What INSCOPER does

INSCOPER SAS is a French private company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cesson-Sévigné, France, that builds a universal microscope control software platform for fluorescence microscopy. Its core offering, Inscoper Imaging Software, is paired with a proprietary hardware appliance called the Inscoper Device Controller that synchronizes cameras, lasers, stages, and third-party components with microsecond-level accuracy, enabling automation of multi-dimensional and live-cell imaging workflows. The platform is hardware-agnostic across 500+ devices from Leica, Nikon, Zeiss, Evident, and custom builders, and is extended by add-on modules including liveDRIM (Random Illumination Microscopy super-resolution at ~100 nm lateral resolution), liveRATIO, scanFRAP, fastFLIM, and MAICO confocal, plus developer tools (Inscoper API in C++/Python/Java and the NBO metadata library compliant with the 4DN-BINA-OME standard).

The company monetizes through a mix of subscription-based software licenses, hardware sales of the Device Controller (sized by connector count), integrated systems such as liveDRIM, and professional services for custom integration, retrofit, protocol transfer, and expert support; pricing is quote-based, varies with configuration complexity, and supports multi-year contracts with flexible financing. INSCOPER serves four primary customer segments: individual research groups, imaging core facilities, OEM microscope manufacturers embedding the platform into new instruments, and biopharma/biotech organizations using liveDRIM for organoid, spheroid, and organ-on-a-chip pre-clinical research. Distribution is primarily direct enterprise sales supplemented by a certified installer network and active participation in BIO International Convention, Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, and France-BioImaging events; the company claims 100+ research laboratories and imaging facilities across Europe, North America, and beyond, with granted patents in both the EU and US covering optimized microscope control and smart automation.

Name

INSCOPER

Legal name

INSCOPER SAS

Website

https://inscoper.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

INSCOPER SAS, founded 2016 in France, provides a hardware-agnostic microscope control software and synchronization platform for fluorescence microscopy. It sells software licenses, a Device Controller hardware appliance, and professional services to academic labs, core facilities, OEM manufacturers, and biopharma customers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microscopy Control Software

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)

akta.pro primary industry

Lab Automation, Instrument Control & Workflow Orchestration Software (HLAGAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lab Middleware, Instrument Connectivity & Automation (HLACAMAI), Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments (HLAGAIAE)

Keywords

• Microscope control software
• Fluorescence microscopy imaging
• Live-cell imaging automation
• Super-resolution microscopy
• Microscopy device integration

Headquarters

HQ city

Cesson-sévigné

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: INSCOPER Imaging Software is sold as a licensed product with pricing based on microscope setup complexity and number of devices controlled. The solution separates experiment control from technical constraints, ensuring long-term stability.
2. Hardware Sales: Inscoper Device Controller hardware units are sold in different sizes based on the number of connectors needed for specific configurations. Hardware is available in different form factors to match customer setup requirements.
3. Professional Services: Custom integration services for building tailored microscopy acquisition systems, microscope retrofit/upgrades, protocol transfer and reproducible execution, and dedicated expert support for system integration and workflow optimization.
4. liveDRIM System: Complete, ready-to-use 3D super-resolution imaging platform sold as an integrated system with optimized components for organoid, organ-on-a-chip, and spheroid research.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

INSCOPER provides a universal, hardware-agnostic microscope control software platform for fluorescence microscopy, paired with a dedicated Device Controller hardware appliance that synchronizes heterogeneous microscope components with microsecond-level accuracy. The platform enables researchers, imaging core facilities, and OEM manufacturers to design, automate, and reproduce multi-dimensional imaging workflows, including live-cell, super-resolution (liveDRIM), ratio imaging (liveRATIO), FRAP (scanFRAP), FLIM (fastFLIM), and confocal (MAICO) acquisitions, with integrated Python scripting and APIs for adaptive, AI-ready experiments.

Product overview

INSCOPER offers a universal microscope control software platform for fluorescence microscopy, comprising the core Inscoper Imaging Software as the central product, augmented by specialized add-on modules (liveDRIM for super-resolution, liveRATIO for ratio imaging, scanFRAP for photobleaching, fastFLIM for fluorescence lifetime, and MAICO confocal). The platform includes dedicated hardware (Device Controller) for high-speed synchronization, configuration tools (Configurator), visualization tools (Viewer), and developer APIs (Inscoper API and NBO Library) for integration. Professional services include custom integration, microscope retrofit, and expert support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• liveDRIM: Super-resolution imaging system for 3D organoid and thick live specimen imaging, offering ~100nm lateral resolution with deep-tissue imaging capability
• liveRATIO
• Inscoper Imaging Software
• Inscoper Device Controller
• scanFRAP
• fastFLIM
• MAICO confocal

Products and services

• Inscoper Imaging Software Universal microscope control software platform for fluorescence microscopy that orchestrates, automates, and synchronizes imaging workflows — from routine acquisitions to advanced multi-dimensional live-cell experiments — through a single reliable control interface, with integrated Python scripting and API access.
• Inscoper Device Controller Dedicated hardware appliance serving as the central communication hub between the workstation and microscope components, delivering microsecond-level synchronization accuracy for cameras, lasers, stages, and external devices.
• liveDRIM Super-Resolution System Dynamic super-resolution imaging platform built on Random Illumination Microscopy (RIM) that delivers ~100nm lateral resolution, deep-tissue imaging up to 100µm, and rapid acquisition (2.5–12.5 fps) with low phototoxicity for organoid, spheroid, and organ-on-a-chip research.
• liveRATIO Ratio imaging module for the Inscoper platform supporting ratiometric fluorescence microscopy workflows within the Imaging Software environment.
• scanFRAP FRAP (Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching) scanning solution that enables photobleaching experiments and analysis on the Inscoper platform.
• fastFLIM Fast fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) solution enabling fast FLIM acquisitions on the Inscoper platform.
• MAICO Confocal Solution Confocal microscopy solution integrated with the Inscoper platform, offered in partnership with MAICO.
• Inscoper Configurator Standalone system configuration tool for defining, connecting, and managing hardware components integrated with the Device Controller, used to generate system configuration files for the Imaging Software.
• Inscoper Viewer Interactive visualization and metadata exploration tool for acquired microscopy datasets.
• Inscoper API C++ native API library with automatically generated Java (JAR) and Python (Wheel) bindings that exposes the same device control, configuration, and acquisition capabilities as the Imaging Software GUI for custom integrations.
• Inscoper NBO Library C++/Python/Java library providing a type-safe data model for microscopy metadata derived from the 4DN-BINA-OME XSD schema, with support for importing MicroMetaApp (MMA) JSON configurations and meeting scientific publication traceability standards.
• Microscopy Integration & Professional Services Custom integration, microscope retrofit and upgrades (including Windows 10/11 compatibility), protocol transfer for reproducible execution, and dedicated expert support for system integration and workflow optimization, delivered through INSCOPER-certified installers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 3× faster acquisition workflows
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers31 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• RimeocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021Rimeo provides patented liveDRIM technology based on the Random Illumination Microscopy (RIM) method, as published in Mangeat et al., Cell Reports Methods, 2021. INSCOPER integrates this super-resolution technology into its platform for dynamic biological sample imaging.
• Gataca SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationGataca Systems manufactures precision-engineered optical modules for the liveDRIM system, ensuring flawless, long-term hardware integration. This collaboration enables delivery of complete, ready-to-use super-resolution imaging platforms.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Micro-Manager (µManager): Open-source microscope control framework widely used in academic imaging labs. Directly comparable as an alternative approach to multi-vendor microscope control, and explicitly supported via Inscoper's Configurator integration.
• Molecular Devices (MetaMorph): Provides MetaMorph microscope control software widely used in live-cell imaging research. Directly comparable as a commercial third-party control platform competing for the same research-customer wallet share.
• 3i (Intelligent Imaging Innovations) — SlideBook: SlideBook is a microscope control and acquisition platform for live-cell and multi-dimensional imaging. Directly comparable in scope, customer base (academic/biopharma research), and feature set.

Broad incumbents

• Zeiss (Carl Zeiss Microscopy): Major microscope OEM shipping its proprietary ZEN Blue/Black control software with every instrument. Competes with INSCOPER in single-vendor core facilities and represents the OEM-partner / OEM-threat dynamic central to INSCOPER's strategy.
• Leica Microsystems (Danaher): Microscope OEM with LAS X control software. Comparable as both a potential OEM partner and a competitive threat; INSCOPER specifically integrates with Leica hardware.
• Nikon (Nikon Instruments): Microscope OEM with NIS-Elements control software. Like Zeiss and Leica, offers a bundled proprietary alternative; also a supported device brand on INSCOPER's platform.
• Evident (Olympus Scientific Solutions): Microscope OEM with cellSens control software. Comparable as both a supported device vendor and a bundled-software competitor in research and clinical microscopy.
• National Instruments — NI LabVIEW: General-purpose instrumentation and control platform sometimes used by imaging facilities to orchestrate complex microscopy setups. Represents the broader 'general automation platform' alternative to INSCOPER's domain-specialized offering.

Emerging players

• Bitplane (Oxford Instruments) — Imaris: Specializes in 3D/4D microscopy visualization and analysis. Adjacent rather than directly competitive on control, but a comparable specialized imaging-software vendor targeting similar research and biopharma workflows.

Regional players

• Hamamatsu Photonics: Provides microscopy hardware, cameras, and HCImage software for live-cell imaging. Comparable in the live-cell imaging control space, particularly strong in Japan and Asia-Pacific — geographies where INSCOPER is currently under-represented.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/inscoper
• YouTubego.inscoper.com/yt
• LinkedInfr.linkedin.com/company/inscoper

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 INSCOPER