Laboratory Automation Market Size, Share, and Industry Analysis By Product (Devices, Software, and Accessories), By Type (Plate Readers, Automated Liquid Handling Systems, Robotic Systems, Storage Retrieval Systems, Dissolution Testing Systems, Sample Transport Systems, Specimen Handling Systems, and Others), By Automation Type (Total Automation Systems and Modular Automation Systems), By Application (Drug Discovery & Development, Diagnostics, and Others), By End-User(Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, Academic & Research Institutes, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2025-2032

The global laboratory automation market size was valued at USD 8.41 billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow from USD 10.35 billion in 2025 to USD 44.31 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.43% during the forecast period.

The global laboratory automation market is on the rise due to the adoption of automated systems in laboratories and clinics to research and enable all functions to work efficiently and accurately. Laboratory automation integrates advanced technologies, robotics, and information systems into integrated workflow systems to eliminate errors and increase throughput.

• According to PubMed Central (PMC), automation in clinical laboratories reduces workforce requirements by up to 35%. Also, it optimizes work organization and time efficiency by implementing a laboratory information system.

The most common applications of automation are diagnostics and drug discovery, particularly in high-throughput screening and real-time data analysis. Artificial intelligence-driven robotics, among others, will continue to drive the expansion of this market by improving both precision and efficiency in practice.

Laboratory Automation Market Driver

Rising Automation Demand Drives Laboratory Market Growth Efficiently

The rising demand for high-throughput screening in laboratories is prompting more advanced automation. This is particularly important in drug discovery and diagnosis; by automating processes, it enhances accuracy by reducing human error during large-sample flow management and increases the productivity of individual tests. “Automating the test back-end has seen a 58.2% upsurge in productivity," says PMC.

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning Technologies have all played a role in streamlining surveillance and unmanned laboratory production processes to date for users and researchers. That same lack of qualified staff is now accelerating the spread of automation in server rooms. Folecular biology laboratories need increasing efficiency for less reliance on human labor and high-quality test results at low cost.

Laboratory Automation Market Restraint

High Costs and Integration Challenges Hinder Market Growth

Developing an automated, laboratory-centric, laboratory-based automated application is expensive, and most of them are unaffordable for small and medium-sized laboratories. Modern advanced automation systems need extensive ventures into all forms of equipment, software, and infrastructure advancements. Finally, incompatibilities related to seamless working with the legacy processes make it difficult for new automation to become functional in the laboratory environment. This usually consumes intense re-scheduling efforts and very often requires specialized expertise when coming up with integration specifications before implementing the costly automation systems into practice.

Laboratory Automation Market Opportunity

Emerging Markets and Modular Systems Drive Market Growth

Laboratory automation will be revolutionized by emerging markets that will open the gates of opportunity for growth as improving health infrastructures propel the augmentation of investments into automation technologies. Increased demand for automated laboratory solutions is being witnessed in countries in both the Asia Pacific and Latin American regions. As noted by PMC, the global market size came to USD 5 billion in 2017 for cell therapies, marking the need for more technologically advanced laboratories in their processes.

Among the important opportunities is adopting modular automation systems. Such systems will offer laboratories scalable and flexible solutions. Such kinds of systems will enhance the efficiency of laboratories and would require minimum conversions of the entire infrastructure, optimizing workflows.

Segmentation

Key Insights

The report covers the following key insights:

• Prevalence of Diagnostic Testing and Drug Discovery Automation, By Key Countries
• Drivers, Restraints, Trends, and Opportunities
• Business Strategies Adopted by Key Players
• Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players
• Key Industry Developments (Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships)
• Overview: Regulatory Scenario for Laboratory Automation Systems

Analysis by Product

By product, the market is divided into devices, software, and accessories.

It's true that devices occupy a great space in the laboratory automation environment because their growing demand comes from the automated liquid handling systems, robotic workstations, and the sample transport systems. These devices promise to improve the accuracy and efficiency of processing at a much higher speed and in high throughput laboratories.

The software solutions are closely followed, primarily Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), whereby there's quite good growth within laboratories. This is due to the efforts of laboratories in looking up towards data integration and optimization of their workflow processes. LIMS provides efficiency in laboratory operations by improving data traceability, compliance, and overall efficiency.

Analysis by Type

By type, the market is divided into plate readers, automated liquid handling systems, robotic systems, storage retrieval systems, dissolution testing systems, sample transport systems, specimen handling systems, and others.

The automated liquid handling machines segment dominates the market for aquatic biotechnology because they are essential in high-throughput screening and precision pipetting. They also minimize errors during manual diagnoses, making them a reliable source for reproducibility, whether for diagnostic or research reasons.

With the developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotic systems are growing significantly. These systems can automate the same activities every day in labs, which frees time to be spent on dealing with more complex issues.

Analysis by Automation Type

By automation type, the market is divided into total automation systems and modular automation systems.

Leading the market, total automation systems function as fully integrated solutions to optimize laboratory workflows with minimal human intervention. This increases efficiency, decreases error, and enhances consistency within high-throughput environments.

On the other hand, modular automation systems are fast becoming the desired choice of laboratories that are actively seeking flexible and scalable automation options. The same system will allow the laboratory to implement automation in stages, thereby lowering costs while allowing for customization according to operational needs.

Analysis by Application

By application, the market is divided into drug discovery & development, diagnostics, and others.

The market is majorly dependent on drug discovery and development, whereby pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies use automation for microscopical analyses and high-throughput screening. Such automated systems not only make the drug development pipeline more efficient but also save time in research.

The diagnostics segment is quite strong and is growing fast. This is due to an increase in the point-of-care testing demand and clinical laboratory automation. As stated by NCBI, the total global diagnostics market value is around USD 40–45 billion, and the point-of-care diagnostics segment accounts for just about USD  12–13 billion, which is an indication of the importance of automation of application in diagnostics.

Analysis by End-User

By end-user, the market is divided into pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, academic & research institutes, and others.

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are leading the market owing to the highest degree of automation use in the different stages of research, drug development, and manufacturing. Automation brings functional efficiency to high-throughput screening, thus reducing costs and accelerating innovation.

This segment is growing as universities and research centers implement laboratory automation to streamline their experimental workflows for increased reproducibility. Investment into automation technologies is on the increase to cater to advanced scientific research within this sector.

Regional Analysis

Based on geography, the market has been studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

The laboratory automation market is ruled by North America due to strong health care infrastructure and huge automation acceptance for research and diagnostics. The region accounted for over 80% of global sales, with the U.S. diagnostics market estimated at USD 19 billion (source: NCBI).

The European market is on the rise significantly due to the growing standardization of laboratory processes and strict regulatory requirements. Automation adoption is bound to increase as laboratories comply with the evolving healthcare and diagnostic standards.

Asia Pacific is witnessing very fast growth, aided by an increasing number of small and medium laboratories adopting automation. Investments in cell therapies are on the rise, stressing the region's increased emphasis on advanced laboratory solutions. A projection from PMC indicates that the stem cell therapy market is expected to increase from USD 0.8 billion in 2018 to USD 11 billion by 2029.

Key Players Covered

The report includes the profiles of the following key players:

• QIAGEN (Germany)
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.)
• Siemens Healthineers AG (Germany)
• Danaher Corporation (U.S.)
• Agilent Technologies, Inc. (U.S.)
• Eppendorf SE (Germany)
• Hudson Lab Automation (U.S.)
• F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland)
• Hamilton Company (U.S.)
• BMG LABTECH GmbH (Germany)

Key Industry Developments

• In February 2024, Tecan Group launched the Resolvex i1300, an advanced adjunct to the Fluent automation workstation for supporting proteomic workflows to leverage laboratory efficiency. Such an innovation enhances automation within the ambit of laboratory research.