Scale Bio Joins Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's Billion Cells Project, Accelerating Single Cell Research at Unprecedented Scale

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SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 3, 2025--

Scale Biosciences, Inc. (Scale Bio), a leader in highly scalable single cell technologies, today announced its participation in the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's (CZI) Billion Cells Project at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York Affiliate Symposium. Scale Bio joins technology partners 10x Genomics and Ultima Genomics in this landmark effort to generate an unprecedented one billion cell dataset to fuel rapid progress in cell biology through AI model development. This collaboration represents a significant expansion of the data generation capabilities for the Billion Cells Project.

Scale Bio is a demonstrated leader in advancing large-scale single cell studies, having leveraged its QuantumScale technology in its “100 Million Cell Challenge,” supported by CZI, Ultima Genomics, NVIDIA, and BioTuring, which helped lay important groundwork for the broader Billion Cells Project. The integration of Scale Bio's technology with the Billion Cells Project will further accelerate the generation of high-quality, diverse cellular data to fuel advances in biological understanding.

"At Scale Bio, we are focused on accelerating scientific progress through the power of scale to improve human health. For too long, technological limitations have constrained what's possible in single cell research," said Giovanna Prout, President and CEO at Scale Bio. "With our QuantumScale and ScalePlex technologies, we've reimagined single cell analysis to drive unprecedented scalability, enabling researchers to conduct experiments previously considered infeasible, overly cumbersome, or too expensive. We are proud to collaborate again with CZI and participating researchers on the Billion Cells Project to push the boundaries of single cell omics, helping to generate data across diverse biological models at the scale needed to power new discoveries and develop impactful AI models. We're excited to see our technologies contribute to such a monumental initiative."

"Scale Bio will be a valuable partner to help us achieve our grand scientific challenge of building an AI-based virtual cell model to predict and understand cellular behavior,” said Jonah Cool, PhD, Senior Science Program Officer for Cell Science at CZI. "This collaboration will allow researchers to answer specific biological questions about cells and derive high-quality data with unprecedented scale and accessibility. We hope this partnership with Scale Bio is just the beginning of how innovative technologies can remove barriers to data generation, enabling researchers to build more comprehensive AI models that could provide insights into health and disease."

Scale Bio’s QuantumScale Single Cell RNA kits, which were made available early to 100 Million Cell Challenge winners, are now commercially available in five configurations to academic and commercial customers around the world. The technology is a dramatic improvement over existing solutions, as it can capture and process up to 4 million cells in one short workflow without specialized partitioning instrumentation. Additionally, leveraging ScalePlex technology, researchers can multiplex up to 9,216 samples or conditions per run, making it uniquely suited for large-scale projects.

“With support from CZI and in partnership with interlocking efforts across HuBMAP and the Human Cell Atlas, we’re working to build a comprehensive cellular map of diseases that affect the inhalation interface—from the oral cavity through the upper airway and into the lung,” said Kevin Matthew Byrd, DDS, PhD, Researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University and recipient of a 100 Million Cell Challenge grant. “Chronic conditions like sarcoidosis and Sjögren’s disease impact this entire cul-de-sac of breathing. Scale Bio’s QuantumScale technology allows us to map millions of cells across these connected niches, uncovering shared mechanisms and opening the door to new diagnostic and therapeutic insights.”

Large-scale single cell analysis projects, such as the CZI Billion Cells Project, are critical to building a comprehensive understanding of cellular diversity. These initiatives accelerate understanding of cellular behavior and gene function while fueling the development of AI models that reflect diverse biology. Once completed, this single cell dataset will bring critical new data and resolution to multiple domains of biology that need comprehensive resources, enabling researchers to train AI models and make transformative discoveries across precision medicine and functional genomics.

For more information about the QuantumScale Single Cell RNA kits, visit scale.bio/single cell-rna-sequencing-kit/.

About Scale Bio

Scale Biosciences, Inc. (Scale Bio) is redefining single cell analysis by providing the most scalable omics tools to researchers worldwide, helping to advance the field of single cell omics and to accelerate discoveries in human health and disease. The company's innovative QuantumScale and ScalePlex technologies enable unprecedented throughput and multiplexing capabilities, allowing researchers to conduct single cell experiments at scales previously unimaginable. For more information, visit scale.bio.

About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a better future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.

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KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BIOTECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY HEALTH ONCOLOGY HEALTH TECHNOLOGY OTHER SCIENCE OTHER TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GENETICS SCIENCE

SOURCE: Scale Biosciences, Inc.

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PUB: 04/03/2025 03:30 PM/DISC: 04/03/2025 03:30 PM

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