Cell Microsystems

About Cell Microsystems

Cell Microsystems, a biotechnology company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, provides platforms for cell engineering, culture, and analysis. The company was established in 2010 as a spin-out from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by Dr. Nancy Allbritton, Dr. Christopher Sims, and Dr. Yuli Wang. This venture was born from the CellRaft® Technology developed in Dr. Allbritton's lab, aiming to commercialize its applications. The founders possess extensive backgrounds in biomedical engineering, medicine, and bioengineering, having previously founded other successful ventures like Cell Biosciences and Altis Biosystems. Gary Pace, Ph.D., J.D., joined as CEO in 2014 and spearheaded a strategic pivot to focus on product applications and automated instrumentation.

The company's business revolves around the development and sale of instruments and consumables for single-cell biology research. Its client base includes academic, government, and pharmaceutical research organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Revenue is generated through the sale of its proprietary systems, consumables like the CellRaft Arrays, and, more recently, through expanded lab services for cell line and organoid development. A key milestone was the first sale of its flagship CellRaft AIR® System in late 2018, which catalyzed commercial expansion and further investment. The company has secured a total of $19.1 million in funding over eight rounds, including a significant Series B round in August 2023. In August 2023, Cell Microsystems acquired Fluxion Biosciences, broadening its portfolio with automated patch clamp and cell-based assay tools.

Cell Microsystems' core offering is the CellRaft AIR® System, an integrated platform that allows researchers to image, identify, sort, and isolate single cells or cell colonies gently and efficiently. Unlike traditional methods that can be harsh on cells, the system uses a proprietary consumable, the CellRaft Array—a culture dish with thousands of releasable microwells. This design allows single cells to grow in a shared media environment, which improves their viability and proliferation, before being gently isolated using a magnetic wand for downstream analysis or clonal expansion. This technology is particularly beneficial for applications in CRISPR gene editing, cell line development, genomics, and stem cell research, offering a much faster workflow compared to traditional methods. The company's portfolio also includes the BioFlux Systems for emulating in vivo conditions with physiological shear flow and the CERO 3D Cell Culture & Bioreactor for long-term organoid growth.