What LabKey Software does

LabKey Software is a Seattle-based private software company founded in 2003 that builds scientific data management and laboratory informatics platforms for life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, academic, government, environmental, food/beverage, and mining organizations. Its product portfolio is anchored by Server SDMS, a cloud-based, highly customizable Scientific Data Management System that serves as the foundation for integrated modules including Sample Manager (sample lifecycle tracking with chain of custody), LabKey LIMS (laboratory information management with workflow automation), Biologics LIMS (purpose-built for biologics R&D with native data models for antibodies, vectors, and cell lines), Mining LIMS (drill core and metallurgical workflows), LabKey EDC (electronic data capture for multisite clinical trials), Panorama (targeted mass spectrometry data repository integrated with Skyline), and Electronic Lab Notebook (data-connected experiment documentation).

The platform differentiates through deep customization and integration architecture rather than rigid templates, supporting client APIs in R, Java, JavaScript, and Python, plus an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server enabling AI agent access to LabKey data. LabKey holds compliance certifications across HIPAA, FISMA, and FDA 21 CFR Part 11, making it suitable for regulated laboratory environments. The customer base of 500+ scientific labs includes Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, NIH, Johns Hopkins University, Bristol Myers Squibb, Takeda, FDA, Nestlé Research, and City of Hope.

LabKey monetizes primarily through annual SaaS subscription licensing with tiered pricing (Community free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise, Biologics) ranging from $6,540 to $108,595 per year depending on product and scale, with multi-year discounts and on-premise hosting available as add-ons. The company employs 11-50 people and distributes through direct enterprise field sales and inside sales motions targeting mid-market and enterprise life science buyers, supported by content marketing, webinars, and case studies. LabKey operates globally and maintains a strategic partnership with the MacCoss Lab at the University of Washington for Panorama/Skyline development.

Name

LabKey Software

Legal name

LabKey

Website

https://labkey.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

LabKey Software provides cloud-based scientific data management, LIMS, and sample tracking software for life sciences, pharma, biotech, academic, and government research organizations, serving 500+ labs globally with a modular, compliance-certified platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D) (HLAGAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clinical Laboratory LIS (Core Lab/Hospital Lab) (HLACAMAA), Clinical Trial Informatics (EDC/CTMS/eCOA/eTMF) (HLAGAJAM), Lab Automation, Instrument Control & Workflow Orchestration Software (HLAGAJAG)

Keywords

• Laboratory information management
• Scientific data management
• Sample management software
• Electronic lab notebook
• Clinical data capture

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription Licensing: Annual subscription pricing for cloud-based LIMS and SDMS software. Pricing varies by product tier (Starter, Professional, Enterprise, Biologics) and user count. Additional discounts available for multi-year commitments and higher user volumes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LabKey Software develops and sells cloud-based scientific data management software for life science laboratories. Its portfolio centers on the Server SDMS platform and includes Sample Manager for sample lifecycle tracking, LabKey LIMS (with biologics and mining variants), an Electronic Lab Notebook, LabKey EDC for multisite clinical trials, and Panorama for targeted mass spectrometry data. The software is sold primarily as SaaS subscriptions to research organizations, biotech, pharma, and government laboratories.

Product overview

LabKey Software offers a unified platform-based portfolio centered on Server SDMS as the foundational scientific data management system, with integrated modules including Sample Manager (cloud-based sample tracking and lifecycle management), LabKey LIMS (comprehensive laboratory information management), Biologics LIMS (purpose-built for protein R&D with entity registration and plate management), Mining LIMS (tailored for mining and metallurgy operations), LabKey EDC (electronic data capture for clinical trials), Panorama (targeted mass spectrometry data management integrated with Skyline), and Electronic Lab Notebook (data-connected experiment documentation). The platform provides a modular architecture where Server SDMS serves as the core foundation, with Sample Manager, LIMS, EDC, and Panorama products built upon or integrated with this foundation to provide end-to-end capabilities across sample management, assay data, workflows, compliance, and analytics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Panorama: Cloud-based targeted mass spectrometry software developed in partnership with the MacCoss Lab at the University of Washington for managing Skyline analysis results

Products and services

• Sample Manager Cloud-based sample management software that tracks every lab sample through receipt, aliquoting, storage, retrieval, shipping, and chain of custody. Includes configurable workflows, freezer management, and rich sample context. Sold to research, biotech, pharma, and clinical laboratories.
• LabKey LIMS Laboratory Information Management System that brings together samples, data, workflows, and analyses in a central application, with sample tracking, assay data management, workflow automation, and customizable reports. Targeted at complex research environments with multiple labs and instruments.
• Biologics LIMS Purpose-built LIMS for biologics R&D featuring native data models for protein R&D, including biological entity registration, plate management, sequence registration, and compound registration for antibody discovery and protein-based therapeutics workflows. Maintains lineage from construct design through characterization.
• Mining LIMS LIMS tailored for mining and metallurgy labs with features for drill core tracking, flotation tests, leach studies, geochemical analysis, metallurgical test work, and ore-grade reconciliation.
• Server SDMS Scientific Data Management System serving as the foundational cloud-based platform for all LabKey products. Highly customizable data management with security, compliance, instrument and database integration, and developer tools for life science research organizations.
• LabKey EDC Electronic Data Capture software for multisite clinical trials and studies, seamlessly integrating participant demographics, visit information, assay data, and samples in a central repository for quality control and analysis.
• Panorama Cloud-based targeted mass spectrometry software providing a central data repository for managing Skyline analysis results, with QC tools for continuous monitoring of instrument and reagent performance and system suitability.
• Electronic Lab Notebook Data-connected electronic lab notebook seamlessly integrated with samples, assay data, and other registered data, enabling scientists to efficiently document experiments and share research with collaborative review and sign-off workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trusted by over 500 scientific labs and research organizations worldwide
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration30 records

AI capability3 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MacCoss Lab at University of WashingtoncoreTechnology or IntegrationCollaboratively developed Panorama mass spectrometry software in partnership with the MacCoss Lab at the University of Washington, developers of Skyline targeted mass spectrometry tool. Organizations using Panorama have direct access to the Panorama and Skyline development teams.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Benchling: Benchling is a cloud-native life sciences R&D platform offering ELN, LIMS, sample management, biologics registration, and assay data capture — directly overlapping LabKey's LIMS, ELN, Biologics LIMS, and Sample Manager offerings for biotech and pharma customers. Both target scientists with configurable scientific data management, though Benchling focuses on a more unified cloud UX while LabKey emphasizes open-source flexibility and on-premise options.
• LabWare LIMS: LabWare is one of the longest-standing LIMS vendors, providing configurable laboratory information management for regulated industries including pharma, environmental, food & beverage, and mining — the same vertical mix LabKey serves. Both compete on configurable workflows, sample and chain-of-custody tracking, and 21 CFR Part 11 compliance in regulated labs.
• LabVantage Solutions: LabVantage is a 100% web-based LIMS platform serving pharmaceutical, biotech, food, environmental, and manufacturing labs with sample management, ELN, and stability modules. It directly competes with LabKey's LIMS and Sample Manager in regulated and multi-industry laboratory environments.
• Dotmatics: Dotmatics provides a scientific R&D platform with ELN, LIMS, sample tracking, biologics registration, and assay data management — closely mirroring LabKey's product breadth and biotech/pharma customer base. Both serve discovery and translational scientists with configurable, data-connected lab informatics.
• Genedata: Genedata offers enterprise scientific data management and informatics platforms for biopharma R&D, including biologics screening, mass spectrometry, and sample registration workflows. It overlaps with LabKey's Biologics LIMS, Panorama mass spec offering, and Bioregistry capabilities for large pharma and biotech discovery organizations.
• STARLIMS (Abbott): STARLIMS is an established LIMS platform owned by Abbott serving clinical, forensic, food & beverage, environmental, and life sciences labs with sample management and compliance features. It competes with LabKey LIMS and Sample Manager in regulated, multi-industry lab environments.
• IDBS (Danaher): IDBS provides scientific data management, ELN, and biologics registration platforms for biopharma R&D, including E-WorkBook and the Polar Bio platform. It overlaps closely with LabKey's ELN, Biologics LIMS, and Bioregistry offerings for biotech, pharma, and academic customers.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Sample Manager LIMS): Thermo Fisher's Sample Manager LIMS is one of the most widely deployed LIMS in pharma, biotech, and academic research, with native integration into Thermo instruments and a much broader enterprise footprint than LabKey. It competes directly with LabKey LIMS in regulated life sciences labs while offering a vastly larger instrument ecosystem and consulting services.
• Agilent Technologies (Lab Informatics): Agilent offers OpenLab LIMS and chromatography/spectroscopy informatics across pharma, environmental, and academic labs with deep instrument integration. It competes with LabKey in regulated analytical labs and brings the breadth of a major life-science instrumentation vendor, contrasting with LabKey's software-only, configurable focus.

Emerging players

• TetraScience: TetraScience is an emerging scientific data cloud (SDC) that ingests instrument and lab data into a unified data lakehouse for life sciences — directly mirroring the SDMS/data-platform layer that LabKey Server provides as its foundation. Both target the same shift from on-prem LIMS to cloud-native lab data infrastructure, though TetraScience focuses more on raw instrument data pipelines while LabKey emphasizes configurable workflows on top.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LabKey
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@labkey-software
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/labkey-software
• Instagraminstagram.com/labkeynow
• Facebookfacebook.com/219773802582

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 LabKey Software