Tecan Group

Tecan serves the life sciences industry by automating repetitive laboratory tasks that consume researcher time. Founded in 1980, the company manufactures liquid handling robots, plate readers, and automated workflows used in drug discovery, diagnostics, and academic research. This equipment generates 40-50% gross margins because customers value throughput and reproducibility over price - a $200K robot replacing manual pipetting by PhD students pays for itself in months. Tecan's business model also includes high-margin consumables (tips, plates, reagents) and service contracts, creating recurring revenue. The company's $900M+ annual revenue proves that in scientific instruments, solving researcher pain points with automation creates defensible businesses even without patent-protected technology.