Nautilus Biotechnology Posts Wider Third-Quarter Loss

The Tip Desk · October 27, 2026 · 3 min read

The proteomics developer reported a $15.6 million net loss and $114.3 million of cash, cash equivalents and investments as it advanced a twenty-assay proteoform pipeline.

Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. (NAUT), a development-stage company building a single-molecule proteome analysis platform, reported a net loss of $15.6 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with a net loss of $13.6 million a year earlier.

Revenue was $0.2 million, matching the second quarter and remaining primarily grant revenue from Michael J. Fox Foundation work plus service revenue from the Iterative Mapping Early Access Program. Chief executive Sujal Patel said the quarter marked a step in demonstrating the scalability of Iterative Mapping on the company’s Voyager platform.

Operating expenses were $16.9 million, up $1.5 million, or 10%, from $15.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The company attributed the increase to higher laboratory and professional services and higher salaries and related benefits, partially offset by lower facilities expenses. Research and development expense was $10.2 million and selling, general and administrative expense was $6.8 million. Interest income was $1.2 million.

Patel said the company published a peer-reviewed paper in Nature Methods showing how Iterative Mapping reveals proteoforms underlying biology and disease, with potential to yield new biomarkers and drug targets. At World HUPO 2026, Nautilus shared first development data on oncology proteoform assays, including AKT1, showing a performance profile matching Tau. The company said the proteoform pipeline is on track for twenty assays planned through mid-2028.

That expansion follows a second-quarter roadmap shift that prioritized proteoform applications. In the second quarter, Nautilus recognized first revenue, including Fox Foundation grant work and its first Early Access customer, and selected AKT1 as its first oncology proteoform, with Early Access availability then expected in late 2026. The company also said it had completed testing on Broadscale assay configuration changes and determined they did not sufficiently improve probe candidate performance to support a 2027 general availability of a broadscale consumable kit at target specifications, and that it would report a commercial timeline for Broadscale at a future date.

Voyager pre-orders are expected in early 2027, with instrument shipment anticipated beginning in mid-2027, timed with proteoform consumable kits. Patel said planned instrument availability in the middle of 2027 remains on the company’s roadmap.

Cash, cash equivalents and investments were $114.3 million as of September 30, 2026, down from $143.4 million as of March 31, 2026. The balance sheet showed cash and cash equivalents of $10.5 million, short-term investments of $76.1 million and long-term investments of $27.8 million. Accumulated deficit was $376.8 million.

Subsequent to quarter end, Nautilus announced participation in SEEDS, a four-year, multi-center research consortium funded by ARPA-H, with the company expecting to receive up to $6 million to deploy Voyager to measure proteoforms driving Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. The company said it cannot guarantee it will receive the full amount of the SEEDS funding, which may be reduced, delayed or terminated.

The company remains pre-commercial on Voyager. Patel framed the Nature Methods publication and the oncology assay results as evidence that the performance established with Tau is repeatable across additional targets, and said that repeatability is fundamental to building a broad proteoform portfolio.