SomaLogic

Proteomics biotech / health diagnosticsUSA

New to Unitard

🤝 Acquired

Peak $2.59 BillionToday

~-84%

from peak

🦄
Became a unicorn
Sep 2021
📈
Peak valuation
$2.59 Billion ’21
💔
Became a Unitard
2022
💸
Last valuation
~$420M

Current status

Merged into Standard BioTools in an all-stock deal (closed Jan 5, 2024; Nasdaq SLGC delisted); Standard BioTools sold the SomaLogic business to Illumina, closed Jan 30, 2026

The rise & fall

9 moments · 2000–2026

The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.

2000

Spun out of Larry Gold's lab at CU Boulder

Gold builds on SELEX, his lab's method for making aptamers, to measure proteins faster and more cheaply; the tools take about a decade and $200M to develop.

CU Boulder

Mar 29 ’21

SPAC deal with CM Life Sciences II at ~$1.23B enterprise value

A $375M PIPE backs the deal, with up to $651M in gross proceeds; CEO Roy Smythe stays on.

SEC 8-K

Sep 1 ’21

Merger closes; SLGC starts trading on Nasdaq

The combination brings in about $630M in gross cash; trading begins Sept 2.

SEC 8-K

Nov 5 ’21

The peak: shares close at $14.28, ~$2.59B$2.59B

The highest close in SomaLogic's listed life, on about 181.2M shares outstanding.

CompaniesMarketCap

Dec 2022

Shares fall 78% in 2022$470M

Market value ends 2022 at about $0.47B, from $2.11B a year earlier.

CompaniesMarketCap

Oct 4 ’23

All-stock merger agreed with Standard BioTools

Each SomaLogic share is to become 1.11 Standard BioTools shares, leaving SomaLogic holders with about 57%; Standard BioTools CEO Michael Egholm will lead.

Standard BioTools

Jan 5 ’24

Standard BioTools merger closes at ~$419M — joins the Unitard Club 💔$419M

Standard BioTools' filings value the stock issued for SomaLogic at about $419.2M and record a bargain purchase gain.

Standard BioTools 10-K

2022–24

From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2022–24

Glassdoor reviewers described repeated layoffs from December 2022 and said morale and culture slipped after the Standard BioTools merger, while many praised colleagues. Average ratings moved from 3.5 (2017–20) to 3.1 (2022–24).

Jan 30 ’26

Illumina buys SomaLogic for $350M in cash$350M

Standard BioTools keeps its mass cytometry and microfluidics units and can earn up to $75M in milestones plus royalties.

Illumina 8-K

💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.

How it happened

SomaLogic was founded in Boulder, Colorado, in 2000 by University of Colorado professor Larry Gold. Its SomaScan assay uses modified DNA aptamers to measure thousands of proteins from a small sample.

It went public on September 1, 2021, through a merger with the SPAC CM Life Sciences II, which raised about $630M at a pre-deal enterprise value of about $1.23B. The shares peaked at a $14.28 close on November 5, 2021, about $2.59B in market value, then fell 78% in 2022.

On January 5, 2024, Standard BioTools completed an all-stock merger at 1.11 of its shares per SomaLogic share, and its filings valued the stock issued at about $419M. Illumina bought the SomaLogic business from Standard BioTools for $350M in cash on January 30, 2026.

Source: CM Life Sciences II 8-K (Mar 29, 2021): SPAC merger at a pre-transaction enterprise value of about $1.23B with a $375M PIPE. SomaLogic 8-K (Sept 1, 2021): merger closed, about $630M gross proceeds, SLGC trading from Sept 2, 2021. Peak: highest close $14.28 on Nov 5, 2021 (companiesmarketcap) x 181,172,759 shares (10-Q cover, Oct 29, 2021) = about $2.59B; year-end 2021 $2.11B, year-end 2022 $0.47B (companiesmarketcap). Standard BioTools release (Oct 4, 2023): all-stock merger at 1.11 LAB shares per SLGC share, SomaLogic holders about 57%. Standard BioTools FY2024 10-K: merger closed Jan 5, 2024; LAB stock issued for SomaLogic shares valued at about $419.2M ($444.2M with replacement awards), with a bargain purchase gain; the drop is keyed to $419.2M at close. Illumina 8-K (Jan 30, 2026): bought SomaLogic from Standard BioTools for $350M cash plus up to $75M in milestones.