Biocartesian

What do they actually do

Biocartesian runs a lab service that turns shipped biological specimens into digital molecular maps — spatially resolved measurements of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Customers send samples to Biocartesian, which applies its chemistry and microscopy pipeline, processes the resulting images/omics, and returns structured maps with analysis and visualization tools (YC, company site).

Beyond tissue sections, they offer high‑throughput cell‑culture profiling and screening services, and include AI‑assisted segmentation and automated workflows in the analysis package. This is a lab + software service today, not a pure self‑serve SaaS product (YC, company site).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Academic disease biologists (PIs, postdocs) studying patient tissue: Spatial assays are slow and bespoke, require specialized instruments, and produce data that’s hard to analyze without heavy bioinformatics. They want clear, ready‑to‑use molecular maps without building an in‑house pipeline (YC, site).
• Pharma/biotech target‑validation teams: They need standardized, comparable tissue data at scale to confirm targets in the right cell types and disease states. Current options yield inconsistent assays and long turnaround times (YC, site).
• Translational/clinical research groups and pathologists: They link biopsies to outcomes but often can’t run complex spatial profiling in‑house. They need reliable, interpretable results that fit clinical study workflows without setting up new wet lab or bioinformatics stacks (YC, site).
• High‑throughput screening teams (cell‑based, pooled CRISPR): Screening readouts are limited (images or bulk signals), and scaling bespoke molecular assays with spatial context is technically and logistically difficult (YC, site).
• CROs and assay developers: They want to validate/commercialize custom spatial assays but lack a standardized, scalable platform. They face inconsistent processing, low throughput, and high costs across many bespoke protocols (YC, site).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Leverage founders’ networks and the YC community to run high‑touch pilots for academic and translational labs, handling end‑to‑end prep, imaging, and analysis to deliver publishable figures and methods notes (YC, site).
• First 50: Target disease‑area conferences and pathology cores; host hands‑on webinars; ship standardized sample kits and fixed‑scope pilot pricing to ease logistics and procurement.
• First 100: Add CROs, assay developers, larger pharma groups, and biobanks via recurring‑run agreements (volume discounts/revenue share), publish validation datasets/SOPs, and launch a self‑serve portal/API for scaled ordering.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Near‑term, the directly addressable TAM is spatial biology/omics (instruments, consumables, software, services), which recent reports place around ~$1–2B in the mid‑2020s and growing, with adjacent digital pathology adding ~>$1B of buyer budgets and CRO outsourcing in the tens of billions (spatial biology, digital pathology, CRO).

Bottom-up calculation:

Example: If ~500 academic/translational labs outsource 2 spatial projects/year at ~$20k each (~$20M) and ~30 biopharma teams run 20 projects/year at ~$35k each (~$21M), the initial serviceable market is ~>$40M/year, before broader adoption or data licensing.

Assumptions:

• ~500 labs in US/EU are ready to outsource at least some spatial assays in the next 1–2 years.
• Average academic/translational project price ≈ $20k; average biopharma project price ≈ $35k, inclusive of analysis.
• Biopharma teams run higher volumes (≈20 projects/year) as programs scale; academic labs run ~2/year.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• 10x Genomics (Xenium, Visium): Major spatial transcriptomics and in situ platform vendor; widely used in research, often via core labs and CRO partners.
• Akoya Biosciences (PhenoCycler/PhenoImager): Multiplex spatial proteomics/imaging systems used in discovery and translational pathology workflows.
• Vizgen (MERSCOPE): In situ single‑molecule spatial transcriptomics platform focused on high‑resolution RNA mapping.
• Resolve Biosciences (Molecular Cartography): Spatial transcriptomics platform emphasizing high‑plex, subcellular RNA mapping in tissue.
• Canopy Biosciences (a Bruker company): CRO/service provider offering spatial omics and multiplexed imaging services; a direct alternative to ship‑out lab services.