History
Foundation Bico Group was founded as Cellink in 2016 by Erik Gatenholm, the company's chief executive, Héctor Martinez, the company's CTO and Gusten Danielsson, the company's CFO. The company released its first bioprinter to test the market in 2015, and continued designing additional bio-inks to support more specialized applications in bioprinting. In 2017, it established a United States headquarters in Boston. In 2018, Cellink received a $2.5 million grant from the EU to fund its TumorPrint project. By 2018, the company's revenue totaled $4.88. As of February 2019, its products were used by more than 600 labs in more than 50 countries. Growth 2021 - Present In August 2021, Cellink underwent a corporate transformation and changed its name to BICO, while keeping the Cellink name for their bioprinting business. Bico Group acquired German biotechnology company Cytena in August 2019 for a purchase price of $33.8 million. In 2020, Bico Group acquired Scienion, a precision dispensing company, for $94.8 million, along with its subsidiary Cellenion. Bico Group transitioned to a bioconvergence company in 2020, expanding its focus from bioprinting to broader life sciences technology and industrial solutions. In December 2021, Bico Group acquired the San Diego life-science automaton company Biosero for $165 million. In August 2023, co-founder Erik Gatenholm stepped down from his position as CEO with Maria Forss appointed as the new CEO. == Products ==
Products
The bio-ink produced by the company contains cellulose and alginate, locally sourced from trees in Sweden and seaweed from the Norwegian Sea, respectively. Cellink's bio-ink technology was developed at Chalmers University. ==References==