Parhelia Biosciences

What Parhelia Biosciences does

Parhelia Biosciences is a privately held Austin, Texas-based life sciences tools company that builds automated sample preparation instruments for spatial biology workflows. Founded in 2021 by Stanford researchers Nikolay Samusik, Yury Goltsev, and Garry Nolan — the same team that created the CODEX technology later commercialized through Akoya Biosciences — the company addresses the labor-intensive, reagent-wasteful, and variability-prone manual protocols that gate spatial proteomics and spatial transcriptomics experiments. Its core technology is a capillary gap liquid exchange approach that forms thin liquid layers for uniform staining while cutting reagent consumption by 50–70% versus open-top staining.

The product portfolio centers on two instrument lines: the Omni-Stainer family (S12 for slide-mounted samples and C12 for coverslip-mounted samples, both released in 2022) and the Spatial Station, a higher-throughput, touchscreen-controlled sample prep platform launched in May 2024 with 0–100°C precision temperature control and a P54 panel mixing module. The instruments are supported by Skylab single-use reagent kits (Dewax, HIER, H&E), the StainWorks no-code protocol software, accessories such as thermal sheaths and conditioning reagents, and validated, pre-built protocols for the dominant spatial biology assays — PhenoCycler/CODEX, GeoMx, Opal/PhenoCode, SignalStar, RNAScope, 10x Visium, and IMC.

Parhelia generates revenue through one-time instrument sales (Spatial Station and Omni-Stainer bundles, with optional automation bundles integrating the Opentrons OT-2 liquid handler), recurring consumable and kit purchases (Skylab reagents, coverpads, conditioning reagent), accessories (pipettes, temperature modules, thermal sheaths), and software services tied to StainWorks. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales — targeting academic core labs and biopharmaceutical R&D groups — with a public e-commerce storefront for accessories and consumables, complemented by conference presence (AACR2025, SITC2024), educational seminars, and an extensive white paper and knowledge base library. The company completed a Series A funding round in October 2023 led by Rabbit Run Partners and Thielsen Capital, alongside industry angels.

Name

Parhelia Biosciences

Legal name

Parhelia Biosciences Corporation

Website

https://parheliabio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Parhelia Biosciences builds automated capillary-gap tissue staining instruments (Omni-Stainer and Spatial Station) and consumable reagent kits for spatial biology sample prep, serving academic core labs and biopharmaceutical researchers with workflows for PhenoCycler, GeoMx, Opal, and 10x Visium.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Instrumentation

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Laboratory Automation, Sample Prep & Liquid Handling (IVD Lab Diagnostics) (HLAHAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI), Sample Collection, Stabilization & Pre-Analytics (biobanking, transport media, extraction kits) (HLAAALAM)

Keywords

• Tissue staining automation
• Spatial biology instruments
• Capillary gap staining
• Spatial sample preparation
• FFPE staining reagents

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

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. Instrument Hardware Sales: Sale of Spatial Station and Omni-Stainer (S12 and C12) instruments. Available as manual operation bundles or automation bundles (with Opentrons integration). Thermal sheath accessories for temperature-controlled protocols.
2. Consumables and Kits: Recurring revenue from single-use consumables including Skylab kits (dewax, HIER, H&E), coverpads, filter paper, support pads, and conditioning reagents. Ongoing reagent consumption tied to instrument usage.
3. Accessories and Parts: Sale of supporting equipment including Opentrons pipettes (p20 GEN2 at $1,250, p300 GEN2 at $1,250), temperature modules ($3,750), and pipette tip racks.
4. Software Services: StainWorks software provided with 90-day free trial for automation bundle purchasers. Potential subscription model for continued software access and protocol updates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Parhelia Biosciences develops and sells automated tissue staining instruments for spatial biology sample preparation, centered on its capillary gap liquid exchange technology. Its Spatial Station and Omni-Stainer (S12/C12) platforms automate FFPE dewaxing, epitope retrieval, H&E, IHC, and multiplexed immunofluorescence workflows, and are paired with single-use Skylab reagent kits and the StainWorks protocol software for academic core labs and biopharma research customers.

Product overview

Parhelia Biosciences is a spatial biology company that emerged from Stanford University, specializing in automated tissue staining and spatial analysis sample preparation. The product portfolio centers on two main instrument lines—the Spatial Station (launched May 2024) as the next-generation sample prep automation platform, and the Omni-Stainer family comprising S12 (for slides) and C12 (for coverslips). These instruments use proprietary capillary gap technology for uniform tissue staining with reduced reagent consumption. The ecosystem is complemented by Skylab single-use reagent kits (including Dewax, HIER, and H&E products), the StainWorks software platform for protocol management, P54 panel storage modules for antibody cocktail preparation, and the Thermal Sheath for temperature-controlled protocols. The company positions its solutions as purpose-built automation for spatial biology workflows including PhenoCycler Fusion, GeoMx, Opal, SignalStar, RNAScope, and 10x Visium.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spatial Station: Purpose-built automation solution for spatial biology sample preparation workflows
• Omni-Stainer
• Skylab
• StainWorks

Products and services

• Parhelia Spatial Station Purpose-built sample prep automation solution for spatial biology workflows. A compact lab device with a touchscreen interface that automates dewaxing, HIER, H&E, IHC, multiplexed IF (Opal, PhenoCycler), IMC, SignalStar, GeoMx, RNAScope, and 10x Visium protocols for academic core labs and biopharma R&D groups.
• Omni-Stainer S12 Precision capillary gap tissue stainer for slide-mounted samples. Uses capillary gap liquid exchange to provide smooth laminar flow of staining reagents, yielding reproducible results with reagent and time savings for up to 12 slides simultaneously.
• Omni-Stainer C12 Precision capillary gap tissue stainer for coverslip-mounted samples. Accommodates 12 coverslip samples (22x22 or 18x18 size) and is compatible with TIRF and cyclic protocols like CODEX and CycIF.
• Skylab Reagent Kits Single-use, scalable reagent kits featuring xylene-free dewaxing, epitope retrieval, H&E staining, and other common protocols. Plug-and-play consumables designed for use with Spatial Station and Omni-Stainer instruments by spatial biology researchers.
• StainWorks Protocol Software Centralized web application for accessing and configuring staining protocols. Provides templating for protocol configuration without Python coding and a global library of validated assay protocols including CODEX, IHC, H&E and others.
• Opentrons OT-2 Automation Bundle Automation bundle pairing the Parhelia Omni-Stainer with the Opentrons OT-2 liquid handling robot, including pre-written protocols and custom labware definitions for OT-2 integration to enable walkaway spatial biology staining at low cost.

Quantifiable outcome

• Uses up to 5X less reagent for Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC) while eliminating leakage risk
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• OpentronscoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial partnership for complete low-cost auto-staining solution. Omni-Stainer compatible with Opentrons OT-2 liquid handling robot. Parhelia provides pre-written protocols for various assays on OT-2 platform. Joint go-to-market for affordable tissue automation.
• HamiltonstrategicTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to bring next generation of sample automation for spatial biology and flow cytometry. Parhelia Spatial Station integration with Hamilton instruments for advanced automation capabilities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 10x Genomics: 10x Genomics offers the Visium and Xenium spatial platforms that Parhelia explicitly supports and integrates with via custom adapters. Both target translational researchers and biopharma with spatial biology workflows spanning sample prep to imaging.
• Akoya Biosciences: Akoya commercializes the PhenoCycler (CODEX) spatial biology platform co-developed by Parhelia's founders. Both companies sell spatial biology instruments, reagents, and software to overlapping academic core lab and biopharma customers, with Parhelia positioned as a complementary sample prep automation provider.
• Standard BioTools (formerly Fluidigm): Standard BioTools sells the Hyperion Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC) system, which Parhelia's Omni-Stainer explicitly supports with up to 5X reagent reduction. Both target translational and immuno-oncology researchers requiring multiplexed spatial tissue analysis.
• NanoString Technologies (Bruker): NanoString's GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler is one of Parhelia's flagship integrated workflows. Both companies sell spatial biology instruments and reagents to the same core labs and translational research customers in cancer and immunology.

Broad incumbents

• Sakura Finetek: Sakura Finetek sells automated tissue processors and staining systems (e.g., Tissue-Tek) used in histology and pathology labs. While focused on clinical histology, Sakura overlaps with Parhelia's IHC and H&E automation workflows in research-adjacent labs.
• Leica Biosystems (Danaher): Leica Biosystems sells the BOND and STELLARIS automated IHC and spatial sample prep instruments widely used in pathology and research labs. As a Danaher-owned incumbent, Leica competes in the same tissue staining automation category as Parhelia.
• Bio-Techne: Bio-Techne offers a broad portfolio of spatial biology reagents, antibodies, and the RNAscope assay that Parhelia automates. As a much larger life sciences tools company, Bio-Techne is both a potential partner and competitor for spatial workflow reagents and automation.

Emerging players

• Cell Signaling Technology: CST offers the SignalStar multiplexed fluorescence assay, which Parhelia explicitly automates on the Spatial Station. Both target translational cancer researchers, with CST primarily a reagent vendor and Parhelia providing the instrument and workflow automation.
• RareCyte: RareCyte sells the Orion spatial biology instrument for multiplexed tissue imaging. Both companies target translational and pharma customers seeking walkaway spatial workflows, though RareCyte offers an integrated imaging platform rather than a sample prep automation layer.
• Vizgen: Vizgen commercializes the MERFISH spatial transcriptomics platform with its own sample prep workflow. Both serve academic and pharma researchers performing single-cell and spatial transcriptomics on tissue sections.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ParheliaBio
• Facebookfacebook.com/ParheliaBio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parhelia-bio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

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 Parhelia Biosciences