SAN DIEGO – Scale Biosciences, an early-stage biotech startup developing single-cell sequencing products, has announced its latest initiative in partnership with Ultima Genomics and NVIDIA.
A global initiative, promoted as the “100 million cell challenge,” is a first-of-its-kind program, according to the company’s executives.
President and CEO
Scale Biosciences
In particular, the local company calls for hundreds of researchers across the globe to submit proposals for large-scale single cell projects. “The goal is to collectively analyze 100 million cells or more across diverse biological systems and research areas,” said Giovanna Prout, president and CEO of ScaleBio.
“The 100 million cell challenge represents a pivotal moment in single cell genomics research,” said Prout. “By bringing together researchers from various disciplines and providing them with advanced technology from Scale Bio and our collaborators, we aim to catalyze new discoveries that will shape the future of precision medicine, further our understanding of complex biological systems, and fuel the explosion of generative AI that is being leveraged in biology.”
Empowering Researchers Globally
The San Diego-based company’s mission is to empower researchers from various disciplines and applications to unleash the immense potential of single-cell sequencing on a large scale.
Founded in 2020, the fast-growing startup has garnered the support of influential investors in the life sciences sector, such as ARCH Venture Partners, BNG Capital Group, and Tao Capital.
The co-founding team of Scale Bio includes Garry Nolan, Jay Shendure, Cole Trapnell, Frank Steemers, and Sean Scott, all who are experts in the life science industry. It has raised more than $30 million and has research and development facilities in San Diego and Menlo Park.
Ultima Genomics is a late-stage Bay Area-based startup, that has raised more than $600 million in capital and is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, General Atlantic, Khosla Ventures, and Lightspeed, among others.
CEO and Co-Founder
Ultima Genomics
Gilad Almogy, CEO and Co-Founder of Ultima said the company is thrilled to join forces with Scale Biosciences, as it aligns perfectly with its mission to enable researchers to generate and access genomic information at scale.
“Effectively training foundation models requires an immense amount of data. The dramatic increase in high-resolution single cell experiments from this project will help significantly impact translational research,” said NVIDIA Global Head of Genomics Alliances George Vacek. “With NVIDIA GPU-powered analysis, researchers can rapidly gain meaningful insights from data, accelerating scientific discovery.”
Ready for Commercialization
In 2022, Scale Bio launched its first product call the “scRNAseq” which is a first-generation profiling and analysis solution two years ago. That offering set new standards in terms of accessibility, scalability, and affordability for single-cell sequencing, according to the firm.
Global Head
Genomics Alliances
NVIDIA
No longer an early-stage startup, it has grown its headcount significantly over the last two years, employing more than 60 staffers, to date.
Scale Bio executives said it believes it is currently in the “commercialization phase” of the company’s life cycle. Frank Steemers, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Scale Biosciences said the company looks forward to continuing to partner with industry leaders.
The goal is to develop more cutting-edge products that expand the universe of what’s possible with single cell genomics.
“These new solutions show the broad applicability of ScaleBio’s single cell sequencing and combinatorial indexing technology to address a range of research questions,” said Steemers. “More importantly, they are a testament to our company’s focus on addressing the shortcomings of existing single cell genomics solutions in an accessible, scalable and cost-effective way.”
New Leadership
Under the leadership of its CEO, the company’s revenue has grown sequentially quarter-over-quarter with annual triple digit growth. It has launched a total of five products to date, built a global commercial team, and forged new partnerships.
In July 2023, Scale Bio’s board members recruited Prout as its chief executive officer. Prout was previously vice president of marketing at Deepcell.
Before that she held marketing and commercial leadership roles of increasing responsibility at 10x Genomics and Illumina. She holds a BS in engineering and an MBA degree from the University of California, San Diego.
“Going back to the single-cell world feels like home,” said Prout. “I couldn’t be more thrilled help lead the Scale Biosciences team, helping bring any researcher with any budget options for their single-cell omics studies and ensuring the single-cell innovation flame continues to be heavily fueled.”
Scale Biosciences
FOUNDED: 2020
CEO: Giovanna Prout
HEADQUARTERS: Torrey Pines, San Diego
EMPLOYEES: 60+
BUSINESS: Developing single-cell sequencing products/
FUNDING: $32 million raised, to date.
WEBSITE: www.scale.bio
CONTACT: info@scale.bio
NOTABLE: In 2023, appointed a former Illumina employee as its new CEO alongside several additional leadership hires.
