What MazeEngineers does

MazeEngineers is a U.S.-based manufacturer of custom-built behavioral mazes for preclinical and translational neuroscience research, operating as a division of ConductScience from a workshop and headquarters at 5250 Old Orchard Rd, Suite 300, Skokie, IL. The company manufactures 100% custom apparatus in-house to researchers' exact protocol specifications across 200+ maze designs spanning 15+ species (mouse, rat, zebrafish, drosophila, pig, primate), using materials including acrylic, PVC, stainless steel, and aluminum, with integrated options for IR beam breaks, RFID readers, and automated gates. It claims 5,000+ labs served worldwide and is named as a supplier to Harvard, MIT, Stanford, NIH, Johns Hopkins, and Caltech. The business runs on a quote-based, consultative sales model with a 48-hour CAD review and 2-4 week production turnaround, and includes BBB accreditation and BAA compliance as procurement credentials. The "labs worldwide" language indicates the company accepts international orders.

The company's technology stack centers on the ConductMaze automation and data acquisition platform, which is bundled with hardware purchases at no per-chamber licensing fee. ConductMaze provides a drag-and-drop Visual Protocol Builder with 166+ ready-to-use protocols, sub-millisecond event timing precision, real-time data export to CSV, Excel, and EthoVision-compatible formats, and a 16-chamber dashboard for parallel experiments with independent per-chamber control. The platform is integrated with electrophysiology, optogenetics, and metabolic systems, and the company has added a ConductVision video tracking and analysis module as a complementary workflow layer. ConductMaze explicitly positions itself as a no-code alternative to MED-PC scripting, reducing the engineering overhead for behavioral labs.

MazeEngineers' business model is primarily hardware sales of custom apparatus to academic research institutions (primary), with secondary segments in pharmaceutical and biotech drug-discovery buyers and government labs. Revenue is generated one-off per apparatus, with software effectively included as a value-add rather than a separate licensing stream; pricing is opaque and entirely quote-based. Go-to-market is sales-led and website-driven, with the conductscience.com storefront serving as the primary discovery and quote-request channel, supplemented by a double opt-in newsletter and a Science Library/Resources Hub for top-of-funnel content. The company has no disclosed funding rounds, operates with a 1-10 employee team, and sits inside the broader ConductScience portfolio alongside lab equipment, imaging, neuroscience/surgery, and software categories.

Name

MazeEngineers

Legal name

ConductScience

Website

https://mazeengineers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MazeEngineers is a U.S.-based custom manufacturer of behavioral mazes for preclinical neuroscience research, serving 5,000+ academic, pharmaceutical, and government labs worldwide with hand-built apparatus bundled with its ConductMaze automation software.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Behavioral Maze Sales: Sale of custom-built behavioral mazes manufactured in-house. Apparaus for rodent, zebrafish, drosophila, and primate research. Each maze is manufactured to exact protocol specifications with materials including acrylic, PVC, stainless steel, and aluminum. One-time hardware sales with custom pricing based on specifications.
2. ConductMaze Software Platform: ConductMaze base software is included with hardware purchase — no per-chamber licensing. Software enables experiment automation, protocol management, and data acquisition. Revenue derived from integrated hardware/software purchases rather than standalone software licensing.
3. Sensor Integration and Add-ons: Integrated sensors including IR beam breaks, RFID readers, and automated gates built directly into apparatus. Additional components and customization options available for enhanced experimental capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MazeEngineers manufactures 100% custom-built behavioral mazes in-house for preclinical and translational research, spanning 200+ designs across 15+ species (mouse, rat, zebrafish, drosophila, primate). Each apparatus is built to exact dimensions, materials (acrylic, PVC, stainless steel, aluminum), and sensor/automation specifications, with integrated IR beam breaks, RFID readers, and automated gates. The ConductMaze software platform—bundled at no per-chamber licensing fee with hardware purchases—handles experiment automation, protocol design, and real-time data export.

Product overview

MazeEngineers is a custom behavioral maze manufacturing company operating under the ConductScience umbrella. Its core offering is MazeEngineers — hand-crafted, precision-built behavioral mazes for preclinical research across rodent (mouse, rat), zebrafish, drosophila, and primate species. The portfolio also includes ConductMaze, an automation software platform that provides experiment design, real-time data acquisition, and multi-chamber control capabilities. The two products are sold together: ConductMaze software is included with hardware purchases, enabling researchers to automate their maze-based experiments. MazeEngineers positions itself on full customization (100% custom-built), rapid prototyping (CAD review in 48 hours, 2-4 week production), and in-house manufacturing with sensor integration (IR beam breaks, RFID readers, automated gates).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MazeEngineers Custom Behavioral Mazes Custom-built behavioral mazes for preclinical and translational research, manufactured in-house to each researcher's exact dimensions, materials (acrylic, PVC, stainless steel, aluminum), and experimental requirements. Supports mouse, rat, zebrafish, drosophila, and primate models with integrated sensor and automation options. Sold to academic, pharmaceutical, and government research institutions via quote-based direct sales.
• ConductMaze Software Platform Automation and data acquisition software bundled with MazeEngineers hardware that enables researchers to design behavioral experiments via a drag-and-drop interface, run parallel multi-chamber experiments with sub-millisecond timing precision, and export publication-ready behavioral data. Targets neuroscience and preclinical research labs needing a no-code alternative to MED-PC scripting.
• ConductVision Video tracking and analysis system for behavioral research, offered alongside MazeEngineers apparatus under the ConductScience brand. Listed as a separate product page on the parent site.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EthoVisioncoreTechnology or IntegrationEthoVision is listed as a hardware integration partner for ConductMaze software. Real-time data export to EthoVision-compatible formats is supported. The integration allows behavioral data from MazeEngineers apparatus to be analyzed using EthoVision tracking systems. This is a bidirectional integration where MazeEngineers hardware works with EthoVision software and ConductMaze data exports are compatible with EthoVision format requirements.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Apparatus: Harvard Apparatus is a broad-incumbent life-science research equipment manufacturer spanning surgical, physiological, and behavioral tools. It serves the same neuroscience research customer base as MazeEngineers but with a much wider product portfolio and global distribution footprint.

Direct peers

• Med Associates Inc. Med Associates manufactures operant conditioning chambers, Skinner boxes, and behavioral neuroscience apparatus. It is the closest direct competitor to MazeEngineers in custom rodent behavioral research equipment, with overlapping product categories in learning/memory and addiction research protocols.
• Noldus Information Technology: Noldus develops EthoVision video tracking software plus Track3D and other behavioral analysis platforms. While MazeEngineers integrates with EthoVision, Noldus is an adjacent competitor in the experiment-automation and data-acquisition layer that MazeEngineers' ConductMaze also targets.
• Lafayette Instrument Company: Lafayette Instrument supplies behavioral research apparatus including mazes, activity monitors, and operant chambers for neuroscience and pharmacology labs. It competes head-to-head with MazeEngineers in preclinical behavioral testing equipment for rodent models.
• Stoelting Co. Stoelting Co. manufactures behavioral neuroscience instruments including water mazes, elevated plus mazes, rotarods, and fear conditioning systems. It directly overlaps MazeEngineers' catalog of rodent behavioral testing apparatus for academic and preclinical researchers.
• Coulbourn Instruments: Coulbourn Instruments builds behavioral research apparatus including shuttle boxes, activity chambers, and custom rodent testing systems for academic and pharmaceutical labs. It is a direct competitor serving the same neuroscience research customer base as MazeEngineers.
• TSE Systems: TSE Systems (a subsidiary of Harvard Bioscience) produces Phenomaster metabolic and behavioral phenotyping systems plus custom behavioral apparatus. It is comparable to MazeEngineers for multi-modal preclinical research combining metabolism and behavior.
• Panlab (Harvard Bioscience): Panlab (part of Harvard Bioscience) manufactures behavioral research apparatus including mazes, locomotor activity systems, and fear conditioning setups. It competes directly with MazeEngineers in rodent and small-animal behavioral neuroscience equipment.
• Ugo Basile: Ugo Basile designs and manufactures behavioral research apparatus including rotarods, hot plates, Von Frey systems, and mazes. It is a direct competitor in the rodent and small-animal behavioral testing equipment segment that MazeEngineers serves.

Emerging players

• Bilaney Consultants / Plexon: Plexon develops data acquisition and behavioral analysis hardware/software for neuroscience research. While it overlaps MazeEngineers on the integration/software side, its primary focus is electrophysiology recording rather than maze apparatus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mazeengineers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maze-engineers

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 MazeEngineers