Info
cryoSPARC is a commercial cryo-EM data processing platform developed by Structura Biotechnology Inc. (Toronto, Canada). Founded 2016 by Ali Punjani (CEO) and Saara Punjani (co-lead), spun out of University of Toronto research. Used in 40+ countries. Free for academic use; commercial licenses for pharma/biotech.
Commercial model
Unlike RELION (open source, GPLv2), cryoSPARC is closed-source commercial software. This is a significant governance/access dynamic in the landscape. Structura has a collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific for Embedded CryoSPARC Live, integrated with Thermo’s EPU acquisition software and Krios/Glacios/Tundra cryo-TEMs.
People
| Name | Role | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Ali Punjani | CEO, Co-founder, Lead developer | Structura Biotechnology / University of Toronto |
| Saara Punjani | Co-lead | Structura Biotechnology |
| David Fleet | Academic advisor, Co-PI | University of Toronto (CS dept) |
| Marcus Brubaker | Co-founder, Co-PI | University of Toronto |
| John Rubinstein | Collaborator on original paper | University of Toronto / Sick Kids |
John Rubinstein overlap
John Rubinstein is Chair of the wwPDB Advisory Committee AND a collaborator on the original cryoSPARC paper. This is a notable interconnection.
Funding
- Commercial revenue (subscriptions, licenses)
- Original research funded by NSERC (Canada)
- CIFAR and Vector Institute support
- U of T startup ecosystem (Connaught Innovation Award, UTEST, Ontario Centres of Excellence)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific collaboration (Embedded CryoSPARC Live)
Key Relationships
- Direct competitor to RELION
- Thermo Fisher Scientific collaboration for instrument integration
- John Rubinstein connects cryoSPARC to wwPDB governance
- Output deposited in EMDB and PDB
- Ali Punjani is both CEO and active CS researcher at U of T
Key Reference
Punjani et al., Nature Methods 14, 290-296 (2017)