Enumerix

Market position

Described in trade press as a startup entering a growing digital PCR market where Bio-Rad Laboratories and Stilla Technologies compete with newer offerings from Qiagen, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Roche, all pursuing more color channels and higher multiplexing. GenomeWeb noted Enumerix would conceivably have an advantage in droplet count, since most commercial systems generate tens of thousands of droplets per reaction and Bio-Rad-acquired RainDance claimed 10 million. The technology is framed as filling a gap between NGS (detailed but slow and expensive) and qPCR (fast and cheap but limited in targets). Customer-facing testimonials come from LabCorp, the University of Georgia and cell and gene therapy CRO Carrigent.

Sources emphasize three differentiators: a partition count roughly three orders of magnitude above typical commercial droplet dPCR systems (about 30 million compartments versus tens of thousands), which enables direct molecular counting instead of Poisson-based estimation and a six-log dynamic range; a microfluidics-free workflow using inexpensive consumables, a standard centrifuge and a standard thermocycler, with zero dead volume and a stated 99.9% sample recovery; and a universal multiplexing chemistry that avoids custom probes and signal balancing, allowing assays to be designed and tested in under a week versus months for qPCR or ddPCR. The company also cites automated, objective analysis and post-amplification sample recovery for downstream sequencing.

Technology

Countable PCR generates approximately 30 million picoliter-scale compartments by centrifuging a spin-column consumable containing a proprietary matrix or emulsion, without microfluidics. The emulsion chemistry settles droplets for efficient thermal cycling in a standard thermocycler and is optically clear for 3D light-sheet imaging; the reader compiles hundreds of frames into a 3D reconstruction of the tube and software defines compartments and counts fluorescent signals with zero dead volume. Multiplexing uses nine excitation/emission channel pairings to resolve 10 dyes by intensity fingerprint, with a theoretical capacity of 48 labeling schemes; a universal multiplexing kit links codes to standard oligos via a 5' tail and primer extension, and design software checks cross-reactivity. Additional capabilities include RNA modules, GMP-oriented software with audit trails, and a protocol to recover DNA from the matrix after amplification for downstream sequencing.

Go-to-market

Direct sales of instruments, consumables and assay services, supported by a website contact/specialist funnel, an early-access page, blog, resource and support centers, published white papers and application notes, peer-reviewed and preprint publications (PNAS 2020, ACS 2022, bioRxiv 2023), and conference presentations such as ASHG posters. The company has described itself as partnering with CLIA laboratories that develop tests on its platform, and it participates in awards programs and trade press coverage.

Clinical diagnostics and CLIA laboratories, oncology and minimal residual disease testing, NIPT providers, infectious disease and parasitology researchers, cell and gene therapy developers and CROs, and research and translational laboratories performing copy-number, transcript and transfection measurements.

Geography

Headquarters at 1810 Embarcadero Rd., Suite 200, Palo Alto, California 94303; an SBIR registry listing gives an earlier Palo Alto address at 4030 Fabian Way and records the company as a single-location firm in Santa Clara County. The company states it is pursuing global commercialization of Countable PCR.

History

Enumerix was founded in 2019 and emerged from stealth in December 2022 with its Ultra-dPCR method, which it planned to commercialize by the end of 2023, initially for research and NIPT markets. The company received NIH SBIR support, with a first award in 2023 and a Phase II award in 2024 totaling $1,905,012 for a high-precision, high-order DNA counting platform. It subsequently rebranded as Countable Labs and renamed the technology from UltraPCR to Countable PCR. Giovanna Prout, formerly CEO of Scale Biosciences prior to its acquisition by 10X Genomics, became CEO, as reported in a December 2025 interview write-up. The company's website announces a $26 million raise to accelerate clinical product development and global commercialization.

Risks & controversies

GenomeWeb noted that the digital PCR space has been rife with lawsuits over the years. Products are Research Use Only and not for use in diagnostic procedures, so clinical claims depend on future development or on customer laboratory-developed tests. A startup directory listing (last activity September 2024) flags the Enumerix entry as 'Probably Closed' with a reference to Countable Labs, which reflects the rebrand rather than evidence of a shutdown. Reported sensitivity figures vary by sample type and assay optimization status, with cfDNA input abundance imposing a practical detection ceiling.