DNAnexus Review, Pricing & Features

DNAnexus is a cloud platform for storing, analyzing, and securely collaborating on genomic and biomedical data at population scale, used by biopharma and…

Category
Hosting
Pricing
Contact for pricing
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 20, 2026
Founded
2009
Headquarters
Mountain View, California
Web AppAPI

What Is DNAnexus?

DNAnexus was founded in 2009 by Stanford professors Serafim Batzoglou and Arend Sidow along with computer scientist Andreas Sundquist, out of the recognition that genomic sequencing data was growing far faster than most labs' ability to store and process it locally. The company built a cloud platform specifically for handling that scale, and is now headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Rather than a general-purpose cloud service, DNAnexus focuses on the specific compliance, scale, and collaboration needs of genomics and biomedical research: secure storage for sequencing data, managed bioinformatics pipelines, and tools for multiple institutions to work on shared datasets without moving raw data between organizations.

Key Features

The platform provides secure, compliant cloud storage for genomic and clinical data, along with scalable infrastructure for running bioinformatics pipelines on large sequencing cohorts. It's built to support regulated environments, with certifications and controls relevant to HIPAA and clinical-grade data handling.

DNAnexus also supports large-scale collaborative research, powering platforms like the UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform where thousands of approved researchers analyze a shared, centrally hosted dataset rather than downloading copies. Developers can extend the platform through its API and SDK to build custom analysis workflows on top of the core infrastructure.

DNAnexus Pricing

DNAnexus doesn't publish flat subscription pricing. Compute and storage are billed based on actual usage, similar to general cloud infrastructure pricing, with costs scaling alongside the size and complexity of an organization's genomic workloads.

Larger institutions and biobank-scale programs typically negotiate enterprise agreements directly with DNAnexus, meaning prospective customers need to contact the company for a quote rather than choosing from listed plans.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Purpose-built for genomics scale and regulatory compliance
  • Backed by significant funding and a long operating history since 2009
  • Powers major biobank-scale research programs
  • Usage-based pricing avoids paying for idle infrastructure
  • Strong security and compliance posture for regulated life-sciences data

Cons

  • Pricing is opaque and requires direct sales engagement
  • Steep learning curve for teams without bioinformatics expertise
  • Usage-based billing can be unpredictable for high-volume workloads
  • Cost and complexity are prohibitive for small labs or individual researchers

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DNAnexus used for?

It's a cloud platform for storing, processing, and collaborating on genomic and other large-scale biomedical data, used by biopharma companies, hospitals, and research consortia.

How is DNAnexus priced?

Pricing is usage-based for compute and storage, with enterprise agreements negotiated directly for larger organizations; there are no public flat-rate plans.

Who founded DNAnexus?

It was founded in 2009 by Stanford researchers Serafim Batzoglou and Arend Sidow along with computer scientist Andreas Sundquist.

Is DNAnexus compliant with healthcare data regulations?

The platform is built with compliance controls relevant to HIPAA and clinical-grade data handling for regulated genomics and health data.

What is the UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform?

It's a large-scale genomics research platform built on DNAnexus infrastructure, letting approved researchers analyze a shared, centrally hosted biobank dataset.

Related Tools