BioTek Instruments

What BioTek Instruments does

BioTek Instruments, founded in 1968 and headquartered in Winooski, Vermont, designs and manufactures life science instrumentation for cell analysis and microplate-based workflows. Originally a biomedical device manufacturer, the company began producing microplate instrumentation in 1981 and built a 50-year reputation as a global leader in cell analysis tools for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clinical, and academic research applications. Its product portfolio centers on cell imaging multimode readers (Cytation), automated microscopes (Lionheart), microplate readers, washers and dispensers, and automation accessories including the BioSpa 8 incubator and BioStack plate stacker with patented delidding/relidding capability. All instruments are unified by Gen5 software for image capture, processing, and analysis.

Since its 2019 acquisition by Agilent Technologies, BioTek has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary and brand within Agilent's life sciences division, distributed through Agilent's global direct sales force and e-commerce platform. The business model is anchored on configured hardware sales of mid- to high-ASP capital instruments, with recurring software and service revenue through Gen5 and Agilent's service agreements. Revenue is not separately disclosed; the brand is positioned within Agilent's Life Sciences and Applied Markets Group. Customer segments include pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D, clinical diagnostics laboratories, and academic and government research institutions, with quote-based pricing and multi-year capital equipment refresh cycles defining the revenue mechanics.

Name

BioTek Instruments

Legal name

BioTek Instruments

Website

https://biotek.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

BioTek Instruments, founded in 1968 and now an Agilent Technologies subsidiary, manufactures microplate readers, cell imaging systems, washers, dispensers, and lab automation tools for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clinical, and academic life science research customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Instrumentation

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments (HLAGAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cell Culture & Bioprocess Lab Equipment (Bioreactors, Single-Use Systems, Controllers) (HLAGAIAG)

Keywords

• Microplate instrumentation
• Cell analysis readers
• Automated liquid handling
• Life science imaging
• Laboratory automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Winooski

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, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Microplate Instrumentation Hardware Sales: Sale of cell imaging multimode readers, microplate readers, washers, dispensers, and automation systems. Products are sold as configured instruments with various detection modes and options.
2. Software Licenses and Support: Gen5 software provides experiment definition and data analysis, likely sold with instrument purchases and supported through updates and maintenance agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BioTek Instruments manufactures and sells life science instrumentation focused on microplate-based cell analysis, including cell imaging multimode readers, automated microscopes, microplate readers, washers and dispensers, and automation accessories such as incubators and stackers. Its products are unified by the proprietary Gen5 software platform for image capture, processing, and data analysis, and are sold as configured instruments to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, clinical, and research laboratories through Agilent Technologies' global sales organization.

Product overview

Agilent BioTek is a life science instrumentation company that originated as BioTek Instruments in 1968 and was acquired by Agilent Technologies in 2019. The company offers a unified platform portfolio centered on cell analysis instrumentation for life science research, drug discovery, and molecular analysis. The product ecosystem consists of: the Cytation cell imaging multimode reader and Lionheart automated microscope for imaging and microscopy; multimode and single-mode microplate readers for detection; microplate washers and dispensers for liquid handling; and the BioSpa 8 automated incubator and BioStack microplate stacker for workflow automation. All instruments are powered by the Agilent BioTek Gen5 software, which provides a unified interface for image capture, processing, analysis, and data management across the instrument portfolio. These products integrate with each other to enable complete automated workflows from sample preparation through detection and analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cytation Cell Imaging Multimode Reader Cell imaging multimode reader that combines widefield microscopy and spinning-disk confocal microscopy with multimode detection for diverse cell analysis assay requirements in life science research.
• Lionheart Automated Microscope Compact, easy-to-use automated microscope system for fixed and live-cell imaging workflows in laboratory environments.
• Agilent BioTek Microplate Readers Single- and multimode microplate readers addressing applications from live-cell and microbial growth assays to ELISA and nucleic acid quantification in microplates and microvolumes.
• Agilent BioTek Microplate Washers and Dispensers Compact, highly configurable instruments for ELISA assays, gentle cell washing, and bead washing, offering single-channel, multi-channel, and bulk reagent dispensing in several configurable platforms.
• BioSpa 8 Automated Incubator Automated incubator that links readers or imagers together with washers and dispensers for up to 8 microplates, enabling automated live-cell assay workflows.
• BioStack Microplate Stacker Microplate stacker offering fast plate exchange options and patented plate delidding and relidding to support live-cell assays.
• Agilent BioTek Gen5 Software Software platform providing image capture, processing, and analysis for Cytation and Lionheart imaging systems, and an experiment definition and data analysis interface for the BioTek microplate reader portfolio.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Agilent TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019BioTek Instruments became part of Agilent Technologies in 2019. The acquisition brought together BioTek's cell analysis instrumentation expertise with Agilent's broader life sciences portfolio. Today the BioTek brand operates under Agilent, with instruments continuing to be developed and sold under the Agilent BioTek name.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Agilent Technologies: As BioTek's parent, Agilent also operates in adjacent cell analysis and life sciences instrumentation, including flow cytometry and cell analysis, sharing enterprise customers and overlapping in some product capabilities.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad provides life science research instrumentation including microplate readers and cell biology tools, serving overlapping academic and biotech customers with adjacent technology offerings.
• Beckman Coulter (Danaher): Beckman Coulter provides a broad portfolio of life science and clinical instruments including automated liquid handling and cell analysis, overlapping with BioTek in pharma/biotech and clinical research workflows.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher is a broad incumbent in life science instrumentation with extensive offerings in cell analysis, microplate readers, and lab automation, competing against BioTek's portfolio while serving the same enterprise pharma/biotech customers.

Direct peers

• Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer): Revvity competes directly in cell imaging, high-content screening, and multimode detection, serving the same pharma R&D and academic customer base with overlapping instrumentation and software offerings.
• Hamilton Company: Hamilton is a direct competitor in automated liquid handling and microplate-based workflow automation, particularly strong in laboratory robotics for pharma and biotech applications.
• Tecan Group: Tecan is a leading direct competitor in microplate readers, automated liquid handling, and cell analysis instrumentation, serving overlapping pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic research customers with comparable reader and workflow automation products.
• Molecular Devices (Danaher): Molecular Devices is a direct competitor offering microplate readers, high-content imaging systems, and cellular analysis software widely used in pharma/biotech drug discovery — directly competing with BioTek's Cytation and Lionheart product lines.

Emerging players

• Sony Biotechnology: Sony Biotechnology competes in cell imaging and analysis (notably flow cytometry and live-cell imaging), an emerging adjacency to BioTek's microscopy and cell imaging instrumentation.
• Eppendorf: Eppendorf offers laboratory automation, liquid handling, and cell handling consumables/instruments that compete with portions of BioTek's portfolio, particularly in academic and biotech research markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BioTekTalk

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 BioTek Instruments