What Namocell does

Namocell is a Mountain View, California-based instrument company founded in 2014 that develops microfluidic single cell dispensing technology for the biotechnology industry. Its core products are the Pala and Hana Cell Sorters and Single Cell Dispensers, which sort and dispense individual cells, nuclei, protoplasts, bacteria, yeast, and fungi in a single step, with disposable microfluidic cell cartridges sold as consumables to prevent cross-contamination. The technology emphasizes speed, gentle cell handling to preserve viability, and ease of use, supporting applications including hybridoma generation, CRISPR editing verification, cell line development, monoclonal antibody production, rare cell isolation, and diagnostic assay development.

The company's primary customers are research institutions and academic labs, biopharmaceutical and therapeutics developers, and diagnostics companies and clinical labs. Namocell operates an enterprise field sales motion with quote-based pricing for capital instruments and unit-based pricing for cartridges, and does not publicly disclose list prices. In 2025, Namocell was acquired by Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH), a public life sciences tools company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was rebranded as Bio-Techne Cell Sorters and Single Cell Dispensers within the parent's Analytical Solutions portfolio.

Following the acquisition, all product support, marketing, and sales were migrated to the unified bio-techne.com platform, where customers can also access Bio-Techne's broader reagent and instrument brands (R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, Tocris, ProteinSimple) under a single account. The transition provides Namocell's small pre-acquisition team (1-10 employees) with global direct sales coverage, e-commerce infrastructure, and an international distributor network, while the underlying instruments and consumables remain unchanged. The revenue model combines one-time capital instrument sales with recurring consumable cartridge revenue, structured through multi-year quote-based contracts for instruments and pay-as-you-go pricing for cartridges.

Name

Namocell

Website

https://namocell.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Namocell, founded in 2014 and acquired by Bio-Techne in 2025, develops microfluidic single cell sorting and dispensing instruments (Pala, Hana) and consumable cartridges for research institutions, biopharmaceutical developers, and diagnostics labs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Single Cell Sorting Instruments

NAICS

Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (3391), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

akta.pro primary industry

Molecular Biology & Genomics Instruments (PCR/qPCR, Sequencing, Microarrays) (HLAGAIAF)

Keywords

• Single cell sorting
• Single cell dispensing
• Microfluidic cell isolation
• Lab automation instruments
• Cell line development

Headquarters

HQ city

Mountain View

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Instrument Sales: Sale of single cell dispenser instruments (Pala and Hana systems) - capital equipment sold directly to research institutions, biopharma companies, and diagnostics labs.
2. Consumables (Microfluidic Cell Cartridges): Recurring revenue from disposable microfluidic cell cartridges that prevent cross-contamination and are required for instrument operation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Namocell develops and manufactures microfluidic single cell sorting and dispensing instruments (Pala™ and Hana™ systems) that enable fast, gentle single cell isolation in a single step, serving research institutions, biopharmaceutical companies, and diagnostics laboratories for applications including hybridoma generation, CRISPR editing verification, cell line development, and rare cell analysis. The company also supplies disposable microfluidic cell cartridges as recurring consumables for use with its instruments.

Product overview

Namocell, now part of Bio-Techne, offers a portfolio of single cell sorting and dispensing instruments designed for fast, gentle, and easy single cell isolation. The product line consists of two main instruments: the Pala™ Cell Sorter (configured with two lasers for up to 11 detection channels) and the Hana™ Cell Sorter (single laser for green and red channels). Both instruments enable single cell sorting and dispensing in a single step, supporting the isolation of single cells, nuclei, protoplasts, bacteria, yeast, and fungi. The portfolio is complemented by disposable microfluidic cell cartridges that prevent cross contamination. The technology emphasizes speed, gentleness to preserve cell viability and integrity, and user-friendly operation for single cell research, therapeutics development, and diagnostics applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pala™ Cell Sorter and Single Cell Dispenser A single cell sorter and dispenser configured with two lasers for up to 11 detection channels, offering industry-leading speed for single cell sorting and dispensing in a single step; sold to research institutions, biopharma companies, and diagnostics labs.
• Hana™ Cell Sorter and Single Cell Dispenser A single cell sorter and dispenser with a single laser for green and red channels, designed for simplicity and ease of use in single cell isolation; sold to research institutions, biopharma companies, and diagnostics labs.
• Microfluidic Cell Cartridges Disposable microfluidic cell cartridges designed to prevent cross-contamination and required for instrument operation; compatible with Namocell/Hana single cell dispensing workflows and sold as recurring-use consumables.

Quantifiable outcome

• Single cell sorting and dispensing in a single step - eliminating separate sorting and picking workflows
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bio-TechnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamocell was acquired by Bio-Techne and transitioned to become part of Bio-Techne's portfolio under the brand 'Bio-Techne Cell Sorters and Single Cell Dispensers'. This acquisition provides Namocell access to Bio-Techne's extensive resources, unified platform, and extended customer service and technical support network.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad sells the S3e and ZE5 cell sorters and droplet-based single cell platforms (ddSEQ). Comparable as a direct overlap in flow cytometry/cell sorting products used in genomics workflows.
• BD Biosciences: BD Biosciences is a division of Becton Dickinson and the dominant incumbent in flow cytometry and cell sorting (e.g., FACSDiscover, FACSAria, BD CellView). Comparable as the primary large-scale competitor in benchtop and high-end cell sorters that biopharma and academic core facilities buy alongside Namocell's systems.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Life Sciences): Thermo Fisher offers the Attune and Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter lines and is a broad life sciences tools incumbent. Comparable as a competitor in cell sorting capital equipment with much larger R&D and distribution resources.
• Beckman Coulter Life Sciences: Beckman Coulter offers the CytoFLEX and Astrios cell sorters used across research and biopharma labs. Its broad flow cytometry portfolio overlaps with Namocell's instrument use cases in single cell sorting and downstream multi-parameter analysis.

Direct peers

• Cytonome: Cytonome builds microfluidic cell sorting platforms (e.g., the GTT cell sorter) and is one of Namocell's closest direct competitors in the gentle, microfluidic single cell sorting category.
• NanoCellect Biomedical: NanoCellect produces the WOLF and N1 single cell sorters using microfluidic disposable-cartridge technology with gentle cell handling. A direct small-scale competitor to Namocell's Pala and Hana dispensers.
• PhenomeX (formerly Berkeley Lights): PhenomeX, previously Berkeley Lights, operates the Beacon optofluidic platform for single cell functional screening. Directly comparable to Namocell's microfluidic single cell manipulation offering and frequently cited as a competing single cell automation platform.
• Standard BioTools (formerly Fluidigm): Standard BioTools (formerly Fluidigm) sells mass cytometry (CyTOF) and single cell genomics instruments that compete with Namocell's microfluidic dispenser workflows for high-parameter single cell research.
• Sony Biotechnology: Sony Biotechnology produces the SH800, MA900, and FX500 cell sorters, which directly compete with Namocell's Pala and Hana instruments in the single cell sorting and dispensing category, particularly among biotech and academic customers.

Emerging players

• 10x Genomics: 10x Genomics offers the Chromium platform for single cell partitioning and genomics, complementing but partially substituting for discrete cell sorting workflows. Highly comparable as an adjacent single cell instrument player that pulls together cell handling, library prep, and analysis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Namocell