Acoerela

What Acoerela does

Acoerela is a Singapore-based startup and spin-out from the National University of Singapore (NUS) that develops and sells water-soluble fluorescent membrane labeling dyes for life sciences research. The company's core technology is a patented chemistry platform for "full bilayer spanning lipophilic dyes" that dissolves directly in aqueous buffers (water, PBS, saline) at concentrations exceeding 2mg/mL without forming micelles or nanoparticles — a fundamental limitation of conventional carbocyanine dyes (PKH26, DiR, DiD) that causes false positives in flow cytometry analysis of small particles such as exosomes. The dyes exhibit a fluorogenic "light on" mechanism with quantum yields above 25%, claimed to provide greater than 95% detection accuracy versus greater than 70% false positivity rates reported for incumbent dyes, and enabling single-step processing in approximately one hour versus multi-step workflows exceeding eight hours.

The product portfolio centers on the Aco-Dyes™ line spanning six color variants (Aco-430, Aco-490, Aco-520, Aco-600, Aco-650, Aco-800), complemented by Aco-RLs™ reference liposomes used as calibration standards. Documented applications include extracellular vesicle/exosome labeling, NIR-II in vivo tumor imaging, gram-typing of bacteria in mixed populations and biofilms, mammalian cell division tracking, and red blood cell labeling. Acoerela operates a product-led, direct e-commerce go-to-market through its own WooCommerce storefront (supporting USD and SGD), with bulk and custom enquiries handled via contact form. Target customers are academic and industry life sciences researchers segmented primarily into extracellular vesicle/exosome researchers, in vivo imaging researchers, and cell biology researchers, with a secondary microbiology segment. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.

The company is staffed by a small team of approximately seven members led by CEO and Co-Founder Bay Sie Lim (Ph.D., University of Western Australia; seven years of life sciences commercial experience), alongside Scientific Advisor and Co-Founder Prof Guillermo Bazan (Ph.D., MIT; 780+ publications, h-index 123), who previously co-founded Sirigen — acquired and commercialized by Becton Dickinson — providing a directly relevant prior commercialization track record in optical probes. Acoerela is privately held with no disclosed external venture financing; it is headquartered at the NUS Kent Ridge campus in Singapore and markets globally through its e-commerce site while flagging Southeast Asia as its primary operating geography.

Name

Acoerela

Legal name

Acoerela

Website

https://acoerela.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Acoerela is a Singapore-based NUS spin-out that develops and sells patented water-soluble fluorescent membrane labeling dyes (Aco-Dyes™) and reference liposomes for life sciences researchers in extracellular vesicle, cell biology, and preclinical imaging applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fluorescent Dyes

NAICS

In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413), Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513)

SIC

In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAGAIAI

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

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Laboratory Equipment, Instruments & Consumables

Keywords

• Fluorescent dyes
• Membrane labeling dyes
• Extracellular vesicle probes
• Reference liposomes
• NIR-II imaging dyes

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Aco-Dyes™ Membrane Labelling Dyes: Sale of water-soluble membrane labeling dyes for research applications including extracellular vesicles, mammalian cells, bacteria gram-typing, and cell division tracking. Products include Aco-430, Aco-490, Aco-520, Aco-600, Aco-650, and Aco-800 in various colors.
2. Aco-RLs™ Reference Liposomes: Sale of reference liposome products as laboratory controls and standards for research applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Acoerela manufactures and sells water-soluble bilayer-spanning lipophilic fluorescent dyes (Aco-Dyes™) and reference liposome standards (Aco-RLs™) for life sciences research applications. The proprietary dye chemistry dissolves directly in aqueous buffers, eliminates nanoaggregate formation, and delivers single-step fluorogenic labeling for extracellular vesicles, mammalian cells, bacteria gram-typing, and NIR-II in vivo tumor imaging. Products are sold through the company's own e-commerce storefront to academic and industry researchers worldwide.

Product overview

Acoerela is a spin-out from the National University of Singapore developing a proprietary chemistry technology platform for water-soluble lipophilic membrane labelling dyes. The product portfolio centers on the Aco-Dyes™ (Membrane Labelling Dyes) product line offering 6 color variants (Aco-430, Aco-490, Aco-520, Aco-600, Aco-650, Aco-800), complemented by Aco-RLs™ (Reference Liposomes) as calibration standards. The dyes power multiple applications including Extracellular Vesicles/Exosome labelling, NIR-II Tumor Tracking, Gram-typing of Bacteria, Mammalian Cell Division Tracking, and Red Blood Cell Labelling. The platform's key differentiators are water solubility (>2mg/mL), fluorogenic 'light on' mechanism with >25% quantum yield, single-step processing, and elimination of false positives from dye nanoaggregates that plague conventional carbocyanine dyes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aco-Dyes™: Membrane labelling dyes product line
• Aco-RLs™

Products and services

• Aco-Dyes™ Membrane Labelling Dyes Water-soluble bilayer-spanning lipophilic fluorescent membrane labelling dyes for flow cytometry and imaging applications. Available in up to 6 color variants (Aco-430, Aco-490, Aco-520, Aco-600, Aco-650, Aco-800), offering high quantum yield (>25%) and a fluorogenic 'light on' mechanism that enables accurate single-step labeling of extracellular vesicles, mammalian cells, bacteria, and in vivo tumor imaging targets. Aimed at academic and industry life sciences researchers.
• Aco-RLs™ Reference Liposomes Reference liposomes supplied as calibration and control standards for flow cytometry and imaging applications run alongside Aco-Dyes. Designed for life sciences researchers who need reliable, consistent controls when validating small-particle or membrane labeling experiments.
• Aco-650 Membrane Labelling Dye Color variant of the Aco-Dyes™ water-soluble bilayer-spanning lipophilic membrane labelling dye family, used for flow cytometry and imaging applications across extracellular vesicles, mammalian cells, bacteria, and in vivo imaging workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• >95% accuracy in detection vs current dyes with false positivity rates of over 70%
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Abcam (Danaher): Abcam, now part of Danaher, is a global life science research tools provider with deep reach into academic and pharma labs for antibodies and reagents. They could either supply competing labeling reagents or serve as the global distribution channel for Acoerela's dye catalog.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad supplies a broad portfolio of life science research reagents, including antibodies, dyes, and flow cytometry standards. As a broad incumbent with strong academic sales channels, Bio-Rad could distribute or compete against Acoerela's reference liposomes and membrane-labeling dyes.
• LI-COR Biosciences: LI-COR is a leading provider of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging reagents and instruments for preclinical and western blot applications. Their IRDye portfolio competes directly with Acoerela's emerging NIR-II dye for in vivo tumor tracking.
• Becton Dickinson (BD Biosciences): BD acquired Sirigen (co-founded by Acoerela's Scientific Advisor Prof Guillermo Bazan) and is a leading supplier of flow cytometry reagents and instruments. BD is both the most credible strategic acquirer of Acoerela and the established competitor selling Sirigen-derived polymer dye chemistry.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Molecular Probes): Molecular Probes is the dominant legacy brand for cell-labeling dyes including PKH26, DiR, and DiD — the exact products Acoerela's water-soluble chemistry aims to displace. Thermo Fisher also supplies the flow cytometers and imaging platforms on which Acoerela's dyes run.
• CoMGAiaio (Cell Signaling Technology): Cell Signaling Technology (CST) supplies antibodies, kits, and reagents for cell biology research. While their core is antibodies, they sell fluorescent conjugate dyes and reagents relevant to flow cytometry and imaging that touch Acoerela's customer base.

Direct peers

• Vector Laboratories: Vector Laboratories manufactures labeling and detection reagents for immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and microscopy — adjacent specialty dye products sold into academic and clinical research labs. They overlap with Acoerela's protein/cell labeling chemistries.
• Lumiprobe: Lumiprobe is a specialty manufacturer of fluorescent dyes and labels for life sciences, including cyanine, Alexa Fluor-equivalent, and NHS-ester dye families used in bio-conjugation and cell labeling. They compete with Acoerela on catalog fluorescent dye SKUs sold direct-to-researcher.
• ATTO-Tec: ATTO-Tec specializes in fluorescent labels and dyes (ATTO series) widely used in single-molecule and microscopy research. They compete with Acoerela's membrane-labeling product family on spectral diversity and water-solubility characterization for microscopy and super-resolution applications.
• Biotium: Biotium is a specialty manufacturer of fluorescent dyes and reagents for life science research, with a similar focus on novel dye chemistries for cell biology, microbiology, and flow cytometry. Both companies compete directly on membrane-labeling and exosome labeling chemistries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/acoerela
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acoerela

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Acoerela