Labs move to platforms
Life‑science procurement is shifting online as lab buyers adopt marketplace-style tools, and Quartzy just raised $23 million to expand its vertical procurement platform for labs. (x.com) Social posts note startups like Shop Genomics are trying to apply consumer e‑commerce speed and UX to scientific buying. (x.com) The commentary connects that platform push to rising research spending and higher B2B e‑commerce expectations in lab supply chains. (x.com)
Labs are buying pipettes, reagents and freezers more like businesses buy office software now — through online platforms that bundle search, approvals and fulfillment. (financialcontent.com) Quartzy said on April 13 that it secured $23 million in financing from Avenue Capital Group and BroadOak Capital Partners. The Hayward, California, company said the money will go into its software platform, supplier network, customer experience and go-to-market work. (financialcontent.com) Quartzy says it serves more than 3,000 organizations, and its Quartzy Shop lists more than 10 million products from more than 1,000 suppliers. On its website, the company says buyers can shop from more than 1,800 brands through the platform. (tamarsecurities.com) (quartzy.com) The pitch is simple: lab purchasing has long run on email chains, quote requests and distributor catalogs, while newer platforms try to put requests, approvals, inventory tracking and checkout in one place. Quartzy said missed deliveries can stop experiments, which is why it built software around ordering and stock control as well as shopping. (quartzy.com) (vcaonline.com) Other companies are making a similar argument with a more consumer-style storefront. Shop Genomics said on April 15 that it is applying consumer e-commerce practices to laboratory supply buying, targeting problems such as opaque pricing, long lead times and fragmented supplier networks. (abnewswire.com) That sales pitch is landing in a research market that is still large even as funding fights intensify. Congress set the National Institutes of Health budget at $48.7 billion for fiscal year 2026, up $415 million from fiscal year 2025, according to STAT, while the Congressional Research Service says the agency remains the federal government’s main funder of medical and behavioral research. (statnews.com) (congress.gov) Consulting firms tracking the sector say digital operations remain a priority inside life-science companies. Deloitte’s 2025 outlook said digital transformation was a key focus for executives, and McKinsey’s 2026 life-sciences outlook pointed to new operating models, automation and software as sources of productivity and growth. (deloitte.com) (mckinsey.com) Quartzy is not selling a general marketplace in the Amazon mold; it is selling a vertical platform built around lab workflows, compliance and inventory. That is why its financing announcement emphasized a “vertically integrated” model rather than a simple catalog business. (financialcontent.com) (quartzy.com) The next test is whether labs shift more of their routine purchasing into these systems instead of using them as side tools. Quartzy’s new funding and Shop Genomics’ launch pitch both bet that researchers now expect the same speed and visibility in lab buying that other business buyers already expect online. (financialcontent.com) (abnewswire.com)
