic tip exchange.
- apricot S1 Flexible, versatile, and affordable 96 and 384 channel automated liquid handling system up to 12x faster than an 8-channel handheld pipettor, ideal for labs taking first steps toward automation.
- apricot S3 Flexible automated high performance liquid handling for 96 and 384 channel pipetting with interchangeable pipetting cores, equally suited to low or high-throughput use.
- apricot PP5 Multi-channel pipetting instrument combining functionality of several pipettors with 5 plate positions and 8/12/16/24/96/384 channel configurations for production and laboratory environments.
- chameleon Automated sample preparation system providing consistent application of samples to high-quality foil grids for cryo-EM analysis.
- Quantifoil Market-leading cryo-EM sample supports enabling cryo-EM researchers to optimize data quality.
- comPOUND Scalable, reliable, and secure compound management solution operating at -20°C, +4°C and ambient temperature for centralized compound storage.
- BioMicroLab Range of reliable, versatile and easy-to-use sample management automation instruments including XL9, XL20, XL100, XL200, LabelPro, VC100, VC384, Scan+, and Scan models.
- arktic Robust biospecimen collection, processing, storage, and tracking system for biospecimens down to -80°C to assure integrity of vital scientific research.
- arktic XC Extended capacity variant of arktic for larger biospecimen storage and management.
- lab2lab Novel pneumatic transport system for samples in 2D barcoded tubes enabling transfer between laboratories, storage systems, or online analyzers such as LC/MS or NMR.
- comPACT Flexible and secure -20°C storage solution in a smaller package enabling automated sample management for more labs.
- reliance Service and support package providing access to a dedicated support team, unlimited remote support, guaranteed incident response (12-hour SLA on core essentials), annual core replacement, and maintenance advice to safeguard instrument investment and productivity.
- fireflyGO Benchtop automation platform for library preparation jointly launched with Illumina, integrated with Illumina MiSeq i100 Series sequencers and Pillar Biosciences oncoReveal targeted oncology panels to reduce hands-on time and improve reproducibility in genomics workflows.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced hands-on time for library preparation workflows
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use SPT Labtech
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SPT Labtech technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature9 records
SPT Labtech partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- IlluminaflagshipJoint development of fireflyGO benchtop automation platform for library preparation integrated with Illumina MiSeq i100 sequencers and Pillar Biosciences oncoReveal targeted oncology panels. Strategic collaboration to address inefficiencies in genomic research preparation and enable faster, simpler targeted oncology research workflows.
- EMBL GeneCorecoreCollaboration to advance fully walkaway automation in genomics workflows, combining EMBL GeneCore expertise with SPT Labtech automation technology.
- BellBrook LabscoreCollaboration to develop high-throughput cell-based assay for VPS4B ATPase inhibitor discovery, successfully identified 13 novel inhibitors demonstrating potential in oncology drug discovery. Presented at SLAS 2026.
- New England BiolabscoreCollaboration to support automation of NEBNext reagents for NGS library preparation on SPT Labtech automated workstations. Develops standardized, transferrable, and scalable methods for global laboratory deployment. Partners include Hamilton, Revvity, Beckman Coulter, and Eppendorf.
- Pacific BiosciencescoreCollaboration to automate Kinnex RNA-seq library preparation kit using SPT Labtech's Firefly platform, enabling efficient automation of single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing sample preparation.
- Alithea GenomicscoreCollaboration to develop automation solutions for ultra-sensitive single-cell transcriptomic workflows, enhancing efficiency in single-cell RNA-seq research applications.
- 10x GenomicscorePartnership to provide automated workflows for single cell research, enabling scalability on 10x Genomics platforms through SPT Labtech's firefly liquid handling system. Demonstrated at ASHG conference.
- AgilentcoreIntroduction of automated target enrichment protocols for genomic workflows, streamlining Agilent's SureSelect enrichment solutions on SPT Labtech automation platforms.
- Hamilton CompanyminorListed as a key player in the global liquid handling technology market alongside SPT Labtech.
- RochecoreStrategic partnership with Roche for development and validation of automated protocols for firefly platform in collaboration with leading reagent and kit manufacturers.
- SynthacecoreCollaboration for Design of Experiments (DoE) integration with dragonfly discovery, enabling robust assay development and optimization workflows for automated liquid handling.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SPT Labtech competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SPT Labtech social profiles
Digital presenceSPT Labtech compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
SPT Labtech financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SPT Labtech leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
SPT Labtech funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SPT Labtech M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A3 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SPT Labtech
What does SPT Labtech do?
SPT Labtech designs, manufactures, and sells laboratory automation instruments and consumables for life sciences research. The portfolio spans liquid handling platforms (firefly, mosquito, dragonfly, apricot), sample preparation systems (chameleon for cryo-EM, Quantifoil grids), and sample management solutions (comPOUND, arktic, lab2lab, comPACT, BioMicroLab), supplemented by the reliance service and support package.
Is SPT Labtech a public or private company?
SPT Labtech is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was SPT Labtech founded?
SPT Labtech was founded in 2001. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is SPT Labtech based?
SPT Labtech is headquartered in Melbourn, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does SPT Labtech make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Laboratory automation instruments are the primary driver. The others are consumables and service and support (reliance).
Does SPT Labtech have an API?
Yes. The dragonfly software includes a fully documented API for 3rd party integration with a wide variety of other laboratory instrumentation, including robotic plate handlers, stackers and bulk liquid handlers, to achieve walk-away operation in many application areas. The apricot S3 benefits from a readily available API to support integration with other laboratory equipment including microplate stackers, robotic arms, and automation work cells. The apricot DC1 software includes an API for third-party robotic integration. No specific SDK or language mentioned.
What industry is SPT Labtech in?
SPT Labtech's product category is Laboratory Automation Instruments. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAIAD, Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations), with a secondary code of HLAGAIAH, Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters). Its NAICS code is 334516 and its SIC code is 3826.