Metagenomic Sequencing Markets 2027–2031

Metagenomic Sequencing Markets: Market Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Technology and Policy Outlook, 2027–2031

Global forecasts by application, technology, sample type, customer and product, for 14 countries and regions, with 44 company profiles.

See the Table of Contents. GET the Free Sample of this Report.

Many organizations subscribe to all or some of our reports. You may already have free access to this report. FIND out Here.

Our Take

Metagenomics is leaving the research bench. One test that reads every microbe in a sample is becoming easier to order and quicker to report, and diagnostics companies are buying in. The market grows from $2,460 million in 2026 to $5,800 million in 2031, at 18.7% a year, with clinical infection and wastewater surveillance taking almost half of all new spending, even as US public funding for wastewater testing hits a cliff.

Market Size 2026: USD $2.46B Market Size 2031: USD $5.8B CAGR: 18.7%

Situation Analysis: what is really happening

• Clinical metagenomics goes mainstream. Karius tests became orderable through Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Delve Bio launched a next-day plasma test, and a 2026 study found earlier testing could avoid about 64% of other microbiology tests in meningitis and encephalitis.
• Diagnostics majors move in. Bruker bought the DISQVER blood metagenomics platform from Noscendo, and Oxford Nanopore won its first diagnostic device approval.
• Wastewater surveillance hits a funding cliff. CDC said supplemental money for its national programme ran out on 30 September 2026, and states such as Massachusetts are moving testing in-house at a fraction of the cost.
• Clinical infection leads the growth. Clinical infectious disease adds $1,166 million and rises from 24.5% to 30.5% of the market, while public health and wastewater surveillance grows fastest at 31.1% a year.
• Beyond 16S. Shotgun and long-read sequencing take nearly three quarters of new spending as long-read and whole-genome methods grow 28.4% a year.
• The US leads, China grows fastest. The US is 41.8% of the market at $1,028 million, and China grows fastest at 21.3% a year.

Company Analysis: who is positioned, who is exposed

• Illumina, Oxford Nanopore and PacBio: Supply the sequencers, with Oxford Nanopore pushing long reads into diagnostics.
• Karius and Delve Bio: Lead US clinical metagenomic testing of blood and spinal fluid.
• Bruker and bioMérieux: Diagnostics groups building sequencing-based infection testing through acquisitions.
• Biobot, Verily and Perimeter: Wastewater and biosurveillance providers adjusting to tighter public budgets.
• BGI Genomics and Vision Medicals: Serve China's large clinical metagenomic testing market.
• Qiagen and Zymo Research: Supply the extraction and library kits used in most workflows.

In all, 44 company profiles, each one to two pages with a fact box covering website, headquarters, ownership, revenue, employees and key products.

Questions this report answers

• How fast will clinical metagenomic testing grow, and what holds it back?
• What happens to wastewater surveillance after the US funding cliff?
• How fast will shotgun and long-read methods replace 16S sequencing?
• Which applications, customers and products add the most new spending?
• Who are the leading platform, test and service companies?
• How large is each country market, and how fast is China growing?

What's inside

• 290 pages, 23 chapters, 60 tables and 49 figures
• Forecasts for 2027–2031 from a 2026 base year, by application, technology, sample type, customer and product, for 14 countries and regions
• Clinical metagenomics, microbiome research and products, public health and wastewater surveillance, and agriculture, food and industrial uses
• Technology and bioinformatics, a China and Asia-Pacific chapter, regulation, reimbursement and funding, and operations
• 10 market-moving developments from 2025 and 2026, SWOT, Porter's Five Forces and strategic recommendations
• 44 company profiles
• Download the Table of Contents (PDF)

Who buys this report

• Sequencing, reagent and software companies: size clinical, public health and microbiome opportunities.
• Diagnostics executives and business development teams: judge where to build or buy metagenomic testing.
• Investors and analysts: assess clinical adoption, funding risk and acquisition targets.
• Public health agencies and contractors: plan wastewater and pathogen surveillance programmes.

Use independent research that makes you the expert. Your credit card order sends the report to your inbox instantly. Check all your licensing options, but don't worry: your order is available as a credit if you wish to upgrade.

See the Table of Contents. GET the Free Sample of this Report.

ABOUT THE LEAD AUTHOR

Mr. Greg Powell, B.Sc., M.B.A., is the President of Howe Sound Research. His education includes:

Finance for Senior Executives - Harvard Business School

Market Research - Burke Institute

M.B.A. (Finance and Policy) - University of British Columbia

B.Sc. (Chemistry) - University of British Columbia

He is an experienced business and clinical professional. He is co-author of the paper "The Radioimmunoassay of Angiotensinogen by Antibody Trapping." He has worked in laboratory testing and management for over 20 years.