MicroLAB

What MicroLAB does

MicroLAB Inc is a Bozeman, Montana-based manufacturer of computer-interfaced chemistry laboratory equipment targeted primarily at US college and university chemistry programs, with secondary use in government research laboratories. Founded in 1995 as a for-profit spin-off of the NSF-funded CCLI (Computers in Chemistry Laboratory Instruction) Initiative and commercially selling since 2002, the company designs and ships two principal data acquisition platforms: the FS-528 interface, sold in Introductory, Advanced, Titration, Conductance, and Comprehensive packages priced from $979 to $1,679 and bundled with an integrated FASTspec 380-880 nm scanning spectrophotometer, and the VERSA 428 platform, offered in Basic, Comprehensive, and pH packages from $599 to $779 with optional spectrophotometry add-ons. These interfaces connect to a catalog of sensors (thermistors, thermocouples, pH and REDOX electrodes, dissolved oxygen probes, conductance electrodes, IR drop counters, immersion heaters) and are driven by a proprietary Windows-only software application, the Experiment Builder, that ships with a free campus-wide site license and receives semiannual free updates.

The business model is direct-to-institution hardware-and-software sales, supplemented by accessories, consumables, and billable training workshops. Pricing is one-time/perpetual at the package level with per-unit accessory pricing ranging from $19 (gas pressure syringe) to $1,579 (Model 211C diode-array spectrophotometer). The company markets through microlabinfo.com, telephone (888-586-3274), email, and conference workshops, and provides free technical support staffed exclusively by university educators or scientists. Manufacturing is outsourced to a Native American-owned ISO 9001 certified US partner, and interfaces carry a five-year warranty. MicroLAB holds patents on its infrared drop-counter technology (front-surface reflection) and runs no disclosed external funding, no AI/ML capabilities, no public API, and no subsidiaries, making it a privately held, founder-led niche supplier with a 30-year operational track record and a five-person founder group supported by a small back-office team.

Customer evidence shows use cases across community colleges (Eastfield College, Mott Community College), research universities (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Michigan-Flint), state universities (California State University Bakersfield), and federal research (National Cancer Institute-Frederick), spanning general chemistry teaching, student-designed experiments, photobleaching kinetics, and waste reduction initiatives. The company is operationally active but offers no public revenue, headcount beyond its leadership roster, or growth metrics.

Name

MicroLAB

Legal name

MicroLAB Inc

Website

https://microlabinfo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

MicroLAB Inc designs, manufactures, and sells computer-based chemistry lab data-acquisition interfaces, sensors, and supporting software for US college and university chemistry teaching, with secondary use in government research laboratories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Laboratory Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Science & STEM Lab Equipment & Supplies (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Makerspaces) (EDAEAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC), Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)

Keywords

• Chemistry lab equipment
• Data acquisition interfaces
• Spectrophotometry sensors
• Chemistry education software
• Electrochemistry modules

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Interface Systems: Sale of data acquisition interfaces including FS-528 and VERSA systems along with various package configurations (Introductory, Advanced, Titration, Conductance, Comprehensive). Interfaces range from $599 to $1679 depending on configuration.
2. Sensor and Module Sales: Sale of individual sensors including pH electrodes, REDOX electrodes, thermistors, thermocouples, gas pressure apparatus, dissolved oxygen probes, conductance electrodes, and electrochemistry modules.
3. Accessories and Consumables: Sale of spectrophotometer vials, vial packs, electrode holders, voltage leads, micropipettes, drop dispensers, immersion heaters, digital multimeters, and laboratory cabinets.
4. Software Licensing: A MicroLab software site license accompanies purchase of every MicroLab interface unit, permitting the college to freely load MicroLab software on lab computers and campus network. Individual students may freely download software to use at home. Software updates are provided free of charge approximately twice yearly.
5. Training and Support Services: Initial on-site faculty training workshops and TA training available upon request (institution pays travel and housing costs). Free telephone or email support from experienced college chemistry faculty.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

MicroLAB designs, engineers, and manufactures computer-based chemistry laboratory equipment for teaching college and university chemistry. Its product line centers on two data acquisition interface platforms—the FS-528 series and the VERSA 428 series—paired with sensors (pH, REDOX, thermistor, thermocouple, dissolved oxygen, conductance, spectrophotometers), titration accessories, and proprietary Windows-based experiment software. The offering is sold as bundled packages and individual modules to higher-education chemistry departments.

Product overview

MicroLAB manufactures computer-based chemistry laboratory equipment for teaching college and university chemistry. Their product portfolio centers on two main interface platforms: the FS-528 series (offered in Introductory, Advanced, Titration, Conductance, and Comprehensive packages ranging from $979-$1679) and the VERSA 428 series (offered in Basic, Comprehensive, and pH packages ranging from $599-$779). These interfaces serve as the core data acquisition systems, supporting various sensor modules including thermistors, thermocouples, pH electrodes, REDOX electrodes, dissolved oxygen probes, conductance electrodes, and spectrophotometers. The company also offers specialized lab equipment like drop counters, automated dispensers, immersion heaters, and gas pressure apparatus. All products are supported by proprietary software running on Windows, with continuous software development releasing updates approximately twice yearly. The company partners with a Native American-owned ISO 9001-certified manufacturer for production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VERSA: A powerful, durable, compact data acquisition tool that brings the chemistry lab directly to students, designed for teaching college and university chemistry.
• FS-528

Products and services

• Model 528-I (Introductory) Package Entry-level FS-528 chemistry lab interface package priced at $979, including the FS-528 FASTspec scanning spectrophotometer interface with integrated thermistor, electrode holder, and basic sensors. Designed for college-level chemistry teaching.
• Model 528-A (Advanced) Package FS-528 package priced at $1,189 that adds electrochemistry capabilities to the introductory package, including pH probe, REDOX probe, electrochemistry metal kit, and multi-EChem half cell module.
• Model 528-T (Titration) Package FS-528 titration-focused package priced at $1,389, adding a constant volume drop dispenser and patented IR drop counter for automated titration workflows in chemistry labs.
• Model 528-C (Conductance) Package FS-528 package priced at $1,489, adding a conductance probe for electrochemistry and conductivity measurements to the titration capabilities.
• Model 528-C2 (Comprehensive) Package Most comprehensive FS-528 package priced at $1,679, including the FASTspec 380-880nm scanning spectrophotometer, dual thermistors, thermocouple, pressure sensor, conductance probe, and all titration/electrochemistry accessories.
• Model 428B-VERSA Basic Package Compact, portable VERSA 428 data acquisition interface package priced at $599 for teaching chemistry, with integrated energy-of-light experiments, LED band gap measurements, and Planck's Constant determination.
• Model 428C-VERSA Comprehensive Package VERSA 428 package priced at $729 with integrated spectrophotometer module offering nine-wavelength 383-880nm spectrophotometry with fluorescence, absorbance, scatter, and transmission capabilities.
• Model 428P-VERSA pH Package VERSA 428 package priced at $779, optimized for pH titrations and including pH electrode with BNC input, thermistor, voltage lead, gas pressure syringe, and spectrophotometer module.
• Model 141 Visual Spectrophotometer Modular visual spectrometer for observing visible region emission and absorption spectra with adjustable slit widths (125-760 microns) and 6nm FWHM resolution for chemistry teaching.
• Model 211C-Diode Array Spectrophotometer 2048-channel diode array spectrophotometer priced at $1,579 covering 360-1100nm with 1.2nm FWHM resolution for atomic emission spectra and fluorescence measurements in chemistry labs.
• Model 226P IR Drop Counter & Clamp Patented infrared drop counter using front-surface reflection technology to accurately count drops at up to 40 drops/sec for automated titration workflows in chemistry teaching labs.
• MicroLAB Experiment Builder Software Proprietary general-purpose Windows software for creating and running chemistry experiments with status indicators, sensor management, and data analysis capabilities. A MicroLAB site license accompanies every interface purchase; free updates are released approximately twice yearly.
• Model 233 Digital Volt Meter Industrial digital multimeter priced at $35 measuring electrochemical cell voltages with 1mV resolution, used for Nernst equation and electrochemical series experiments in chemistry labs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students can determine Planck's Constant within approximately ±5% using the Energy of Light experiment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Native American Owned ISO 9001 Certified ManufacturercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMicroLAB partners with a Native American owned ISO 9001 certified manufacturer that ensures industry standards in manufacturing operations, enabling the company to provide superior laboratory products that stand the test of time.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• eScience Labs: eScience Labs provides hands-on and virtual science lab kits for higher-education institutions, including chemistry. It overlaps with MicroLAB's experiential-chemistry-learning value proposition while addressing adjacent distance-learning and kit-based models.
• Labster: Labster provides virtual science lab simulations used by universities to complement or substitute for physical labs. While not a hardware peer, it intersects with MicroLAB's chemistry education customer base and represents a substitution threat to physical interface demand.
• PhET Interactive Simulations: PhET, from the University of Colorado Boulder, offers free interactive science and chemistry simulations widely used in higher-education teaching. It represents an emerging alternative modality that competes for the same chemistry-instruction budget.

Broad incumbents

• Carolina Biological Supply Company: Carolina Biological is a long-established broad supplier of science education materials, including chemistry lab equipment, kits, and consumables. It overlaps with MicroLAB on the customer side (US science teachers) while offering a much broader catalog including biological sciences.
• Flinn Scientific: Flinn Scientific is a broad supplier of science teaching materials, lab equipment, and safety resources for high school and college chemistry classrooms. It is comparable as a long-standing chemistry-education vendor serving a similar institutional customer base.
• Fisher Scientific Education: Fisher Scientific supplies a wide range of laboratory equipment, chemicals, and consumables to academic and industrial customers. While not a chemistry-education specialist, it competes for institutional chemistry lab budgets as a broader incumbent.

Direct peers

• PASCO Scientific: PASCO manufactures sensors, interfaces, and curriculum for physics, chemistry, and biology education. It competes head-to-head with MicroLAB in chemistry data-acquisition interfaces and serves the same higher-education customer base with similar product categories.
• Vernier Software & Technology: Vernier is the leading direct competitor in computer-based data-acquisition interfaces and sensors for science education. Both companies target the same chemistry and STEM teaching market with hardware interfaces, sensors, and software — making Vernier the closest comparable peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

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 MicroLAB