Founded in 2018 by faculty and graduates of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), PicoFoundry is an innovative company gaining attention in the field of Deep Tech. PicoFoundry successfully commercialized a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) chip using its proprietary “thermo-transfer nanotransfer printing” technology.
SERS technology enables fast and accurate detection of trace substances, making it highly promising in diverse fields such as food safety, environmental monitoring, and early disease diagnosis. PicoFoundry was the first in the world to successfully mass-produce SERS chips using transfer printing technology. In 2020, it began commercial sales and currently supplies products to over 70 research institutes and companies worldwide, establishing itself as the unrivaled market leader in the field.
Although PicoFoundry’s SERS chip was technically advanced, it faced significant challenges in scaling up commercialization. This is because even highly precise SERS chips cannot be immediately used by end users in experimental settings.
To maximize chip performance and enhance user convenience , a robust cartridge is essential—one that both protects the chip and secures it precisely to the analytical equipment. The problem was that each customer used different Raman spectroscopy equipment, so PicoFoundry needed to develop a wide range of custom cartridges to meet varying specifications.
During the initial market entry stage, manufacturing numerous types of cartridges in small quantities posed economic challenges when using traditional injection molding. Mold manufacturing alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take several months, creating a major barrier for startups where rapid design iterations and market testing are critical. CNC machining also has limitations—it is less suited for creating complex internal structures and comes with the added drawback of high production costs.
Since implementing Stratasys 3D printing solutions, PicoFoundry has seen major improvements in product development speed and design flexibility, while also expanding its product portfolio with a range of cartridge types. Previously, creating new prototypes by modifying cartridge designs required significant time and cost. Now, the required designs can be printed and tested immediately. The development cycle has been significantly shortened by producing samples that reflect design changes in real time, and by immediately identifying problems and deriving improvement plans. This rapid prototyping capability significantly reduced product development time and provided greater flexibility in responding to design changes. By repeatedly validating prototypes made with a 3D printer, the team was able to creatively overcome design limitations—enhancing both the completeness and reliability of the final product. Based on these development capabilities, PicoFoundry has successfully established three core cartridge product lines, responding to the diverse needs of the market.
PicoFoundry is rapidly emerging as a leader in the SERS chip cartridge market, powered by its key driver, Stratasys 3D printing solutions. But PicoFoundry’s vision goes beyond that. In the future, we plan to expand the scope of application of 3D printing technology to the production of various jigs and fixtures used during the research and development stage—further accelerating the development of new platforms. Our long-term goal is to develop a compact, integrated measurement platform that can be produced in a single process using a 3D printer, incorporating the SERS sensor, chipset, and even complex internal structures. Through these efforts, PicoFoundry aims to grow beyond a chip manufacturer into a comprehensive platform company, delivering fully customized sensing solutions to customers.
