QPillars

QPillars is a Zurich-based software company founded in 2024 that builds AI-powered instrument control software for life sciences laboratories. The company develops AI agents that allow scientists to control lab instruments through natural language, with human review and approval built into every step of the workflow. QPillars serves instrument manufacturers and life sciences organizations looking to modernize their instrument software — from firmware and control systems through to AI-driven automation and digital twins.

The team behind QPillars includes four National Olympiad medalists in Informatics and Physics, engineers with deep experience building instrument control software for complex IVD diagnostic platforms in regulated environments. With headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland and an engineering office in Chisinau, Moldova, QPillars has shipped software across five or more instrument platforms and has been embedded with clients for over 18 months. The company is backed by Innosuisse (Swiss Innovation Agency), the Swedish National Board of Trade via the Nordic Accelerator program, and Invest Moldova via Techstep.

Core Products and Services

• Agentic AI for Instruments: QPillars builds MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable natural language control of laboratory instruments. Using a planner-executor architecture with human approval at every step, scientists can describe their intent in plain language, have the AI plan the required steps, review and approve the plan, and then execute it on the instrument — with a full audit trail generated automatically. The AI layer is built using MCP protocol and CrewAI for agent orchestration.
• Instrument Software Engineering: The company provides end-to-end software engineering for scientific instruments, covering control systems, data platforms, and modern user interfaces. Their stack spans from Rust-based firmware and C++ for legacy systems to TypeScript, React, and Next.js for frontend interfaces — delivering everything from instrument drivers to full-featured operator dashboards.
• LiquidBridge Digital Twin: LiquidBridge is QPillars' digital twin platform for liquid handling robots. It enables scientists to simulate protocols before physical execution, optimize workflows using AI, and reduce reagent and sample waste. The platform is built on Next.js, FastAPI, MCP, and AI agents.

Key Capabilities and Workflow

• Natural language instrument control that translates a scientist's described intent into structured instrument commands — demonstrated by generating 47 instrument primitives from a single sentence.
• MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration, an open standard that allows AI agents to communicate with lab instruments through structured tool interfaces, avoiding vendor lock-in.
• Rapid prototyping capability, with a track record of moving from concept to a working MCP prototype in as little as two weeks.
• Full audit trail generation for every instrument execution, supporting compliance in regulated laboratory environments.
• Performance-critical backend infrastructure connecting AI agents to real instrument hardware, built in Rust and Python (FastAPI).
• Data pipelines and monitoring dashboards that convert raw instrument signals into actionable experiment data.

Team and Values

• The engineering team includes specialists in technical architecture, AI agent orchestration, competitive programming, full-stack development, and UI/UX design specifically for laboratory software complexity.
• QPillars emphasizes engineering excellence, hiring competitive programmers and systems engineers who approach problems from first principles.
• Scientific rigor is central to their process — every feature is validated against real laboratory workflows using actual instruments.
• The company embeds directly with client teams to deeply understand instruments, protocols, and operational pain points.
• All software is built on open protocols such as MCP, ensuring clients retain ownership of their instruments and data without vendor lock-in.
• Strategic guidance is provided by an advisory board including Dr. Sc. Andreea Loredana Cretu, Head of BioMed Entrepreneurship Programs at the University of Zurich.

Notable Clients and Recognition

• QPillars has worked with Lino Biotech AG, where their deep understanding of instrument software was described as transformative for product development by the VP of R&D.
• The company delivered reliable, well-engineered software for LigandTracer instruments in partnership with Ridgeview Instruments AB, recognized for rapid understanding of client needs and agile delivery.
• QPillars is actively supported by Innosuisse Initial Coaching, the Kommerskollegium/Techstep Nordic Accelerator, and Invest Moldova.

QPillars is positioned as a specialist partner for instrument companies seeking to bring modern AI capabilities, open protocols, and intelligent automation to scientific hardware — combining rare domain expertise in instrument control with cutting-edge AI agent technology.