About Nuclein
Nuclein sells the DASH Rapid PCR System to clinics, urgent care centers, physician offices and pharmacies. DASH is a desktop instrument that weighs under 10 pounds. A swab of the patient's nose goes into a cartridge, and the cartridge goes into the instrument. About 15 minutes later, the instrument reports the result.
Its first test, for COVID-19 and influenza A and B, received FDA 510(k) clearance and a CLIA waiver in January 2025. Nuclein also has a cleared, CLIA-waived test for flu A and B alone. Nuclein was founded in 2017 and is based in Austin, Texas. Alan Blake is chief executive officer and a co-founder. Nuclein has raised about $50 million, led by the private-equity firm Trinity Investors. In 2023 it merged with Minute Molecular Diagnostics, a Northwestern University spinout that first developed DASH.
Funding Rounds (SEC Form D)
| First sale | Filed with SEC | Amount sold | Investors | Avg. check | Terms | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2026 | Jun 22, 2026amended Oct 27, 2026 | $15,650,488of $26.1M target | 25 | $626K | DebtRule 506(b) | Form D/A ↗2 earlier filings |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Jun 30, 2025amended Apr 27, 2026 | $19,065,157of $25.0M target | 49 | $389K | DebtRule 506(b) | Form D/A ↗3 earlier filings |
| Jan 23, 2025 | Feb 3, 2025amended Feb 5, 2026 | $9,392,180of $15.0M target | 34 | $276K | EquityRule 506(b) | Form D/A ↗1 earlier filing |
| Dec 15, 2023 | Nov 17, 2023amended Aug 5, 2024 | $8,788,151of $15.0M target | 18 | $488K | DebtRule 506(b) | Form D/A ↗1 earlier filing |
| Not yet | Jul 12, 2022 | $0target not set | 0 | — | EquityRule 506(b) | Form D ↗ |
| Not yet | Jan 19, 2021 | $0target not set | 0 | — | EquityRule 506(b) | Form D ↗ |
| Not yet | Feb 18, 2020 | $0of $1.0M target | 0 | — | DebtRule 506(b) | Form D ↗ |
| Aug 26, 2019 | Sep 10, 2019 | $420,012target not set | 10 | $42,001 | EquityRule 506(b) | Form D ↗ |
| Total, eight offerings | $53,315,988 | |||||
First sale is the date the first investor in the offering committed to invest. Companies must file Form D within 15 days of that date, so filing dates run later.
Rounds announced by Nuclein
What the company said publicly about its funding. Announced amounts can differ from Form D figures: an announcement can combine several closings, and some money is raised without a Form D.
| Announced | Round | Amount | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 2021 | Series B | $14M | Trinity Private Equity Group (lead) | Press release ↗ BioSpace ↗ |
Why Investors Backed Nuclein
Investors back Nuclein because it has built a PCR test system that gives lab-quality results in 15 minutes. In January 2025, its first test won FDA clearance and a CLIA waiver. Nuclein has raised about $50 million since 2017, led by the private-equity firm Trinity Investors. The U.S. government also helped fund the technology: in 2021 the National Institutes of Health awarded $21.3 million to Minute Molecular Diagnostics, the DASH developer that later merged into Nuclein.
The problem it targets
Smithsonian Magazine reported in June 2021 that clinics must ship samples to the nearest testing lab. It also reported that clinics rely on a limited number of trained staff, which causes delays. Nuclein's system gives PCR results at a speed “typically only available with antigen tests.” A lab supervisor at a North Carolina urgent care clinic, quoted on Nuclein's site, says there is “no need to call the patient back later.”
What the product does
The DASH Rapid PCR System is a desktop instrument that weighs less than 10 pounds. It prepares the sample, captures the target, runs the PCR and reports the result. A test needs about one minute of hands-on time, and cartridges are stored at room temperature. The first test uses one nasal swab to check for COVID-19 and influenza A and B. Nuclein also has a cleared test for flu A and B alone. It places instruments at no cost with customers who buy cartridges under a contract, according to a 2023 paper in Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease.
Progress so far
Nuclein announced FDA 510(k) clearance and a CLIA waiver for its first test on January 6, 2025. Nuclein ran a clinical study against an FDA-cleared PCR test. Nuclein's test caught 95.2% of the SARS-CoV-2 cases, 94.3% of the flu A cases and 97.3% of the flu B cases that the comparison test found. In January 2024, a USAID-funded tuberculosis program led by Johns Hopkins University chose Nuclein as one of four developers for oral swab tests.
Who backs it
Trinity Private Equity Group, a Southlake, Texas firm, led Nuclein's $14 million Series B in March 2021. In January 2025, Nuclein had raised about $50 million, led by Trinity Investors. Sanjay Chandra, Trinity's managing partner, sits on Nuclein's board. In 2021 he said the round "supports our efforts to gain necessary regulatory authorization" and then to ramp up manufacturing and distribution. The 2021 release also named board members William Cunningham, John Butler and David Shockley as early investors.
How the market is moving
Public money has backed point-of-care testing. In April 2021, the NIH's RADx program awarded Minute Molecular Diagnostics $21.3 million to raise DASH production to one million test cartridges a month, Northwestern University said. In January 2024, the SMART4TB program called point-of-care testing "the highest priority diagnostic need for TB prevention and care" and named Nuclein among four developers.
We wrote this summary from public statements by Nuclein and its investors. It is not investment advice.
Nuclein in the News
- Trinity Investors Celebrates Nuclein's Dual FDA Clearance and CLIA Waiver for DASH® SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test
- Nuclein's DASH Test gains FDA clearance and CLIA waiver
- Nuclein Receives Dual FDA 510(k) Clearance and CLIA Waiver for DASH® SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test for use on the DASH® Rapid PCR System
- SMART4TB Announces Partners In Developing Groundbreaking Oral, Non-sputum-Based Molecular Tests For Tuberculosis
- Nuclein Speeds Commercialization of First Ever Hand-Held PCR Test to Aid in COVID-19 Pandemic
Leadership Team
Executive officers and directors listed on Nuclein's Form D filed Oct 27, 2026.
Earlier filings also listed John Butler (director, last listed Aug 2024) and David Shockley (director, last listed Mar 2023).
Sources
- SECNuclein, LLC Form D/A, filed Aug 14, 2026
- SECNuclein, LLC Form D, filed Jun 22, 2026
- SECNuclein, LLC Form D/A, filed Dec 17, 2025
- SECNuclein, LLC Form D/A, filed Oct 14, 2025
- SECNuclein, LLC Form D, filed Jun 30, 2025
- SECNuclein, LLC Form D, filed Feb 3, 2025
- SECNuclein, LLC Form D, filed Nov 17, 2023
- SECNuclein, LLC filing history
- CompanyAbout Us page on nuclein.com (leadership team and board of directors)
- CompanyDASH Rapid PCR System page on nuclein.com
- CompanyDASH SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test page on nuclein.com
- CompanyDASH Flu A/B Test page on nuclein.com
- CompanyNews page on nuclein.com
- CompanyTerms of Use on nuclein.com (names Nuclein, LLC)
- InvestorTrinity Investors release on GlobeNewswire (January 8, 2025), read through a Yahoo Finance copy
- InvestorTrinity Investors team page (Sanjay Chandra, managing partner)
- PressSmithsonian Magazine: This Compact PCR Test for Covid-19 Could Give Accurate Results in 15 Minutes (June 1, 2021)
- PressAlcalde (Texas Exes): Fishy Business (January 4, 2013), on GloFish
- PressToday's Clinical Lab: Four Companies Transforming Point-of-Care Molecular Diagnostics in 2026 (August 28, 2026, sponsored by Danaher)
- ResearchNorthwestern Now: spinoff receives $21.3M from NIH (April 26, 2021)
- ResearchDiagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2023, on the DASH SARS-CoV-2 test (PubMed Central)
- ResearchRoche product page: cobas liat SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A/B & RSV assay