Labric

What do they actually do

Labric provides a lightweight app/agent that runs on lab computers to capture experiment output from instruments and acquisition software, then streams those files into a central cloud system instead of leaving them scattered across folders, spreadsheets, and email. They also offer connectors to common researcher tools (Excel, Google Sheets/Drive, Notion) so documents and spreadsheets are consolidated into one structured repository (Labric homepage; YC company page).

In the web platform, teams can search and browse collected data and use simple AI features like auto‑generated experiment reports, visualizations of parameter relationships, and an AI lab assistant to surface insights from historical results. Public signals suggest the company is very early stage, operating via demos and pilots with research labs rather than broad self‑serve rollout (Labric homepage; YC company page).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Principal investigators and academic lab leads: Students and postdocs save instrument files and notes in different places, making it hard to find past experiments or confirm what was actually done. They want a single, searchable place for experiment data to reduce time spent hunting for files.
• R&D scientists at small biotech or materials startups: They need to compare experiments and run models quickly but spend days cleaning and standardizing raw outputs and spreadsheets. They want raw files and docs pulled into a normalized repository to shorten prep work.
• Lab managers and research operations leads: They struggle to enforce consistent file naming, track sample/data provenance, and assemble records for collaborators or audits. They want automatic capture from instruments and centralized documents for traceability.
• Data scientists and ML engineers embedded in R&D: Experiment data is fragmented and inconsistent, with missing context, so models aren’t reliable and time is lost on custom parsers. They want an AI‑ready data layer with structured, contextualized inputs.
• Core facilities and instrument technicians: Instrument outputs live on local PCs and users email spreadsheets, making it hard to share clean datasets or troubleshoot issues across users. They want automated streaming of instrument outputs into a central system.

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

• First 10: Run hands‑on pilots with research labs sourced via founders’ and YC networks; offer short, guided installs to prove end‑to‑end file capture and produce technical notes from each pilot to validate value.
• First 50: Leverage referrals from satisfied pilots, add one or two scientist‑sellers to close implementations quickly, and pursue partnerships with core facilities and instrument vendors so Labric can be bundled during onboarding.
• First 100: Productize onboarding for common instruments, publish self‑serve guides and a connector request flow, and expand outbound to handle conference/inbound interest while building integrations with ELN/LIMS and core‑facility platforms for channel-driven installs.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

The global laboratory informatics market (LIMS/ELN/SDMS and related lab data software) is about USD ~3.86B in 2024 and forecast to reach ~USD 5.21B by 2030; the U.S. portion is ~USD 1.32B in 2024 (Grand View Research; ResearchAndMarkets summary via Yahoo Finance).

Bottom-up calculation:

As a near‑term, research‑focused slice, a simple bottom‑up view might start with ~73,600 U.S. scientific R&D businesses; if ~5% are immediate targets for instrument‑centric data capture (~3,700 orgs) at a $10k–$20k ACV, that implies ~$37M–$74M in the U.S., with a rough 3x multiplier for global opportunity of ~$110M–$220M (IBISWorld count).

Assumptions:

• Only a subset of scientific R&D orgs have immediate instrument‑data consolidation needs (≈5% near‑term).
• Average contract value in early stage ranges $10k–$20k per org per year.
• Global opportunity approximated as ~3x the U.S. market for similar research org profiles.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Benchling: A unified cloud R&D platform (ELN, registry, workflow, integrations/APIs). Overlaps on centralizing experimental data but is positioned as a full lifecycle system for biotech teams rather than a lightweight instrument/file capture layer.
• LabArchives: A widely used electronic lab notebook with folder monitoring and file sync to pull local files into a searchable ELN, competing directly on the collect-and-organize lab files use case common in academia and core facilities.
• RSpace (ResearchSpace): An ELN + inventory platform with on‑prem/private cloud options, strong audit trails and APIs, often chosen by institutions needing strict provenance and local control rather than a lightweight cloud agent.
• openBIS: Open‑source data management focused on ingesting instrument outputs via dropboxes and supporting FAIR workflows; popular in academic/core facilities when heavy customization and instrument‑level ETL are required.
• Labguru: An all‑in‑one LIMS + ELN for startups and small R&D teams with inventory, scheduling, and APIs; overlaps on stitching experiment records and instrument data for teams wanting an integrated operational platform.