Trace First
Trace First is a cloud-based SaaS provider of animal health information, laboratory management, and licensing systems, serving US state agriculture departments, university and government veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and federal partners across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersMoira, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Trace First does
Trace First is a privately held, cloud-based software company founded in Northern Ireland in 2007 that builds information systems for animal health, veterinary laboratory, and regulatory licensing workflows. Its flagship CoreOne platform is an off-the-shelf, fully web-based Animal Health Information System managing premises, herds, animals, movements, treatments, tests, and vaccinations — running more than 60 deployed systems and 700 million+ records across US state agriculture departments. The company has extended CoreOne into two adjacent products: CoreOne for Labs, a cloud-native Laboratory Information Management System launched in 2018 and adopted by veterinary diagnostic labs across the US, Canada, and Australia; and CoreOne LCP, a licensing, certification and permitting system. Supporting modules include CVI Central (electronic and paper Certificate of Veterinary Inspection processing), StateVet.com (a free traceability data feed for CoreOne states), InterstateLivestock.com (operated for USAHA), and CoreOne Analytics (powered by Amazon QuickSight). All products are hosted on Amazon Web Services and configured per customer without code changes, with NAHLN-compliant messaging, USDA APHIS integrations, and SOC 2 Type 2 certification completed in January 2025.
Trace First generates revenue primarily through annual enterprise subscriptions (CoreOne, CoreOne for Labs, CVI Central) plus professional services for data migration and training. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with a freemium tier (StateVet Lite) extended to states already using CoreOne. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting state departments of agriculture, university veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and federal partners (USDA Veterinary Services has relied on CoreOne as a central Surveillance Collaboration Services component since 2011); the company leverages the NASPO contracting vehicle for streamlined state procurement, sustained conference presence at USAHA and AAVLD, and reference customers in more than half of US states. The company is led by co-founders Michael McGrath and Brian Morrow with Dr. Brian McCluskey (ex-USDA Veterinary Services) directing business development; it operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries in Fort Collins, Colorado and Sydney, Australia alongside its Moira, Northern Ireland headquarters.
Trace First firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Trace First
- Legal name
- Trace First Limited
- Website
- https://tracefirst.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Trace First is a cloud-based SaaS provider of animal health information, laboratory management, and licensing systems, serving US state agriculture departments, university and government veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and federal partners across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Trace First industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Veterinary and Animal Health Software
- NAICS
- Veterinary Services (54194), Veterinary Services (541940)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Inventory, Procurement & Supplier Connectivity (Stock, Ordering, Price Catalogs) (HLAMAGAG)
Keywords
Where Trace First is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Moira
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Trace First business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licensing and Subscription: Off-the-shelf software solutions sold as cloud-hosted subscriptions or on-premise licenses. CoreOne, CoreOne for Labs, and CVI Central are offered as annual subscription services with hosting provided on Amazon Web Services infrastructure.
- Implementation and Data Migration Services: Professional services for system implementation, data migration from legacy systems, and training programs. Includes on-site and web-based training to maximize customer ROI.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise subscription for government and laboratory clients |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | StateVet Lite - Free tier for CoreOne states |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Trace First product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Trace First develops and sells cloud-based, web-hosted software for animal health information management, veterinary laboratory information management (LIMS), and licensing/certification/permitting programs. Its core platforms — CoreOne, CoreOne for Labs, and CoreOne LCP — are built on Amazon Web Services infrastructure and serve state departments of agriculture, veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and regulatory bodies across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Supporting products include CVI Central for veterinary inspection certificates, StateVet.com for livestock traceability, and professional services for data migration and training.
Product overview
Trace First offers a suite of animal health, laboratory management, and licensing systems. The core platform consists of three main products: CoreOne (Animal Health Information System), CoreOne for Labs (Laboratory Information Management System), and CoreOne LCP (Licensing, Certification & Permitting). Supporting modules include CVI Central (certificate management), StateVet.com (traceability data), InterstateLivestock.com (USAHA portal), and CoreOne Analytics (business intelligence). The company also provides data migration and training services. Products are hosted on Amazon Web Services infrastructure and operate as fully web-based, cloud-ready solutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CoreOne: Off-the-shelf web-based Animal Health Information System for comprehensive animal health data management including premises, herds, animals, movements, treatments, tests and vaccinations
- CoreOne for Labs
- CVI Central
- StateVet.com
- InterstateLivestock.com
- CoreOne LCP
- Trace First University
Products and services
- CoreOne Animal Health Information System Flagship web-based Animal Health Information System providing comprehensive animal information management including premises, herds, animals, movements, treatments, tests, and vaccinations. Features CoreOne Insight reporting, Google Maps visualization, and thematic mapping. Deployed across 60+ systems managing 700M+ records, used by more than half of US states as their de facto animal health database.
- CoreOne for Labs (LIMS) Cloud-based Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for veterinary diagnostic and technical services laboratories. Features configurable test definitions without code changes, bidirectional instrument integration, custom barcode labels, an integrated real-time client portal, and professional report generation. Supports NAHLN-compliant messaging for regulatory test reporting.
- CoreOne LCP (Licensing, Certification & Permitting) Licensing, Certification and Permitting Systems product offering configurability, flexibility and security for an organization's licensing, certification and permitting programs.
- CVI Central Cloud-based portal for managing Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) workflows, handling both electronic and paper certificates with direct integration of eCVIs meeting the USAHA XML standard. Includes automatic data collection, compliance tracking, and non-compliance case management.
- StateVet.com Web application processing millions of animal sightings and movements annually, supporting animal traceability and interstate livestock movement. Processes eCVIs adhering to the USAHA eCVI XML standard. Free version (StateVet Lite) available for states utilizing CoreOne.
- Data Migration Services Professional service for migration of legacy data into Trace First applications using a risk-minimizing methodology customized to exact customer requirements. Trace First has migrated billions of records from legacy systems into its applications.
- Training Services Comprehensive range of on-site and web-based training programs to help customers maximize return on investment in Trace First products. Training is positioned as an essential part of customer onboarding and ongoing product adoption.
Quantifiable outcome
- 700+ million records managed across 60+ deployed systems
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Trace First
Customer profileNamed customers19 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Trace First technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature8 records
Trace First partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- USDA APHIScoreActive integration with USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service systems. Trace First operates www.interstatelivestock.com for USAHA and integrates with USDA's electronic messaging system for Animal Health Event Repository (AHER) data transmission. Also integrates with VSPS Excel spreadsheets and NAHLN messaging systems.
- Amazon Web ServicescoreCore cloud infrastructure provider for hosting Trace First applications. Systems are deployed on Amazon's infrastructure for maximum performance and security. CoreOne Analytics is powered by Amazon QuickSight business intelligence service.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Trace First competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- STARLIMS (Abbott Informatics): STARLIMS provides laboratory information management systems used by public health, veterinary, and agricultural laboratories. Comparable to CoreOne for Labs as a competing LIMS platform for the same veterinary diagnostic lab customer segment.
- LabWare: LabWare is an established LIMS vendor serving clinical, veterinary, and analytical laboratories worldwide. Directly comparable to Trace First's CoreOne for Labs offering, but with a much broader customer base across many lab types, including veterinary diagnostics.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (SampleManager LIMS): Thermo Fisher's SampleManager is an enterprise LIMS widely deployed in regulated laboratory environments. Comparable to CoreOne for Labs at the high end of the lab informatics market, including government and public sector lab customers.
- IDEXX Laboratories: IDEXX is a leading veterinary diagnostics and software company offering practice management, in-clinic analyzers, and reference lab services. A broad incumbent in animal health IT, with adjacent offerings to both Trace First's CoreOne and CoreOne for Labs.
- LabVantage Solutions: LabVantage provides enterprise LIMS used by government, public health, and analytical laboratories. Comparable to CoreOne for Labs as an alternative LIMS option for veterinary diagnostic and regulatory laboratories.
Direct peers
- CloudLIMS: CloudLIMS is a cloud-hosted LIMS provider with specific positioning in veterinary, clinical, and biobanking labs. Closely comparable to CoreOne for Labs in deployment model and target lab segments.
- AgInfoLink (Allflex/MSD Animal Health): AgInfoLink, part of Allflex/MSD, provides livestock traceability and movement recording platforms used by states and producers. Directly comparable to Trace First's CVI Central and StateVet.com in electronic CVI and interstate livestock movement processing.
- Sapio Sciences: Sapio Sciences offers a cloud-native LIMS and lab informatics platform targeting clinical and research labs. Comparable to CoreOne for Labs in modern architecture and configurability, with overlap in veterinary and life sciences lab customers.
Emerging players
- ezyVet: ezyVet is a cloud veterinary practice management platform that already integrates with Trace First's CoreOne for Labs. Operates in the broader animal health software ecosystem and shares lab and hospital customers with Trace First.
Regional players
- Livestock Information Service (UK): Livestock Information Service is the UK government-backed traceability platform for cattle, sheep, and pigs in Great Britain. Comparable to CoreOne and StateVet.com in functionality, but operates as a UK public-sector entity rather than a commercial vendor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Trace First social profiles
Digital presenceTrace First compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Trace First financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Trace First leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Trace First subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Trace First funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Trace First 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 Trace First
What does Trace First do?
Trace First develops and sells cloud-based, web-hosted software for animal health information management, veterinary laboratory information management (LIMS), and licensing/certification/permitting programs. Its core platforms — CoreOne, CoreOne for Labs, and CoreOne LCP — are built on Amazon Web Services infrastructure and serve state departments of agriculture, veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and regulatory bodies across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Supporting products include CVI Central for veterinary inspection certificates, StateVet.com for livestock traceability, and professional services for data migration and training.
Is Trace First a public or private company?
Trace First is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Trace First founded?
Trace First was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Trace First based?
Trace First is headquartered in Moira, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Trace First make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Software Licensing and Subscription is the primary driver. The others are implementation and Data Migration Services.
Who are Trace First's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are STARLIMS (Abbott Informatics), LabWare, Thermo Fisher Scientific (SampleManager LIMS), IDEXX Laboratories and LabVantage Solutions. Direct peers are CloudLIMS, AgInfoLink (Allflex/MSD Animal Health) and Sapio Sciences. ezyVet is listed as an emerging player. Livestock Information Service (UK) is listed as a regional player.
Does Trace First have an API?
No public API is recorded for Trace First.
What industry is Trace First in?
Trace First's product category is Veterinary and Animal Health Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAMAGAG, Inventory, Procurement & Supplier Connectivity (Stock, Ordering, Price Catalogs). Its NAICS code is 54194.