Quantum-Si NASDAQ: QSI reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $258,000 and reiterated that the year will be a transition period focused on development and market preparation for its next-generation Proteus protein sequencing platform.
President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Hawkins said the company’s priorities for 2026 are to deliver Proteus with customer-requested capabilities, prepare the market for launch and preserve financial strength. Quantum-Si expects Proteus to launch commercially by the end of 2026.
“We continue to believe that Proteus will be the long-term driver of commercial adoption, revenue growth, and our path to profitability,” Hawkins said on the call.
Proteus Development Advances
Hawkins said Quantum-Si made “significant progress” on Proteus during the quarter, including the successful completion of sequencing on fully integrated Proteus instruments. He described the milestone as a meaningful de-risking event for the platform, noting that the system automatically performed the sequencing workflow from reagent preparation and sample loading through sequencing, data capture and analysis.
The company said its developmental sequencing reagents, kinetic arrays and surface chemistry enabled single-molecule loading and sequencing with detection of 17 amino acids. Hawkins said Quantum-Si increased the number of detectable amino acids from 15 in December 2025 to 17 within four months and improved detection frequency across the amino acids it can currently detect.
Quantum-Si said it has confidence it can deliver Proteus by the end of 2026 with detection of 18 amino acids, demonstrate detection of all 20 amino acids during 2026 and deliver a sequencing kit in 2027 that detects all 20 amino acids.
Hawkins said Proteus is expected to offer advantages over the company’s current Platinum system, including automation, higher throughput, better signal-to-noise ratio, the ability to detect shorter recognizer pulses, more amino acids per peptide and longer average peptide read lengths.
Post-Translational Modification Capability in Focus
Quantum-Si also emphasized its work to enable post-translational modification, or PTM, analysis on Proteus. Hawkins said current methods for studying PTMs can be limited, with affinity-based approaches often restricted to specific sites or proteins and mass spectrometry requiring complex sample preparation and specialized bioinformatics.
The company is focusing on using kinetic signatures to detect PTMs. Hawkins said the approach would allow software to determine whether a PTM is present, identify the PTM and locate the specific amino acid site, using the data generated during sequencing.
“Given the extremely large amount of data we expect to generate in a Proteus sequencing run and leveraging the power of advanced AI tools, the potential to develop PTM capabilities using kinetic signatures and continuously expand those capabilities over time is immense,” Hawkins said.
Market Preparation and Early Customer Work
Quantum-Si said its commercial and scientific affairs teams are focused on demonstrating the value of single-molecule protein sequencing, expanding awareness of Proteus across geographies and market segments, and building a funnel of potential customers ahead of launch.
Since the start of 2026, Hawkins said the company has had three customer manuscripts released via preprint or peer review, five posters presented at industry conferences and a customer podium presentation at US HUPO. He said the work covers applications including pathogen and toxin detection, clinical proteomics and PTM detection in translational research, spanning academic, clinical, biopharma and government markets.
The company also launched a Proteus roadshow series in April. Hawkins said the events are intended to educate prospective customers about Quantum-Si’s protein sequencing technology and Proteus’ projected capabilities. At one recent event, the company expected 25 registrants or attendees but had 35 researchers in attendance, he said.
Quantum-Si has also completed sequencing of its first customer samples on a Proteus prototype. Hawkins said the customer, an existing Platinum user, responded positively to higher amino acid detection and longer read lengths compared with Platinum. In response to an analyst question, Hawkins said the read length in that customer sample work was about double what the customer was used to seeing on Platinum.
Asked about the customer impact of more amino acid coverage and longer reads, Hawkins said the benefits depend on the application. For protein identification, the added content can help analyze more complex mixtures. For PTMs and protein variants, he said more coverage and longer read lengths can improve the ability to detect events across a peptide.
Financial Results and 2026 Outlook
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Keyes said first-quarter revenue was $258,000, generated from the Platinum instrument line, consumable kits and related services. Gross profit was $74,000, resulting in a gross margin of 29%. Keyes said the margin was primarily driven by revenue mix, with a higher proportion of consumables relative to hardware.
GAAP operating expenses were $24.1 million in the quarter, down from $25.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted operating expenses were $21.4 million, compared with $22.9 million in the prior-year period. Keyes said the company funded research and development at a slightly higher level to support Proteus development while reducing spending in selling, general and administrative areas.
Dividend and interest income was $1.9 million, compared with $2.5 million a year earlier, reflecting lower interest rates and changes in invested balances. As of March 31, 2026, Quantum-Si had $190.4 million in cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
The company maintained its 2026 outlook, including:
- Total revenue of approximately $1 million;
- Adjusted operating expenses of $98 million or less;
- Total cash usage of $93 million or less.
Keyes said the company is making “intentional choices that prioritize long-term platform adoption over near-term revenue maximization,” including upgrade paths and certain Platinum Pro unit sales in 2026 that could affect near-term revenue. He also said customer purchasing timelines are being influenced by expected Proteus availability.
Quantum-Si said it believes its cash and investments will support operations into the second quarter of 2028, roughly a year and a half after the estimated Proteus launch date. Keyes said the company expects operating expense leverage over time after launch as development spending declines, particularly because Quantum-Si is using external partners for certain development activities.
Analyst Questions Highlight Launch Readiness
During the question-and-answer session, Hawkins said the major invention and technological breakthrough phase for Proteus is behind the company. He said the remaining work over the next six months is focused on manufacturing transfer, systems integration, reliability, success rates and meeting target specifications.
“It’s technical in nature, but not something where we’d expect the need to have some sort of innovation breakthrough,” Hawkins said.
Asked about manufacturing, Hawkins said the current focus is building instruments for internal research and development use, with some production supporting early access customers in the summer. Inventory build for commercial sales is expected later in the year, depending on the customer funnel and potential preorders.
Hawkins said early access sites are expected to span market segments and geographies, potentially including academic institutions and commercial environments such as biopharma or antibody production. He said Quantum-Si has not provided an exact number but expects “at least a handful” rather than 10 sites over the summer and into the fall.
On pricing, Hawkins said the announced $425,000 price for Proteus has not generated pushback so far. He compared it with high-end mass spectrometry equipment, which he said can cost more than $1 million.
About Quantum-Si NASDAQ: QSI
Quantum-Si Inc is a life sciences instrumentation company headquartered in Guilford, Connecticut, developing next-generation proteomics solutions based on semiconductor sequencing technology. The company’s core offering centers on a proprietary single-molecule protein sequencing platform that uses a silicon-based sensor chip to convert protein data into digital signals. This approach is designed to deliver high sensitivity, single-amino-acid resolution and deep proteome coverage while potentially reducing cost and complexity compared to traditional mass spectrometry methods.
Quantum-Si’s product roadmap includes the development and commercialization of an integrated system comprising instruments, consumable reagents and proprietary data analysis software.
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