What Aat Bioquest does

AAT Bioquest, Inc. is a privately held US-based bioreagent company headquartered in Pleasanton, California, founded in 2006 and operating with 11-50 employees. The company develops, manufactures, and sells a catalog of over 5,000 products centered on photometric probe technologies spanning colorimetric, fluorimetric, and luminescent detection platforms. Its branded product portfolio includes calcium indicators (Fluo-8, Cal-520, Calbryte 520 AM), fluorescent labeling dyes (iFluor), nuclear staining dyes (Nuclear Green/Orange/Red/Violet/Yellow), TR-FRET probes (trFluor), dark quenchers (Black Hole Quencher, Tide Quenchers), enzyme activity assays (Amplite), signal amplification reagents (Power Styramide), antibody labeling kits (ReadiLink), DNA gel stains (Gelite, Cyber Green/Orange), and cell analysis kits (Cell Meter, CytoTrace, CytoTell, Live/Dead assays). These products are sold to academic researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and diagnostic R&D teams for life science research, drug discovery, and assay development applications.

The company operates two complementary revenue streams: catalog product sales (one-time purchase of off-the-shelf reagents with net-30 payment terms and quote-based pricing) and professional services including custom synthesis, bioconjugation, antibody development, assay development, HTS development, and contract research. Distribution combines direct channels (e-commerce website, phone, fax, email, purchase orders) with an international distributor network and an OEM partner channel that allows third parties to embed AAT products. Marketing is content-driven, anchored by the AssayWise Letters annual publication (since 2012), webinars, 308+ application notes, selection guides, and interactive tools such as the Spectrum Viewer and Degree of Labeling Calculator. The company emphasizes an integrative chemistry-biology-informatics R&D approach and identifies its scientific team as a primary competitive advantage.

Name

Aat Bioquest

Legal name

AAT Bioquest, Inc.

Website

https://aatbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AAT Bioquest is a US-based private bioreagent company that develops and sells over 5,000 photometric probes, fluorescent dyes, assay kits, and custom synthesis services to life science researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, and diagnostic R&D teams worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Science Research Reagents

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomarker Assay & Reagent Development (LDT/IVD assay design, antibodies/standards/controls) (HLAAAMAL), Cell-Based & Potency Assays (Bioassays) (HLAGADAH)

Keywords

• Fluorescent probes
• Assay kits
• Bioreagents
• Bioconjugation reagents
• Life science research reagents

Headquarters

HQ city

Sunnyvale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Catalog Product Sales: Sale of fluorescent probes, assay kits, and biological detection reagents from a catalog of over 5,000 items. Products include fluorescent dyes, luminescent compounds, enzyme substrates, live/dead cell assays, calcium indicators, and related reagents. One-time purchase model with standard net-30 payment terms.
2. Custom Synthesis Services: Custom synthesis of colorimetric, fluorescent, and luminescent probes; hapten molecules; enzyme substrates and inhibitors; crosslinkers; clickable probes; and biotin derivatives. Services include antigen conjugation, biotin labeling, fluorescent labeling, and TR-FRET labeling.
3. Assay Development Services: Custom development of biochemical, cell-based, and diagnostic assays including luminescence-based assays, flow cytometry assays, fluorescence imaging assays, enzyme activity assays, and lead compound identification.
4. Contract Research Services: High-throughput screening services using validated HTS assays for ADME, enzyme inhibitors, GPCR targets, ion channels, protease targets, protein kinase inhibitors, and protein phosphatase inhibitors. Includes TR-FRET technologies and point of care technologies.
5. HTS Development Services: Custom screening of compound libraries against defined targets using validated high-throughput screening assays.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AAT Bioquest develops, manufactures, and sells a catalog of more than 5,000 bioreagents — fluorescent probes, luminescent reagents, assay kits, calcium indicators, nuclear dyes, antibody labeling kits, signal amplification reagents, and nucleic acid stains — used by life science researchers in biochemistry, immunology, cell biology, and molecular biology, and by pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostic R&D organizations for drug discovery and assay development. The company also provides custom services (custom synthesis, antibody development, assay development, bioconjugation, contract research, and HTS development) complementing its catalog offerings.

Product overview

AAT Bioquest is a US-based bioreagents company specializing in assay technologies for life science research, drug discovery, and diagnostic R&D. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of over 5,000 products centered on fluorescent probes, luminescent reagents, and assay kits. The core product lines include iFluor® Dyes for bioconjugation spanning UV to NIR, Calbryte™ and Fluo-8® calcium indicators, Nuclear dye series (Nuclear Orange, Nuclear Red, Nuclear Yellow, Nuclear Violet) for DNA staining, Gelite™ Safe DNA stains, Power Styramide™ signal amplification, Amplite™ enzyme activity assay kits, ReadiLink™ antibody labeling kits, and Cell Meter™, CytoTrace™, and CytoTell™ cell analysis products. The portfolio integrates with complementary tools including the interactive Spectrum Viewer for fluorophore selection and Degree of Labeling Calculator for conjugation optimization. Beyond catalog products, AAT Bioquest provides custom services including antibody development, assay development, bioconjugation, contract research, custom synthesis, and HTS development for specialized research needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fluo-8®: Calcium indicator product line for cellular calcium detection
• Cal-520®
• Cell Meter™
• Amplite™
• CytoTrace™
• CytoTell™
• iFluor® Dyes
• Power Styramide™ Signal Amplification
• ReadiLink™ Antibody Labeling Kits
• Gelite™ Safe
• Nuclear dye series
• ReadiView™ Biotin
• Live and Dead Cell Assays
• Actin and Tubulin Probes
• Fluorescent Beta-Amyloid Probes
• Calbryte™ 520 AM
• trFluor™
• ROS Brite™
• Tide Quenchers™

Products and services

• Calbryte™ 520 AM Robust calcium indicator with exceptional brightness and signal-to-background ratio for calcium signaling research.
• Fluo-8® Calcium Indicators Bright green fluorescent calcium indicators, 2x brighter than Fluo-4 AM and 4x brighter than Fluo-3 AM in cells, requiring only room temperature for cell loading, spectrally compatible with Fluo-4 AM (excitation ~490 nm, emission ~520 nm).
• Cal-520® Green Fluorescent Calcium Dye Best green fluorescent Ca2+ dye for calcium signaling research, recognized in the life science research community.
• Cell Meter™ Assay Kits Assay kits for measuring various cellular parameters and functions.
• Amplite™ Enzyme Activity Assay Kits Enzyme activity assay kits for detection of various enzymes including NAD, NADH, NADP, NADPH, proteases, and others; includes the proprietary DTT-free luciferase reporter gene assay formulation detecting as low as 0.1 pg/well with signal half-life exceeding 4 hours.
• iFluor® Dyes Fluorescent dyes for bioconjugation spanning UV to NIR wavelengths, used for labeling antibodies and other biomolecules; iFluor 594 demonstrated lower background staining versus Alexa Fluor 594 in immunofluorescence.
• Power Styramide™ Signal Amplification Signal amplification system for low-abundance target detection in cells and tissues using styrylamide chemistry.
• ReadiLink™ Antibody Labeling Kits Antibody labeling kits requiring only two mixing steps with no purification needed to label antibodies with fluorescent dyes or biotin.
• Live and Dead Cell Assays Fixable and non-fixable viability kits for flow cytometry and microscopy applications.
• Actin and Tubulin Probes Phalloidin and Tubulite™ stains for cytoskeletal imaging across multiple fluorescence channels.
• Fluorescent Beta-Amyloid Probes Dye-labeled Aβ peptides for studying protein aggregation and neurodegeneration research.
• Gelite™ Safe DNA Stains Stable, sensitive DNA stain for gel electrophoresis providing a safer alternative to ethidium bromide.
• Nuclear Orange™ LCS1 Fluorogenic, DNA-selective and cell-permeant dye for analyzing DNA content in living cells with orange fluorescence enhancement upon DNA binding.
• Nuclear Red™ LCS1 Fluorogenic, DNA-selective and cell-permeant dye for red fluorescence enhancement upon DNA binding in living cells.
• Nuclear Yellow Long-wavelength Hoechst-based tracer for neuronal mapping and DNA staining with yellow fluorescence.
• Nuclear Orange™ DCS1 Fluorogenic, DNA-selective and cell-impermeant dye for analyzing DNA content in dead, fixed or apoptotic cells.
• Black Hole Quencher (BHQ) Dark quencher molecules covering 430–730 nm for suppressing fluorophore emission via FRET and static quenching, with >89% quenching efficiency for nucleic acid detection.
• trFluor™ Time-Resolved Fluorescent Probes Time-resolved fluorescent probes with large Stokes shifts and long emission half-lives optimized for TR-FRET applications; trFluor Eu and trFluor Tb offer high stability and higher conjugation yield than other TRF dyes.
• CytoTrace™ Cell Tracing Dyes Cell tracing dyes for tracking cell proliferation and migration.
• CytoTell™ Fluorescent Cell Dyes Fluorescent cell dyes for long-term cell tracking applications.
• Custom Synthesis Services Custom synthesis of haptens, luminescent compounds, fluorescent probes, enzyme substrates, enzyme inhibitors, crosslinkers, clickable probes, and biotin derivatives for specialized research needs.
• Assay Development Services Custom development of biochemical, cell-based, and diagnostic assays including luminescence-based assays, lead compound identification, flow cytometry assays, fluorescence imaging assays, enzyme activity assays, and cell-based assays.
• Antibody Development Services Custom antibody development including antigen conjugation, antigen development, cell signaling antibodies, secondary antibodies, and small molecule antibodies.
• Bioconjugation Services Custom bioconjugation services including alkaline phosphatase conjugation, APC and PE tandem conjugation, biotin labeling, fluorescence labeling, HRP conjugation, streptavidin conjugation, and TR-FRET labeling.
• Contract Research Services Contract research including lead compound identification, TR-FRET technologies, point of care technologies, luminescence technologies, labeling technologies, and nanoparticle development.
• HTS Development Services High-throughput screening development services for ADME, enzyme inhibitors, glucose transporter targets, GPCR targets, ion channels, protease targets, protein kinase inhibitors, and protein phosphatase inhibitors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fluo-8 AM is 2x brighter than Fluo-4 AM and 4x brighter than Fluo-3 AM in cells
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Biotium: Biotium is a closely comparable specialty reagent company offering fluorescent dyes, antibody labeling kits, viability assays, and nucleic acid stains with a similar focus on novel chemistry (e.g., CF dyes, NucView, NucSpot). It directly competes with AAT Bioquest across calcium indicators, nuclear stains, bioconjugation reagents, and cell-based assays.
• Abcam: Abcam is a leading supplier of antibodies and antibody-related reagents, including conjugated primary antibodies and recombinant antibody labeling tools. It directly overlaps with AAT Bioquest's iFluor dyes, ReadiLink antibody labeling kits, and conjugated secondary antibody offerings for research customers.
• Promega Corporation: Promega manufactures bioluminescent and fluorescent assay kits, reporter gene assays, and live-cell analysis reagents that overlap with AAT Bioquest's Amplite luciferase kits, cell viability assays, and luminescent detection chemistries. Both target pharma, biotech, and academic researchers.
• Cayman Chemical: Cayman Chemical is a specialty biochemical reagent supplier offering assay kits, fluorescent probes, antibodies, and custom synthesis services. Its catalog breadth, custom services model, and target customer base (academic and pharma researchers) closely mirror AAT Bioquest's offering.
• Cell Signaling Technology: Cell Signaling Technology (CST) is a major producer of antibodies, antibody conjugates, and assay kits for cell signaling research. Its fluorescent-conjugated antibodies and supporting reagents directly overlap with AAT Bioquest's antibody labeling reagents and signaling pathway probes.
• AnaSpec: AnaSpec (a Kaneka company) provides custom peptide synthesis, fluorescent peptides, antibody development, and assay kits. Its custom services and specialty reagents portfolio closely mirrors AAT Bioquest's custom synthesis, bioconjugation, and Beta-Amyloid probe offerings for research customers.

Broad incumbents

• Bio-Techne: Bio-Techne (including Tocris Bioscience and ProteinSimple) is a much larger life science tools company with overlapping reagent and assay kit portfolios (proteins, antibodies, small molecules, dyes). It competes with AAT Bioquest on assay kits, fluorescent reagents, and HTS-grade chemistries across academic and pharma customers.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen / Molecular Probes): Thermo Fisher's Molecular Probes brand is the historical leader in fluorescent dyes and labeling chemistries (FITC, Alexa Fluor, Texas Red, etc.). It offers overlapping products (calcium indicators, nuclear stains, antibody labeling kits) but as part of a vastly broader life science tools portfolio, making it a broad incumbent rather than a direct niche competitor.
• Sigma-Aldrich (Merck KGaA): Sigma-Aldrich/Merck offers an enormous catalog of fluorescent probes, assay kits, dyes, and life science reagents that overlap with AAT Bioquest's product lines. As a global incumbent with broad portfolio and bundled pricing, it competes on availability and convenience rather than specialized chemistry.
• PerkinElmer (Revvity): Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer's life sciences business) supplies assay kits, fluorescent reagents, and high-throughput screening technologies (including TR-FRET/LANCE platform) that directly overlap with AAT Bioquest's trFluor probes and HTS Development services. It is a broad incumbent operating across life sciences and diagnostics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AATBioquest
• Facebookfacebook.com/AATBioquest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Aat Bioquest