Portuguese Platform of BioImaging

What Portuguese Platform of BioImaging does

The Portuguese Platform of BioImaging (PPBI) is a national consortium of 20 core bioimaging facilities organized across 14 research nodes in three regional poles — North Imaging Cluster (Douro & Minho), Center Imaging Cluster (Mondego & Beiras), and South Imaging Cluster (Tejo & Algarve). PPBI provides Portuguese and European researchers with access to 30+ advanced microscopes covering modalities including confocal, super-resolution (STED, SMLM/PALM/STORM), two-photon, light-sheet (SPIM/dSLSM), FLIM, TIRF, expansion microscopy, intravital microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, SHG/THG, AFM, OPT, and electron microscopy (TEM/SEM), hosted at institutions such as i3S, ICVS-UM, INL, CNC-UC, Champalimaud Foundation, GIMM, and ITQB-NOVA.

PPBI delivers services across six pillars: microscopy technologies access, image analysis support, advanced training (e.g., QuPath, ImageJ/Fiji courses priced €15-75), technology development (including open-source hardware such as OpenSpin light-sheet systems), consulting services on technique selection and grant writing, and outreach activities (e.g., MicroDia, European Researchers Night). It operates as a multi-site, multimodal node within Euro-BioImaging ERIC, integrating Portugal into the pan-European research infrastructure. Customers are predominantly academic researchers, graduate students, and to a lesser extent industry researchers from pharma and biotech. Coordination is provided by a National Coordinator plus three Regional Pole Coordinators.

The consortium is coordinated by IBMC/i3S in Porto and funded through a combination of national research infrastructure programs and European framework funding (notably Euro-BioImaging ERIC and CanSERV under Horizon Europe). It maintains commercial partnerships with equipment vendors (ZEISS) and academic alliances (REMOA, EMBO, NEUBIAS, COLife), and co-organizes the SPAOM conference and hosts ELMI 2026.

Name

Portuguese Platform of BioImaging

Legal name

Portuguese Platform of BioImaging

Website

https://ppbi.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Portuguese Platform of BioImaging (PPBI) is a national consortium of 20 core bioimaging facilities across 14 nodes in Portugal, providing academic and industry researchers with access to advanced microscopy equipment, image analysis, training, and consulting services as a Euro-BioImaging ERIC node.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leiria

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Microscopy Services: Access to advanced microscopy equipment and imaging services for researchers from academia and industry. Services include equipment operation, project planning, and technical support.
2. Training and Education: Fee-based courses and workshops on microscopy techniques and image analysis. Courses range from introductory to advanced levels, some offering ECTS credits.
3. Consulting Services: Advisory services on project planning, technique selection, equipment purchases, image analysis strategies, and grant writing.
4. Event Booth Reservations: Rental of exhibition booths at conferences and events such as ELMI meetings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

PPBI is a national consortium of 20 bioimaging core facilities across three Portuguese regional poles, providing researchers access to 30+ advanced microscopes (super-resolution, electron, confocal, light-sheet) along with image analysis services, hands-on training courses, expert consulting, and collaborative technology development. It operates as a multi-site, multimodal node of Euro-BioImaging ERIC, coordinating imaging access for academic and industry researchers across life sciences, with standardized training offerings and outreach programs such as MicroDia.

Product overview

PPBI is a national consortium platform of 20 core bioimaging facilities distributed across three regional poles in Portugal (Douro & Minho, Mondego & Beiras, and Tejo & Algarve). The platform provides integrated services comprising microscopy technologies access, image analysis support, advanced training programs, technology development, consulting services, and outreach activities. Operating as a multi-site, multimodal Euro-BioImaging Node, PPBI connects researchers to advanced microscopy equipment and expertise across cell biology, neuroscience, oncobiology, immunology, infection, and regenerative medicine research domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Microscopy Technologies Services Access to cutting-edge microscope equipment and imaging services for world-class life-science research, spanning super-resolution (STED, SMLM), electron (TEM, SEM), confocal, light-sheet, two-photon, intravital, expansion, and tissue-clearing microscopy modalities across 14 PPBI nodes.
• Image Analysis Services Bioimaging data analysis services and tools that transform raw microscopy images into quantitative discoveries, supported by expert staff and tooling including QuPath, ImageJ/Fiji, and FLIM-FRET analysis pipelines.
• Advanced Training Courses Fee-based expert-led workshops, courses, and hands-on sessions covering microscopy techniques, image analysis software (QuPath, ImageJ/Fiji), and specialized bioimaging topics, with some courses offering ECTS credits for graduate students.
• Technology Development Collaborative development of customized bioimaging and life-sciences technology solutions, including open-source microscope platforms such as OpenSpin (the first open-source light-sheet system).
• Consulting Services Expert advisory services on bioimaging project planning, technique selection, equipment recommendations, image analysis strategy, and grant writing, delivered through PPBI's regional pole coordinators.
• Outreach Activities Community engagement and science outreach initiatives, including the MicroDia program showcasing microscopy to high school students and the general public, plus European Researchers Night activities to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 research nodes providing nationwide coverage
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature22 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• EuroBioImagingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPPBI is a multi-site, multimodal node within EuroBioImaging ERIC, providing Portugal's national hub for biological microscopy imaging community. This partnership provides international visibility, access to European research networks, and integration with pan-European imaging infrastructure.
• REMOA (Red Española de Microscopía Óptica Avanzada)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the Spanish & Portuguese Advanced Optical Microscopy Meeting (SPAOM), the 9th edition scheduled for November 2025 in Braga, Portugal. This partnership fosters collaboration between Iberian imaging communities.
• CanSERVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHorizon Europe-funded project where PPBI nodes offer free cutting-edge services to cancer researchers. 28 EuroBioImaging Nodes participate, providing services across disease models, imaging technologies, biomarker research, and therapeutic solutions.
• Champalimaud Foundation (ABBE Platform)coreTechnology or IntegrationNode partner providing advanced bioimaging and biooptics experimental platform, including the ABBE Imaging Facility that hosts training courses like Principles of Light Microscopy.
• i3S (Institute for Research and Innovation in Health)coreTechnology or IntegrationLead node hosting multiple advanced imaging facilities including Advanced Light Microscopy, BioSciences Screening, Histology and Electron Microscopy, and Advanced Biomaterials characterization.
• Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC/GIMM)coreTechnology or IntegrationHost of OpenSpin platform development (first open-source light-sheet system) and advanced imaging facilities. GIMM serves as the GIMM Bioimaging node and coordinates national QuPath courses.
• ITQB NOVAcoreTechnology or IntegrationNode partner offering imaging at Biosafety Level >1 for infectious samples, and hosting EMBO Practical Course on open-source microscopy (Hack your Microscope).
• ELMI (European Light Microscopy Initiative)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPPBI maintains exhibition booth presence at ELMI annual meetings, the primary European light microscopy conference series.
• NEUBIAS (Network of European BioImage Analysts)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network hosting training schools for bioimage analysts; PPBI has hosted multiple NEUBIAS training events in Porto and Oeiras.
• COLifeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborative initiative for life sciences; PPBI participates in workshops like light sheet imaging training delivered across multiple institutions.
• EMBOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Molecular Biology Organization; PPBI hosts EMBO Practical Courses including 3D Developmental Imaging (2018) and Hack your Microscope (2026).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Euro-BioImaging ERIC: Pan-European research infrastructure consortium for biological and biomedical imaging; PPBI is itself a Node within Euro-BioImaging, making it the parent/umbrella organization that defines the standards and access framework PPBI operates under.
• EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory): Intergovernmental research organization with advanced imaging core facilities serving life-sciences researchers across Europe; comparable as a publicly funded provider of high-end bioimaging services, training, and technology development, though operating at supranational scale.
• Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (Core Facilities): Large German research institute operating centralized microscopy and bioimaging core facilities; comparable as a publicly funded provider of high-end imaging services, training, and consulting to a national research community, but at greater scale and with a single organizational governance model.
• Institut Pasteur – Imaging Core Facility: Major life-sciences research institute operating advanced imaging core facilities with training and service offerings; comparable as a publicly funded, single-organization alternative to PPBI's distributed consortium model, particularly for biomedical imaging users.

Others

• Leica Microsystems: Microscopy and imaging equipment vendor (Danaher) with application/training services for life-sciences research; comparable to PPBI in serving the same research community with advanced imaging capability, though as a commercial product and services company rather than a research consortium.
• Carl Zeiss Microscopy: Major microscopy equipment manufacturer and provider of training/application support; comparable as a supplier of advanced microscopy technology and as a training partner to PPBI nodes (ZEISS supports PPBI courses), but operates as a vendor rather than a multi-site service consortium.

Direct peers

• NEUBIAS (Network of European BioImage Analysts): European network providing bioimage analysis training schools and community resources; PPBI hosts multiple NEUBIAS training events, making it a closely comparable peer in training delivery, image analysis workflow support, and European community building for bioimaging.
• Instruct-ERIC: European research infrastructure providing access to structural biology instrumentation and services across member countries; highly comparable as a multi-node, publicly funded, pan-European life-sciences technology access platform, although focused on structural biology rather than bioimaging.
• CanSERV (EU Cancer Research Services): Horizon Europe project coordinating 28 Euro-BioImaging Nodes including PPBI to provide free cutting-edge imaging services to cancer researchers; comparable as a project-based funding channel and as a peer infrastructure platform structuring demand for PPBI's microscopy services.

Emerging players

• Bio-Techne (Imaging & Microscopy): Life-sciences tools provider offering microscopy-related reagents, instruments, and image analysis software; comparable in serving bioimaging researchers with enabling technologies, but as a commercial vendor rather than a service/access platform.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PPBioImaging
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ppbi-portuguese-platform-of-bioimaging
• Instagraminstagram.com/ppbioimage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Portuguese Platform of BioImaging