Pathomation
Pathomation is a Belgian digital pathology software company that builds a CE-IVD certified, vendor-agnostic image management and viewing platform (PMA.core) spanning clinical diagnostics, life science research, education, pharma/CRO, and AI marketplace workflows. It sells through enterprise licenses, a global distributor network across 10+ countries, and cloud self-service to hospitals, universities, and pharmaceutical companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersAntwerp, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Pathomation does
Pathomation is a Belgian digital pathology software company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Berchem (Antwerp metropolitan area), operating as Pathomation BV. The company builds a modular software ecosystem anchored by PMA.core, a CE-IVD certified tile server and image management engine that supports 76 whole slide image formats from all major scanner vendors (Aperio/Leica, Philips, Hamamatsu, 3DHistech, Roche/Ventana, Olympus, Motic, Zeiss, Huron) across brightfield, fluorescence, and Z-stacked imaging. Its product portfolio spans PIMSDX for clinical diagnostic workflows, PIMSLS for life sciences research, PathoTrainer for biomarker education and proficiency testing, My Pathomation for cloud-based collaboration, and PMA.start as a free viewer. An AI Marketplace aggregates third-party CE-IVD certified algorithms (Mindpeak for Ki-67/HER2/PD-L1, Aiosyn for QC and mitotic counting) under a token-based pay-per-analysis billing model, with integration into LIS, EMR, PACS, and laboratory instruments via HL7/FHIR APIs.
The company sells through multiple channels: direct enterprise sales to diagnostic labs, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies; a global distributor network spanning Japan, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Romania, Croatia, Greece, Switzerland, Argentina, and the USA; self-service cloud signup through My Pathomation (free tier plus Education, Case Sharing & AI, and Enterprise plans); and OEM/white-label licensing of PMA.core to scanner manufacturers, LIS vendors, and healthcare IT providers. Revenue is generated from annual software subscriptions, tiered cloud subscriptions, usage-based AI marketplace billing, professional services for LIS integration and validation, and custom OEM development. Pathomation holds ISO 13485:2016 certification, CE-IVD marking under EU Directive 98/79/EC, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant audit trails, and is pursuing ISO 27001 and FDA 510(k) clearance. Named customers include AZ Zeno hospital (Belgium, 7,500 biopsies per year), University of Antwerp (2,500 students across 7 programs), Maastricht University, Envision Sciences, and NHS; the My Pathomation cloud platform reports 2,000+ registered users as of early 2025.
The company was founded by Rudy Hovelinck (CEO), Wim Waelput (DPO, Co-founder), Mark Kockx (Co-founder, deceased), and Yves Sucaet (Co-founder) and remains founder-controlled with no disclosed venture or private equity funding to date; the only disclosed funding event is a 1.6M EUR Eurostars grant awarded in 2023 to a consortium including Pathomation, Aiosyn, and Radboud University Medical Center for AI-powered renal diagnostics (AWAKE project).
Pathomation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pathomation
- Legal name
- Pathomation BV
- Website
- https://pathomation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pathomation is a Belgian digital pathology software company that builds a CE-IVD certified, vendor-agnostic image management and viewing platform (PMA.core) spanning clinical diagnostics, life science research, education, pharma/CRO, and AI marketplace workflows. It sells through enterprise licenses, a global distributor network across 10+ countries, and cloud self-service to hospitals, universities, and pharmaceutical companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pathomation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Pathology Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Anatomic Pathology LIS & Digital Pathology Workflow (HLACAMAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Companion Diagnostic (CDx) Co-Development Services (biopharma partnerships, clinical strategy) (HLAAAMAB), Pathology Reporting, Synoptic Templates & Cancer Registry Interfaces (HLACAMAJ)
Keywords
Where Pathomation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Antwerp
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pathomation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licenses and Subscriptions: Annual subscription-based licensing model for software products including PIMS DX, PIMS LS, and PathoTrainer. Pricing subject to yearly review based on Belgian Consumer Price Index. Includes basic SLA with extended Silver SLA available for purchase.
- Cloud Platform (My Pathomation): Tiered subscription plans for cloud-based digital pathology platform including Free (10GB), Education & Collaboration, and Case Sharing & AI plans. Storage scales from 25GB to unlimited with additional user seats.
- AI Marketplace - Pay-per-Analysis: Token-based credit system for AI algorithm usage. Users pay per analysis when running AI image analysis tools including QC algorithms and biomarker analysis for breast and lung cancer.
- Professional Services: Implementation guidance including infrastructure sizing, workflow analysis, LIS integration planning, QC setup, AI rule configuration, and validation support. Onboarding and project management services.
- OEM and Custom Development: Custom development and expert project services for OEM companies and pharmaceutical sector partners requiring tailored digital pathology solutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Plan - Basic cloud access with limited storage |
| Subscription | Annual | Education & Collaboration Plan - Teaching and training focused |
| Subscription | Annual | Case Sharing & AI Plan - Clinical collaboration and AI access |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Licenses - Full software deployment |
| Subscription | Annual | Academic License - University and research institution pricing |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Pathomation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pathomation develops and sells a modular digital pathology software ecosystem built around its CE-IVD certified PMA.core tile server technology. The portfolio includes PIMSDX for clinical diagnostics, PIMSLS for life science research, My Pathomation cloud platform for collaboration, and PathoTrainer for biomarker education and proficiency testing. All products share a vendor-agnostic architecture supporting 76+ whole slide image formats from all major scanner vendors, with an integrated AI Marketplace for third-party algorithm deployment.
Product overview
Pathomation offers a modular software ecosystem for digital pathology built around their core PMA.core technology backbone. The portfolio includes PIMSDX (diagnostic IMS with CE-IVD certification), PIMSLS (research platform), My Pathomation (cloud-based collaboration and AI platform), and PathoTrainer (education and biomarker training). The AI Marketplace provides integrated access to third-party AI algorithms for quality control and biomarker analysis. PMA.start offers a free viewer, and the PATCHA gamification tool supports HER2 scoring education. All solutions share the PMA.core imaging technology, allowing improvements to translate immediately across applications while enabling specific workflows for diagnostics, research, education, and pharma/CRO use cases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- PMA.core: Core technology backbone - tile server, image management engine, storage connector, API layer, and universal viewer backend powering all Pathomation solutions
- PMA.start
- PIMSDX
- PIMSLS
- My Pathomation
- PathoTrainer
- AI Marketplace
- PATCHA
Products and services
- PIMSDX (PIMS for Diagnostics) A diagnostic Image Management System (IMS) for clinical digital pathology workflows. Built on CE-IVD certified PMA.core engine, providing compliant viewing, measurement capabilities, case lists, QC, annotation tools, audit trail, and LIS integration for routine diagnostic pathology labs.
- PIMSLS (PIMS for Life Sciences) A research-focused solution for life sciences, AI development, dataset management, and multi-modal workflows. Supports exploratory tissue analysis, large-scale collaborative research, and integrates with third-party AI algorithms.
- My Pathomation A cloud-based digital pathology platform for storing, viewing, organizing, annotating, and sharing whole slide images. Includes access to AI Marketplace, case sharing, courses, quizzes, and multiple account types (Personal Workspace, Organization).
- PathoTrainer A platform for biomarker training, proficiency testing, CDx deployment, and regulated training programs. Used by pharmaceutical companies, pathology departments, research institutes, diagnostic AI companies, universities, and quality control organisations for live classes and ring studies.
- PMA.core The tile server and image management engine powering all Pathomation solutions. Acts as the storage connector, API layer, and universal viewer backend. CE-IVD certified for clinical diagnostic use. Supports all major WSI formats (brightfield, fluorescence, Z-stacking).
- AI Marketplace An integrated ecosystem allowing labs and researchers to connect AI tools into diagnostic or research workflows. Features ready-to-use third-party algorithms for image quality control and biomarker analysis (breast and lung cancer). Pay-per-analysis billing model.
Quantifiable outcome
- 2,500 students from 7 programs use virtual microscopy at University of Antwerp annually
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Pathomation
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Pathomation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
AI capability4 records
Feature8 records
Pathomation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- MindpeakcoreStrategic partnership integrating Mindpeak's CE-IVD certified AI algorithms including Ki-67, HER2, and '0-click' PD-L1 scoring for lung, bladder, gastric, breast, and esophagus tissue types into Pathomation's modular software ecosystem. Partnership enables pathology labs to seamlessly deploy AI-powered diagnostics without custom integrations.
- AiosyncoreStrategic partnership expanded to integrate Aiosyn's IVDR-certified AI algorithms (AiosynQC for slide quality control, Aiosyn Mitosis Breast for mitotic counting) into Pathomation's AI Marketplace. Collaboration also includes ongoing joint development on the Eurostars-funded AWAKE project for AI-powered renal diagnostics, combining academic research expertise with commercial pathology software.
- Radboud University Medical CentercoreEurostars AWAKE project partnership for developing AI-powered kidney diagnostics algorithms. Radboud UMC provides academic research expertise and clinical validation capabilities for AI algorithm development. The 1.6M EUR project aims to bring first AI-powered solution for renal diagnostics to market.
- Bio Optic S.R.L.minorExclusive distributor for Argentina market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products in the region.
- Cornell Scientific Instruments Pvt. Ltd.minorDistributor for India market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products.
- Filgen IncminorDistributor for Japan market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products in Japan.
- Pathology Ware International Co. Ltd.minorDistributor for Thailand market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products.
- Hypo tech & ConsultingminorDistributor for Romania market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products.
- AstraFokusminorDistributor for Croatia market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products.
- BioAnalyticaminorDistributor for Greece market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products.
- PathoTec AGminorDistributor for Switzerland market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products.
- OmnibusminorDistributor for Philippines market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products.
- Biolyst ScientificminorDistributor for USA market, providing local sales, implementation support, and customer service for Pathomation products in the United States.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Pathomation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aiforia: Aiforia provides AI-powered image analysis for pathology, with CE-IVD marked algorithms for clinical use. Competes in AI-assisted biomarker scoring for research and diagnostics.
- Proscia: Proscia offers a digital pathology platform (Concentriq) for diagnostics and life sciences, including AI-ready workflows. Direct competitor in anatomic pathology workflow and AI integration.
- Gestalt Diagnostics: Gestalt Diagnostics offers a digital pathology workflow platform (PathFlow) with multi-vendor WSI support and LIS integration. Closely comparable to PIMSDX in clinical diagnostics segment.
- Paige: Paige develops AI-native digital pathology applications including FDA-authorized prostate cancer detection. Directly comparable AI pathology platform targeting clinical diagnostics.
- Indica Labs: Indica Labs provides HALO image analysis and digital pathology software used in research and clinical labs. Directly comparable for WSI viewing, annotation, and AI algorithm deployment.
- Visiopharm: Visiopharm offers image analysis software (Phenoptics, AI-based decision support) for pathology research and clinical workflows. Competes with Pathomation's PIMSDX and AI Marketplace.
Emerging players
- Owkin: Owkin applies AI to pathology and oncology with focus on biopharma partnerships and federated learning. Adjacent competitor in AI pathology with different commercial approach.
- Ibex Medical Analytics: Ibex develops AI-based cancer detection and decision-support algorithms deployed via Galen platform. Overlaps with Pathomation's AI Marketplace strategy but focuses on AI-first clinical products.
Broad incumbents
- Sectra: Sectra is an established enterprise imaging vendor offering PACS with pathology module. Broader incumbent in healthcare IT that competes for enterprise pathology workflow budgets.
- Philips (Digital Pathology): Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution bundles scanner, workflow software, and AI for clinical labs. Large incumbent with integrated offering that competes against Pathomation's vendor-agnostic approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pathomation social profiles
Digital presencePathomation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Pathomation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pathomation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Pathomation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pathomation 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 Pathomation
What does Pathomation do?
Pathomation develops and sells a modular digital pathology software ecosystem built around its CE-IVD certified PMA.core tile server technology. The portfolio includes PIMSDX for clinical diagnostics, PIMSLS for life science research, My Pathomation cloud platform for collaboration, and PathoTrainer for biomarker education and proficiency testing. All products share a vendor-agnostic architecture supporting 76+ whole slide image formats from all major scanner vendors, with an integrated AI Marketplace for third-party algorithm deployment.
Is Pathomation a public or private company?
Pathomation is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Pathomation founded?
Pathomation was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pathomation based?
Pathomation is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Pathomation make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses and Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are cloud Platform (My Pathomation), AI Marketplace - Pay-per-Analysis, professional Services and OEM and Custom Development.
Who are Pathomation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aiforia, Proscia, Gestalt Diagnostics, Paige, Indica Labs and Visiopharm. Emerging players are Owkin and Ibex Medical Analytics. Broad incumbents are Sectra and Philips (Digital Pathology).
Does Pathomation have an API?
Yes. Pathomation provides Open APIs, SDKs & Plugins for developer access. Custom API connections are supported for integration with LIS, EMR, scanners, LIMS, and AI tools. The integration engine supports HL7/FHIR messages and bidirectional data exchange. Developer documentation is at www.pathomation.com/api-sdk-plugins.
What industry is Pathomation in?
Pathomation's product category is Digital Pathology Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAMAB, Anatomic Pathology LIS & Digital Pathology Workflow, with a secondary code of HLAAAMAB, Companion Diagnostic (CDx) Co-Development Services (biopharma partnerships, clinical strategy). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.