{ "docId": "019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-101b5bfde4b8", "docSlug": "a70fecd99534", "documentTitle": "Berkeley Lights (BLI)", "authorId": "58_Scorpion_Capital", "authorName": "Scorpion Capital", "documentKindSlug": "research-note", "documentKindLabel": "Research note", "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller", "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller", "presentationDate": "2021-09-15 00:00:00", "orientation": "landscape", "aspectRatio": 1.2941177, "pageNumber": 140, "pageCount": 158, "prevPage": 139, "nextPage": 141, "slideType": "villain_critique", "function": "name_villain", "density": "overcrowded", "nDataPoints": 2, "notes": "Uses expert testimony to frame the technology as fundamentally flawed and unscalable.", "elementsJson": [ "paragraph", "callout_box" ], "metadataConfidence": 1, "imagePath": null, "slideHref": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-101b5bfde4b8/140", "deckHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-101b5bfde4b8", "deckJsonHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-101b5bfde4b8.json", "deckAnchorHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-101b5bfde4b8#slide-140", "components": [ { "bbox": null, "kind": "callout", "text": "The machine’s market size is further limited by its “massive throughput limitation,” which makes it painfully slow versus typical flow cytometers and cell sorters and renders it impractical for widespread application.", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Visual emphasis", "toolSlug": "visual-emphasis", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-2042-70a9-a1af-a19950002c4f", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.8 }, "kind": "list", "text": "Machine is painfully slow; “massive throughput limitation”; couple of minutes for one cell, whole day for a chip. “Understanding the way technology actually works, which is by moving cells individually, that takes a certain amount of time. It can take up to a couple of minutes to process one cell. So, that gives you a massive throughput limitation. Just to screen one chip and to take a couple hundred cells off of that, that's an all-day process. And the cells only stay alive for a day or two maximum, depending on which immune cell type you're working with.” -Former BLI executive", "attrs": null, "subkind": "bullet", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "13807071-a530-4a71-8310-e0427eec50ad", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.2, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.58 }, "kind": "list", "text": "Throughput is also limited by slow rate of cell export; “takes several hours to export a few hundred cells”; pales in comparison to standard tools like flow cytometers or cell sorters. “Another issue that limits throughput is export of the cells from the microfluidic device to a plate, like on a culture plate. That process is also relatively time-consuming. It takes several hours to export a few hundred cells. Ultimately, those are the points where there's not much more optimization of the system that can be done to speed up the process. There are one or two main bottlenecks that we never really brought the throughput on par with a flow cytometer or sorter or some kind of droplet-based technology.” -Former BLI scientist", "attrs": null, "subkind": "bullet", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "c45fed9d-7e96-445d-b426-0015a3930451", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.4 }, "kind": "list", "text": "Throughput is constrained by the limited number of chambers on BLI's microfluidics chips. “Berkeley Lights uses a microfluidic device that has some chambers that are etched literally into the device. The limiting factor is how many of these chambers you have on the chip, and over time, they've developed chips with up to 13,000 or 14,000 chambers. The maximum number of cells that you can screen is actually right now, I think, only up to 13,000.” -Former BLI scientist", "attrs": null, "subkind": "bullet", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "d534503f-c664-448f-86be-5cd5547183c9", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.25, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.12 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "The machine’s market size is further limited by its “massive throughput limitation,” which makes it painfully slow versus typical flow cytometers and cell sorters and renders it impractical for widespread application. An ex-executive and ex-scientist noted the limited number of chambers on the chip and the difficulty in exporting cells: can take minutes to process one cell, “several hours to export a few hundred,” and a whole day for one chip. They further indicated that “there’s not much more optimization” BLI can do on the “main bottlenecks to “speed up the process.”", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "581743a3-7b85-471d-8511-598fabe6441c", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": null, "kind": "quote", "text": "“Berkeley Lights uses a microfluidic device that has some chambers that are etched literally into the device. The limiting factor is how many of these chambers you have on the chip, and over time, they've developed chips with up to 13,000 or 14,000 chambers. The maximum number of cells that you can screen is actually right now, I think, only up to 13,000.” — Former BLI scientist; “Another issue that limits throughput is export of the cells from the microfluidic device to a plate, like on a culture plate. That process is also relatively time-consuming. It takes several hours to export a few hundred cells. Ultimately, those are the points where there's not much more optimization of the system that can be done to speed up the process. There are one or two main bottlenecks that we never really brought the throughput on par with a flow cytometer or sorter or some kind of droplet-based technology.” — Former BLI scientist; “Understanding the way technology actually works, which is by moving cells individually, that takes a certain amount of time. It can take up to a couple of minutes to process one cell. So, that gives you a massive throughput limitation. Just to screen one chip and to take a couple hundred cells off of that, that's an all-day process. And the cells only stay alive for a day or two maximum, depending on which immune cell type you're working with.” — Former BLI executive", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Authority citation", "toolSlug": "authority-citation", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd953-2042-70a9-a1af-a5410090495c", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.02, "w": 0.3, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.96 }, "kind": "source-note", "text": "Source: Scorpion Capital consultation calls with experts", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "a32047f0-a31e-4d86-80bb-f60eac65b472", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.05, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.05 }, "kind": "title", "text": "Part 2) Former BLI employees/executives: Machine’s throughput limitations dooms its TAM and commercial relevance", "attrs": null, "subkind": "headline", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "96e88799-dcc1-436f-8a0b-feff0434f236", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null } ], "metrics": [], "tools": [], "frameworks": [], "arcBeats": [ { "to": 150, "from": 42, "beatId": "172d6e2f-be3f-4802-92e5-e7e412ccdabe", "arcName": "Overcoming the Monster", "arcSlug": "overcoming-monster", "beatName": "Testimonials from Customers and Former Employees", "beatSlug": null, "evidence": "The document presents testimonials from customers and former employees, providing first-hand accounts of the challenges and limitations of Berkeley Lights' product.", "position": 2, "confidence": 0.8, "parentBeatName": null, "parentBeatSlug": null } ], "loops": [ { "to": 144, "from": 136, "name": "Quick Win Big Bet", "slug": "47-quick-win-big-bet", "bestFor": "Transformation planning, 100-day plans, resource allocation", "matchId": "3eb28de0-fb75-4045-92e6-38c126678047", "evidence": "The document contrasts the potential outcomes of a 'quick win' versus a 'big bet' on Berkeley Lights, highlighting the risks and limitations of investing in the company.", "position": 1, "objective": "Contrasting the potential outcomes of a 'quick win' versus a 'big bet' on Berkeley Lights", "structure": "The Full List -> Quick Wins (Low effort, High impact) -> Big Bets (High effort, High impact) -> Sequenced Roadmap", "confidence": 0.6, "description": "Separate initiatives into immediate wins and longer-term strategic bets" } ], "imagePathAlt": null, "thumbSrc": null, "thumbSrcAlt": null, "locked": true }