Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. is a biotechnology company founded in 2004 that develops and manufactures systems for gene sequencing and some novel real time biological observation. They describe their platform as single molecule real time sequencing (SMRT), based on the properties of zero-mode waveguides. Their first commercial product, the PacBio RS, was sold to a limited set of customers in 2010 and was commercially released in early 2011. A new version of the sequencer called the PacBio RS II was released in April 2013. On 25 September 2013 a partnership between Pacific Biosciences and Roche Diagnostics was announced for the development of in vitro diagnostic products using the technology, with Roche providing in the deal. In 2015, the company launched a new sequencing instrument called the Sequel System with approximately 7-fold greater capacity than the PacBio RS II.HistoryThe company was founded based on research done at Cornell University, that combined semiconductor processing and photonics with biotechnology research. It was initially founded under the name Nanofluidics, Inc. The company raised nearly in six rounds of primarily venture capital financing, making it one of the most capitalized startups in 2010 leading up to their public offering in October of that year. Key investors included Mohr Davidow Ventures, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Alloy Ventures, and Wellcome Trust.