Illumina's MiSeq i100 makes gene sequencing simple enough for any lab

Gene sequencing has long been a specialist's instrument: multi-step, multi-day workflows, trained operators and reagents that had to be thawed and planned around. With the MiSeq i100 Series, Illumina set out to remove the intimidation rather than only add throughput, building a benchtop system for smaller labs and customers new to next-generation sequencing.

From conception, Illumina's Experience Design Team made simplicity the goal: workflows were designed to reduce required training and physical touchpoints from sample set-up through data analysis, and the digital interface was built around guiding the user. XLEAP-SBS chemistry let reagents ship and store at room temperature, ending the cold chain, while integrated cartridges cut washes and run setup to three steps completed in under 20 minutes.

Illumina revealed the MiSeq i100 and i100 Plus at a virtual customer event in October 2024 and began global shipping in 2025. The two systems cover up to 25 million or 100 million single-end reads per run, with Illumina claiming results up to four times faster than the original MiSeq and run times as short as four hours.

Early-access customers backed the pitch: a Genome Quebec researcher said the instrument let her lab answer small projects quickly, and a University of Zurich lab reported starting two runs on the same day. In 2025 the Industrial Designers Society of America recognized the instrument in its IDEA gallery, crediting the series with setting the industry standard for speed and simplicity in benchtop sequencing.