The interesting news site Endpoints News has an article on Illumina and the sequencing ecosystem, by editor Jared Whitlock. Find it here:
https://endpts.com/how-illuminas-ex-employees-became-its-customers-and-competitors/
Endpoints is switching to a new "dot-news" website June 1:
Chat GPT summarizes,
- In a sweeping feature for Endpoints News, Jared Whitlock explores how Illumina — the DNA sequencing giant that helped democratize genomics — has paradoxically seeded a wave of competition from within. Over 70 companies have been founded by former Illumina employees, forming a "diaspora" that’s both reliant on and rival to their former employer. While some of these spinouts, like Element Biosciences, have become fierce competitors, many still use Illumina sequencers or complement its tech.
- The article details how Illumina, grappling with the results of its Grail acquisition, is now expanding beyond DNA into multiomics — often into the same markets its alumni now occupy.
- For readers tracking the genomics industry's evolution, this piece is a fascinating look at innovation, spinout culture, and corporate strategy in real time.
