ArgenTag
ArgenTag is a venture-backed biotech startup that develops instrument-free, single-cell RNA library preparation kits and demultiplexing software for long-read sequencing on PacBio and Oxford Nanopore platforms, serving academic and translational research laboratories globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What ArgenTag does
ArgenTag is a private biotechnology company founded in 2020 in Rosario, Argentina and headquartered at 7 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York City, that develops and commercializes an instrument-free single-cell RNA library preparation platform for long-read sequencing. The company's flagship product is a Single-Cell RNA Library Kit for Long-Read Sequencing that pairs a portable, gravity-based microfluidic cell-partitioning chip (capturing up to ~10,000 single cells or nuclei in approximately 5 hours of wet-lab work) with a proprietary NS-watermark smart barcoding chemistry — a mathematically error-correcting barcode set, validated in Nature Scientific Reports (May 2022) at >86% recovery and 0.17% crosstalk across 3,840 barcodes on the Oxford Nanopore MinION — and TSO-artifact-free library chemistry that streams directly into PacBio Kinnex and Oxford Nanopore ligation sequencing workflows in roughly 75 minutes. A standalone demultiplexing software module completes the workflow with local processing in under 12 hours and eliminates the need for a companion short-read barcode-whitelist run.
ArgenTag sells Research Use Only kits via a hybrid go-to-market motion: direct inside-sales through the company website (HubSpot and Calendly meeting schedulers, [email protected] inbox, Early Access Program waitlist), quote-based Net 30 USD invoicing with no public price list, distribution partnerships with BioSystems Corp. (Mexico) and Fujifilm (Uruguay, Japan) for international reach, and co-marketing/Compatible Partner agreements with PacBio (February 17, 2026) and Oxford Nanopore (May 2026). Demand generation is event- and KOL-driven, anchored by presentations at Mount Sinai, Stanford, NYU Langone Health, Chan Zuckerberg BioHub, ASHG 2025, PacBio Prism 2025, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, London Calling 2026, and IndieBio Demo Day, and a Single-Cell Long-Read Research Grant program that provides selected investigators free ArgenTag kits bundled with PacBio Kinnex kits. Named end users span academic medical centers (Mount Sinai, NYU Langone, Stanford, Weill Cornell, University College London, Institute of Medical and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel) and a referenced dozen biotech companies, targeting applications in cancer immunotherapy, neurodegenerative disease, cell atlas projects, developmental biology, and CRISPR validation.
The company is venture-backed by IndieBio (SOSV), Draper University Ventures, Draper Cygnus, GRID Exponential (GRIDX), Arben Ventures, and AIR Capital across a 2021 pre-seed, a 2022 seed, a 2023 round, and a February 2026 strategic funding extension (amounts undisclosed). ArgenTag operates with approximately 8 core team members and 4 advisors, is led by co-founder/CEO Leandro Ciappina (formerly COO; MIT Innovator Under 35 in 2022) and co-founder/CSO Elizabeth Tapia (formerly CEO), and is advised by George Church (Harvard/MIT), Luciano Martelotto (Adelaide Centre of Epigenetics), and senior commercial advisors from Quanterix, Mission Bio, and Amasa Therapeutics.
ArgenTag firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ArgenTag
- Legal name
- ArgenTag Corporation
- Website
- https://argentag.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- ArgenTag is a venture-backed biotech startup that develops instrument-free, single-cell RNA library preparation kits and demultiplexing software for long-read sequencing on PacBio and Oxford Nanopore platforms, serving academic and translational research laboratories globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ArgenTag industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Single-Cell Sequencing Reagents
- NAICS
- Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)
- SIC
- In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Molecular Biology & Genomics Instruments (PCR/qPCR, Sequencing, Microarrays) (HLAGAIAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Library & Diversity Generation Platforms (display libraries, DNA-encoded libraries for biologics, variant libraries) (HLAAAIAL)
Keywords
Where ArgenTag is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
ArgenTag business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Sale of Single-Cell RNA Library Kits: Primary commercial revenue stream from selling research-use-only Single-Cell RNA Library Kits for Long-Read Sequencing to research labs and biotech companies, governed by ArgenTag's Terms and Conditions of Sale (Net 30 invoicing in USD, prices valid 30 days, restocking fee 25%, paid via ACH/wire).
- Distributor-driven international kit sales: Distribution partnerships with BioSystems Corp. (Mexico) and Fujifilm (Uruguay, Japan) channel ArgenTag's kit sales into additional geographic markets, with ArgenTag supplying product to distributors.
- Grant-program-driven adoption (non-revenue / marketing): Single-Cell Long-Read Grant Program provides selected researchers with free access to ArgenTag kits and PacBio Kinnex kits; this is an adoption-driving program rather than a direct revenue stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based pricing per purchase order |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Free Single-Cell Long-Read Research Grant (promotional) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
ArgenTag product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ArgenTag develops and sells research-use-only Single-Cell RNA Library Kits for Long-Read Sequencing, combining a portable, gravity-driven microfluidic chip with proprietary NS-watermark smart barcoding chemistry to convert mRNA from individual cells into full-length barcoded cDNA directly sequenceable on PacBio Kinnex or Oxford Nanopore long-read platforms. The offering eliminates the need for expensive specialized partitioning instruments and companion short-read barcode-whitelist runs, partitioning up to ~10,000 cells/nuclei in ~5 hours of wet-lab work with a ~75-minute ONT library prep and standalone local demultiplexing software.
Product overview
ArgenTag offers a unified, instrument-free single-cell long-read sequencing platform consisting of the core Single-Cell RNA Library Kit for Long-Read Sequencing (which partitions up to 10,000 cells/nuclei in a portable microfluidic chip and produces barcoded cDNA natively designed for PacBio Kinnex and Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing), complemented by the standalone Demultiplexing Software module for local data processing, and an upcoming Single-Nucleus RNA Kit for Long-Read Sequencing add-on. The Single-Cell Long-Read Research Grant Program is a supporting program offering kit and sequencing access to researchers. Together, the kit + software + (planned) single-nucleus kit form a complete workflow that the company markets as the first platform natively designed for long-read single-cell transcriptomics, eliminating the need for specialized partitioning instruments and short-read barcode whitelists.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Single-Cell RNA Library Kit for Long-Read Sequencing: ArgenTag's flagship benchtop, instrument-free end-to-end kit for single-cell studies, compatible with Oxford Nanopore and PacBio sequencing platforms.
- Single-Cell Long-Read Research Grant Program
Products and services
- Single-Cell RNA Library Kit for Long-Read Sequencing End-to-end, instrument-free single-cell RNA library preparation kit that converts mRNA from individual cells into full-length, barcoded cDNA directly sequenceable on PacBio Kinnex and Oxford Nanopore long-read platforms. Uses a portable, gravity-based microfluidic chip that partitions up to ~10,000 single cells or nuclei in ~5 hours of wet-lab work without specialized capital equipment, built on ArgenTag's proprietary NS-watermark smart barcoding chemistry that eliminates the need for short-read barcode whitelists. Verified compatible with PacBio Kinnex RNA kits and Oxford Nanopore ligation sequencing (SQK-LSK114) workflows. For Research Use Only.
- ArgenTag Demultiplexing Software (Standalone) Standalone bioinformatics software that demultiplexes long-read single-cell reads and assigns them to their cell of origin with high accuracy even in the presence of long-read sequencing noise; runs locally with minimal IT requirements, completes demultiplexing in under 12 hours, and is fully compatible with both Oxford Nanopore and PacBio platforms. The ArgenTag bioinformatics team provides installation and support.
Quantifiable outcome
- Wet-lab workflow reduced to ~5 hours for up to ~10,000 single cells or nuclei (vs. longer workflows on specialized instrument-based systems).
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use ArgenTag
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ArgenTag technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
ArgenTag partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Oxford Nanopore TechnologiesflagshipArgenTag's single-cell long-read solutions were officially included in the Oxford Nanopore Compatible Products Programme, with the announcement made at London Calling 2026 (May 2026). ArgenTag cDNA integrates seamlessly into the ONT ligation sequencing workflow (PromethION 2 Solo, PromethION 24/48) with a streamlined ~75-minute library prep and no TSO removal step required.
- Pacific Biosciences (PacBio)flagshipArgenTag joined the PacBio Compatible Partner Program on Feb 17, 2026, confirming compatibility of its Single-Cell RNA Library Kit with PacBio's Kinnex RNA kits. The co-marketing agreement enables researchers to achieve long-read isoform sequencing at single-cell resolution when pairing ArgenTag's benchtop workflow with PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL)coreArgenTag team (Dr. Elizabeth Tapia, Leandro Ciappina, Dr. Sofia Lavista Llanos) participated in the PacBio Workshop at the CSHL Single Cell Analyses Meeting (Nov 13, 2025), with Dr. Lavista Llanos presenting comparative results from the ArgenTag single-cell solution.
- American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)minorArgenTag exhibited at the ASHG 2025 Annual Meeting in Boston (Oct 14-18, 2025) to engage with researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders.
- BioTools Innovator (MedTech Innovator)coreSelected for the BioTools Innovator 2025 Cohort (July 2025) out of 400+ applicants worldwide; received acceleration and go-to-market programming, mentorship, and was featured on the Nasdaq billboard in Times Square (Nov 26, 2025) upon program completion.
- BioSystems Corp.coreStrategic distribution partnership announced March 10, 2025; BioSystems Corp. distributes ArgenTag's single-cell RNA long-read sequencing technology into Mexico.
- FujifilmcoreStrategic distribution partnership announced March 10, 2025; Fujifilm distributes ArgenTag's single-cell RNA long-read sequencing technology into Uruguay and Japan.
- NYU Langone HealthcoreProduct presentation at NYU Langone Health on Sep 25, 2024 (hosted by Dr. Adriana Heguy and Dr. Dacia Dimartino) as part of the Early Access Program launch.
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaicoreResearch collaboration/KOL engagement; Mount Sinai researcher Maya Fridrikh co-presented the PacBio x ArgenTag webinar and ArgenTag cites Mount Sinai as a key research partner evaluating its single-cell long-read kit.
- Stanford UniversitycoreProduct presentation and KOL engagement at Stanford University (Jul 11, 2024) with wet- and dry-lab demonstrations; Stanford researcher Pablo Domizi, PhD later won the PacBio x ArgenTag grant.
- Chan Zuckerberg BioHub NetworkminorKOL engagement and visit to Chan Zuckerberg BioHub Network in San Francisco as part of ArgenTag's KOL outreach program.
- MIT linQ IDEA2 Mentorship ProgramminorSelected for the MIT IDEA2 7-month innovation training and project mentoring program in 2022 to strengthen R&D strategy and connect with biomedical innovators in Boston.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ArgenTag competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Scale Biosciences: Single-cell genomics startup whose combinatorial indexing chemistry competes with ArgenTag's instrument-free approach in the cost-sensitive segment of single-cell library prep.
- Fluent BioSciences: Single-cell transcriptomics vendor with PIP-seq technology that, like ArgenTag, targets an instrument-free, lower-cost workflow. Direct competitor in the democratization-of-single-cell narrative.
- Singleron Biotechnologies: Single-cell sequencing solutions vendor offering instrument-based and microwell-based workflows for academic and clinical research. Comparable as a single-cell library prep competitor with similar customer base.
Broad incumbents
- 10x Genomics: Dominant single-cell library prep and instrumentation vendor (Chromium). Comparable as the incumbent ArgenTag positions against in single-cell partitioning; ArgenTag specifically targets labs priced out of 10x Genomics' instrument-based approach.
- BD (Rhapsody): BD's single-cell analysis platform (originally from Cellular Research / FlowJo lineage) competes in single-cell partitioning. Comparable as a broader incumbent single-cell library prep vendor.
- Bio-Rad (ddSEQ / Illumina Single-Cell): Bio-Rad offers droplet-based single-cell library prep (ddSEQ) through the Illumina partnership, serving the same academic and translational research customers ArgenTag targets. Comparable as a broad life-science tools incumbent with single-cell offerings.
Direct peers
- Parse Biosciences: Single-cell RNA-seq library prep vendor offering Evercode kits that compete with ArgenTag's instrument-free positioning by leveraging split-pool combinatorial indexing without specialized instruments.
- Mission Bio: Single-cell DNA and multi-omics platform vendor targeting translational and clinical research customers. Comparable as an adjacent single-cell tools company pursuing similar academic/biotech R&D buyers; advised by ArgenTag advisor Darrin Crisitello (ex-Mission Bio CCO).
Others
- Pacific Biosciences (PacBio): Long-read sequencing platform vendor with which ArgenTag is a Verified Compatible Partner. Kinnex RNA kits consume ArgenTag's upstream barcoded cDNA, making PacBio a critical platform partner and ecosystem enabler for ArgenTag's kit.
- Oxford Nanopore Technologies: Long-read sequencing platform vendor that included ArgenTag in its Compatible Products Programme in May 2026. ONT's PromethION and MinION devices are the second major platform ArgenTag's kit plugs into.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ArgenTag social profiles
Digital presenceArgenTag compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
ArgenTag financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ArgenTag leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
ArgenTag funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ArgenTag 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 ArgenTag
What does ArgenTag do?
ArgenTag develops and sells research-use-only Single-Cell RNA Library Kits for Long-Read Sequencing, combining a portable, gravity-driven microfluidic chip with proprietary NS-watermark smart barcoding chemistry to convert mRNA from individual cells into full-length barcoded cDNA directly sequenceable on PacBio Kinnex or Oxford Nanopore long-read platforms. The offering eliminates the need for expensive specialized partitioning instruments and companion short-read barcode-whitelist runs, partitioning up to ~10,000 cells/nuclei in ~5 hours of wet-lab work with a ~75-minute ONT library prep and standalone local demultiplexing software.
Is ArgenTag a public or private company?
ArgenTag is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was ArgenTag founded?
ArgenTag was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ArgenTag based?
ArgenTag is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does ArgenTag make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Sale of Single-Cell RNA Library Kits are the primary driver. The others are distributor-driven international kit sales and grant-program-driven adoption (non-revenue / marketing).
Who are ArgenTag's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Scale Biosciences, Fluent BioSciences and Singleron Biotechnologies. Broad incumbents are 10x Genomics, BD (Rhapsody) and Bio-Rad (ddSEQ / Illumina Single-Cell). Direct peers are Parse Biosciences and Mission Bio. Others are Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) and Oxford Nanopore Technologies.
Does ArgenTag have an API?
No public API is recorded for ArgenTag.
What industry is ArgenTag in?
ArgenTag's product category is Single-Cell Sequencing Reagents. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAIAF, Molecular Biology & Genomics Instruments (PCR/qPCR, Sequencing, Microarrays), with a secondary code of HLAAAIAL, Library & Diversity Generation Platforms (display libraries, DNA-encoded libraries for biologics, variant libraries). Its NAICS code is 325414 and its SIC code is 2835.