What Art Robbins Instruments does

Art Robbins Instruments (ARI) is a US-based designer and manufacturer of specialized laboratory automation instrumentation founded in 2003 and headquartered at 1293 Mt View Alviso Road, Suite D, Sunnyvale, California. The company builds capital equipment and consumables for three core workflows: protein crystallography (INTELLI-PLATE registered crystallization plates, Crystal Phoenix and Crystal Gryphon dispensers, CrysCam imaging systems, LCP Mixing Station), liquid handling (Scorpion single-channel automated pipetting robot, Cobra nanoliter non-contact dispenser with 1-4 channels covering 300nL to 5µL, ARI hand-held syringe dispensers), and HLA tissue typing (cooling system, syringes, and accessories). Hardware is complemented by PC-based software control and documented integrations with Thermo Scientific Orbitor RS, PlateCrane EX, Roche LightCycler 1536, Agilent Bravo, and Agilent VPrep liquid handlers, plus a line of replacement syringes serving as recurring consumables.

ARI operates as a sales-led enterprise motion targeting life sciences research laboratories worldwide. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time capital equipment sales fulfilled via a Request-a-Quote process, augmented by consumables (precision syringes, plates, LCP consumables) and serviced through a direct sales channel plus a global distributor network spanning over 40 countries across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Baltics. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company was acquired by Argosy Healthcare Partners in July 2022 and merged with Hudson Robotics to form the Hudson Lab Automation platform; Tomtec Inc. was subsequently acquired in December 2023, and the combined entity rebranded as Hudson Lab Automation in 2025, with Werner Maas appointed CEO in November 2024.

Name

Art Robbins Instruments

Legal name

Art Robbins Instruments, LLC

Website

https://artrobbins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Art Robbins Instruments designs and manufactures specialized laboratory automation instrumentation for protein crystallography, liquid handling, and HLA tissue typing, selling capital equipment and consumables to life sciences research laboratories worldwide as a brand within Hudson Lab Automation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Automation Equipment

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations) (HLAGAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH), Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments (HLAGAIAE)

Keywords

• Protein crystallography equipment
• Liquid handling robotics
• Lab automation systems
• Tissue typing instruments
• Laboratory pipetting robots

Headquarters

HQ city

Sunnyvale

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, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Equipment Sales: Sale of automated laboratory instruments including liquid handlers, protein crystallography equipment, and tissue typing products. Revenue is generated through direct capital equipment sales to research laboratories and through international distributor network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Art Robbins Instruments develops, manufactures, and sells automated laboratory instruments specializing in protein crystallography, liquid handling, and tissue typing applications. Its portfolio includes protein crystallization plates and dispensers (INTELLI-PLATE, Crystal Phoenix, Crystal Gryphon), non-contact nanoliter liquid handling dispensers (Cobra), automated pipetting robots (Scorpion), crystal imaging systems (CrysCam family), LCP mixing stations, and a line of precision syringes and consumables sold to research laboratories worldwide.

Product overview

Art Robbins Instruments (ARI) develops high-quality products for protein crystallography, liquid handling, and tissue typing as part of the Hudson Lab Automation portfolio. The product portfolio centers on core hardware systems including the Scorpion single-channel automated pipetting robot, Cobra nanoliter liquid handling dispensers, and Crystal Phoenix protein crystallization dispensers, supported by imaging systems (CrysCam, CrysCam Plus, CrysCam UV) for crystal observation. The LCP Mixing Station and Crystal Gryphon pipettor address specific protein crystallization workflows, while Intelli-Plates serve as the foundational crystallization plate platform. Consumables include precision syringes compatible with Agilent Bravo/VPrep liquid handlers and specialized syringes for tissue typing applications. Accessories like hand-held syringe dispensers and the complement cooling system round out the offering. The company operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture where core dispensing and imaging systems are complemented by specialized consumables and accessories designed for interoperability within the broader Hudson Lab Automation ecosystem including PlateCrane EX and Orbitor RS plate handling systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scorpion Single Channel Automated Pipetting Robot A single-channel automated pipetting robot designed for rapidly changing labs, reducing pipetting task time from 45 minutes to 25 minutes automatically; sold to life sciences research laboratories.
• Scorpion for Chemistry An automated pipetting robot variant optimized for chemistry applications, available from the Art Robbins Instruments product catalog for laboratory use.
• INTELLI-PLATE Crystallization Plate A registered-trademark protein crystallization plate (INTELLI-PLATE) that serves as a foundational crystallization plate platform for protein crystallography research.
• Crystal Phoenix Dispenser A protein crystallization dispenser ideal for high throughput labs offering accuracy, speed and precision; another founding product from 2003.
• Crystal Gryphon A small, fast, and affordable protein crystallization pipettor for setting up protein crystallization plates, featuring self-aligning LCP syringes that snap into place.
• Cobra Liquid Handling Nano Dispenser A non-contact nanoliter-capable liquid handling robot available with 1-4 channels, featuring a dynamic dispensing range from 300nL to 5µL, PC-based software control, and low dead volume for dispensing expensive reagents; compatible with 96, 384 and 1536 well plates.
• CrysCam Digital Microscope A versatile digital microscope for protein crystal observation and documentation, providing imaging capabilities for protein crystallization workflows.
• CrysCam Plus Imaging System for Protein Crystallization An enhanced digital microscope imaging system for protein crystal observation and documentation with additional features beyond the standard CrysCam.
• CrysCam UV Imaging System A digital microscope for protein crystal observation and documentation with UV and fluorescent imaging capabilities, enabling advanced crystal analysis.
• LCP Mixing Station A small, quiet LCP (Lipidic Cubic Phase) mixer for protein crystallization that provides consistent sample-to-sample mixing, accommodating Hamilton and ARI LCP dispensing syringes with automatic volume setting.
• ARI Syringes A full line of precision syringes including Agilent Bravo and VPrep replacement syringes (200µl Flex, 50µl Flex, 50µl SST), LCP syringes for Gryphon (50µL, 100µL), graduated syringes for tissue typing (25µl to 500µl), and single fixed-needle syringes for tissue typing.
• ARI Hand-Held Syringe Dispensers 8-channel hand-held syringe dispensers for laboratory liquid handling applications, with compatible graduated replacement syringes ranging from 25µl to 500µl delivered volume.
• ARI Complement Cooling System

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Hudson RoboticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 July 2022Art Robbins Instruments merged with Hudson Robotics in 2022 under Argosy Healthcare Partners. The combined company operates under the Hudson Lab Automation brand, integrating ARI's protein crystallography products with Hudson's broader lab automation portfolio including liquid handlers, microplate handlers, and colony pickers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Molecular Devices: Provides high-content screening, plate reader, and laboratory automation solutions serving drug discovery and academic research. Competes with ARI's automated workflows in the screening/crystallography lab purchasing context.
• Agilent Technologies: Global analytical instruments and Bravo/VPrep automated liquid handling systems vendor. ARI's ARI-branded replacement syringes and integration with Agilent platforms places it as both a partner (consumables) and competitor (instrument upgrade) to ARI.
• Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer Life Sciences): Diversified life sciences and diagnostics platform offering automated liquid handling, reagents, and consumables used in protein research. Competes broadly in the same lab automation purchasing decisions as ARI.
• Beckman Coulter Life Sciences: Major life science instrument company (Biomek automated workstations, plate handlers). Larger incumbent spanning many segments but directly competing with ARI in automated liquid handling for genomics and proteomics labs.

Direct peers

• Tecan Group: Swiss-headquartered leader in automated liquid handling workstations and lab automation consumables. Directly comparable to ARI in providing robotic pipetting, plate handling, and integrated workflow solutions sold to life sciences research labs globally.
• Hamilton Company: U.S. manufacturer of precision automated liquid handling robots (Microlab STAR, NIMBUS) and syringes/valves used in life science and clinical labs. Closely comparable to ARI's Scorpion and Cobra liquid handlers and ARI-branded syringe consumable line.
• Hudson Robotics: Sister brand under the same Hudson Lab Automation platform; builds microplate handlers, lab robotics, workstations, and colony pickers. Now sold alongside ARI products under one parent, but at a product-line level is the closest internal comparable for liquid handling and plate automation.
• Formulatrix: Specializes in protein crystallization imaging (Rock Imager), liquid handling, and crystallization workflow software. Directly comparable to ARI's CrysCam digital microscopes and Crystal Phoenix dispenser workflows.
• Tomtec: Acquired by the Hudson Lab Automation platform in 2023; develops automated laboratory liquid pipetting/sample prep instruments. Closely competes with ARI's Scorpion and Cobra liquid handlers in biomedical and pharma labs.
• SPT Labtech: U.K.-based specialist in automated low-volume liquid handling (mosquito, dragonfly) and protein crystallization/nanodrop instrumentation. Overlaps directly with ARI's protein crystallography plates, pipettors, and nanoliter dispensing products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ari_news
• Facebookfacebook.com/ARInews

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 Art Robbins Instruments