Vizgen

Vizgen is a spatial biology company that develops integrated spatial multiomics platforms combining transcriptomics and proteomics. Its transcriptomics offering is MERFISH 2.0 chemistry running on the MERSCOPE and MERSCOPE Ultra instruments, which map up to 1,000 RNA targets at single-cell and subcellular resolution across tissue areas of up to 3 cm2, including FFPE, fixed-frozen and fresh-frozen samples. Its proteomics offering, InSituPlex, uses DNA-barcoded primary antibodies with signal amplification and sequential imaging rounds to perform quantitative multiplex immunofluorescence on whole-slide tissue, delivered through OmniVUE predesigned and U-VUE custom panels. STARVUE provides AI-driven spatial image analysis, and MERSCOPE Visualizer (Vizualizer) is used for interactive data review.

Beyond instruments and reagents, Vizgen operates lab services covering consultation, panel selection or custom panel design (up to roughly 960 genes via an automated portal, for any well-annotated species), protocol optimization, whole-slide imaging on MERSCOPE Ultra, and image/data analysis. The analysis service — cell segmentation, clustering, annotation, cell proximity and interaction, and pathway dynamics — can be purchased stand-alone by customers who generate MERFISH 2.0 data on their own instruments. Stated application areas are neuroscience, oncology (tumor microenvironment and checkpoint protein quantification) and immunology. Products are labeled research use only.

The company reports 200+ MERSCOPE platforms installed globally and, depending on the page, 180+ MERFISH and 200+ MERSCOPE peer-reviewed publications and preprints, or 400+ MERFISH/MERSCOPE publications and preprints. It maintains a public data release program with example datasets spanning breast and colon cancer and human and mouse brain.

Founding story

Founded in 2019 to commercialize spatial genomics for biological research, building on MERFISH technology exclusively licensed from Harvard University. Vizgen states it was co-founded by leaders in single-cell and spatial genomics including Xiaowei Zhuang, PhD, Professor David Walt, PhD, and Jeffrey Moffitt, PhD.

Business model

Vizgen sells capital instruments (MERSCOPE, MERSCOPE Ultra) together with consumable assay chemistry and panels (MERFISH 2.0 predesigned and custom gene panels, InSituPlex OmniVUE and U-VUE protein panels), plus software/AI analysis (STARVUE, MERSCOPE Visualizer). It also runs a fee-for-service lab business providing end-to-end spatial transcriptomics and proteomics experiments and stand-alone data analysis for externally generated data. Stated financing priorities include scaling manufacturing operations, accelerating turnaround times for custom content products and improving margin profile.

Mixed instrument, consumable/panel and services revenue; management describes a stated goal of reaching profitability without providing a timeline.

Traction

200+ MERSCOPE platforms installed globally; 400+ MERFISH/MERSCOPE peer-reviewed publications and preprints per the homepage (about page cites 180+ MERFISH and 200+ MERSCOPE publications and preprints), including more than 100 new high-impact peer-reviewed articles since late 2024.

Latest developments

January 8, 2026: closed a $48 million financing led by ARCH Venture Partners and co-led by M Ventures and Northpond Ventures, with existing investors participating, to fund the innovation roadmap, global reach and manufacturing scale-up. April 1, 2026: founder Professor Xiaowei Zhuang awarded the 2026 Ernest Solvay Prize. April 15, 2026: launch of new panels and AI segmentation tools. May 24, 2026 and June 8, 2026 releases covered a spatial atlas of the healthy human liver and new volumetric tissue mapping spatial data and services presented at the HCA 2026 meeting.