Profluent Bio vs Illumina
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
AI protein design company released OpenCRISPR-1, the first gene editor designed entirely by AI; raised $35M developing novel enzymes, antibodies, and gene-editing tools by exploring protein sequence space beyond what evolution has produced.
About
Profluent Bio is an AI protein design company founded in 2022 by former Meta AI researcher Ali Madani, raising $35M in seed and Series A funding. The company trains large generative models on biological sequence data to design novel proteins with specific structural and functional properties, analogous to how large language models generate text. Profluent made scientific history in 2024 by publishing OpenCRISPR-1, the first gene editor designed entirely by AI rather than adapted from natural organisms, which the company released open source for non-commercial research. The platform enables design of novel enzymes, antibodies, and gene-editing tools by exploring protein sequence space far beyond what evolution has produced. Profluent works with pharmaceutical and agricultural biotechnology companies that need custom protein tools for research and therapeutic development. The company represents a fundamental advance in moving protein engineering from directed evolution and rational design toward generative AI-driven discovery.
World's dominant DNA sequencing platform with ~80% market share; ~$4.34B FY2025 revenue. Powers clinical genomics, oncology diagnostics, and population-scale sequencing.
About
Illumina was founded in 1998 in San Diego and has grown into the undisputed leader in next-generation sequencing (NGS), with approximately 80% global market share across research and clinical applications. The company's sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) chemistry and NovaSeq, NextSeq, and MiSeq instrument platforms have become the standard infrastructure for genomic research, clinical oncology, reproductive health, and infectious disease diagnostics worldwide.\n\nIllumina's business model combines high-margin consumable sales (flow cells, reagent kits) with instrument placements, creating a razor-and-blades recurring revenue structure. Its clinical sequencing segment showed accelerating growth in 2025, with clinical consumables revenue up 20% year-over-year in Q4. The company is expanding into spatial transcriptomics and multi-omics with new instruments unveiled at AGBT 2025, broadening its addressable market.\n\nIllumina reported $4.34 billion in FY2025 revenue and guides to $4.5–$4.6 billion for FY2026, with non-GAAP operating margins of ~23%. Having divested Grail (its liquid biopsy subsidiary) following regulatory pressure, Illumina is refocused on its core sequencing franchise and positioned to benefit from continued clinical adoption of genomic medicine.
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