10X GENOMICS

The Human Genome Project told us what genes we have. But it could not answer a harder question: what is each individual cell in a complex tissue actually doing?

A tumor is not a homogeneous mass — it contains multiple cell types, each behaving differently. Understanding cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases at the individual cell level requires single-cell genomics.

Serge Saxonov, Ben Hindson, and Kevin Ness built the Chromium System — a microfluidics-based instrument that can process thousands of single cells simultaneously and read the gene expression of each one. It launched in 2015 and transformed biological research.

The technology gave researchers tools that previously would have required years of custom development. 10x Genomics went public in 2019.

10x Genomics sells laboratory instruments, consumables (reagents, chips), and software for single-cell genomics and spatial biology research. The instrument is typically a one-time purchase.

The consumables are the recurring revenue — researchers buy 10x Genomics chips and reagents every time they run an experiment. This "razor and blade" model generates predictable revenue from installed instruments and grows as researchers run more experiments.

Chromium Single Cell System (single-cell RNA sequencing), Visium Spatial Gene Expression, Xenium In Situ (spatial transcriptomics), Loupe Browser software

10x expanded beyond gene expression into spatial biology — imaging tissue slices and reading gene expression at specific physical locations within a tissue. Visium and Xenium (its spatial transcriptomics products) opened a new market that gave researchers the ability to map where in a tumor or brain each cell type lives.

Spatial biology became one of the hottest areas in life science research, and 10x positioned itself as the category leader.

Single-cell genomics is complex and expensive technology. The market for research tools, while growing, is smaller than consumer or clinical markets.

Competition from Illumina (which has vast distribution and resources) is a constant threat. 10x also faces challenges from PacBio and other platforms that overlap on some applications.

Patent disputes (Illumina sued 10x over patents) consumed management time and legal costs.

Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, Public market investors