STARLIMS (Formerly Abbott Informatics)

In 1986, Itschak Friedman and Dinu Toiba founded a company in Israel to solve a growing problem for laboratories: managing the ever-increasing amount of data. Their solution was a Laboratory Information Management System, or LIMS, a software designed to streamline the storage, retrieval, and analysis of lab information. This venture would become STARLIMS. The company focused on developing powerful, web-based software for a variety of sectors, including government, manufacturing, and life sciences. This strategy proved successful, leading to an IPO on the NASDAQ in 2007. The pivotal moment in the STARLIMS story came in late 2009, when global healthcare leader Abbott Laboratories announced its intention to acquire the company. The deal, valued at approximately $123 million, was completed in March 2010. For Abbott, the acquisition was a strategic move to bolster its diagnostics portfolio and build its expertise in the growing field of laboratory informatics. STARLIMS was integrated into Abbott, eventually being renamed Abbott Informatics. However, the journey didn't end there. In 2021, Abbott sold the STARLIMS business to Francisco Partners, a global investment firm, making STARLIMS an independent company once again. This move allowed STARLIMS to refocus on its core mission of providing informatics platforms to a broad range of industries, continuing its evolution from a niche software provider to a key player in the world of laboratory data management.