The brief

Analyst view

• Ultima uses open silicon wafers and isothermal amplification, delivering sequencing at $1/Gb and $0.30 per million reads.
• The UG 100 machine can sequence up to 20,000 human genomes per year, producing 2.4 terabases per wafer.
• Series A: $600M in May 2022 from General Atlantic, Andreessen Horowitz, D1 Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed.

Technical approach

As reported

Open-wafer chemistry

Spinning disk instead of flow cell

Rotating silicon wafer replaces flow cells. Reagent dispensers and cameras read from fixed positions as the disk spins, eliminating sealed flow cells.

Isothermal amplification

Rapid amplification without heating

Ultima's amplification uses isothermal chemistry, avoiding thermal cycling and the equipment it requires. This speeds up library prep and cuts reagent costs.

Cost structure

Reagent-focused economics

The bulk of sequencing cost is reagents. By using simple wafers and isothermal chemistry, Ultima slashes per-genome cost from $500–600 (Illumina) to $100.