BGI Group

BGI Group

Company type	Private company
Industry	Genomics, Biotechnology
Founded	1 September 1999 (1999-09-01) in Beijing, China
Founder	Wang Jian, Yu Jun, Yang Huanming, Liu Siqi
Headquarters	Yantian, Shenzhen , China
Area served	Worldwide (more than 100 countries and regions)
Key people	Wang Jian (Chairman)
Products	Genome sequencing, DNBseq sequencing technology, RT-PCR assays for SARS-CoV-2, Huo-Yan integrated laboratory system, NIFTY prenatal screening test
Number of employees	10,000 (2024)
Website	www.bgi.com

BGI Group, initially established as the Beijing Genomics Institute, is a genomics enterprise based in Yantian, Shenzhen, China. Founded in 1999 with the aim of contributing to the Human Genome Project, BGI has since extended its reach to more than 100 countries and regions worldwide. The company focuses on sequencing genomes from humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms.

Originating as a research institute recognized for decoding the panda and rice genomes, BGI transformed into a comprehensive biotechnology corporation involved in animal cloning, health diagnostics, and contract research services. Its principal offerings include the DNBseq next-generation sequencing technology, RT-PCR assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection, the Huo-Yan integrated laboratory system, and the NIFTY non-invasive prenatal screening test. BGI Genomics, its publicly traded subsidiary listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2017, delivers advanced genetic testing solutions.

Employing approximately 10,000 staff globally, BGI operates divisions throughout China, the Asia Pacific region, the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The nonprofit branch, BGI Research, manages the China National GeneBank under contract with the Chinese government. The group receives backing from Chinese state-owned enterprises alongside government-guided investment funds.

In 2016, BGI reported revenues amounting to $251 million with a net profit of $51.7 million. Co-founder Wang Jian holds the position of chairman. Since 2021, the company has been subject to controversies involving alleged cooperation with the People’s Liberation Army and concerns over prenatal genetic data usage; nonetheless, BGI denies sharing such information with military organizations.

Beijing Genomics Institute

BGI was founded in September 1999 in Beijing by Wang Jian, Yu Jun, Yang Huanming, and Liu Siqi as a non-governmental research institution representing China in the Human Genome Project. After completing this initiative, funding decreased significantly, leading to BGI’s relocation to Hangzhou with support from local government authorities. In 2002, BGI successfully sequenced the rice genome, which was prominently featured on the cover of Science journal. The following year, it decoded the SARS virus genome and developed a corresponding diagnostic kit. Also in 2003, the Chinese Academy of Sciences partnered with BGI to establish the Beijing Institute of Genomics under Yang Huanming’s directorship. Concurrently, BGI Hangzhou collaborated with Zhejiang University to found the James D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences at Zhejiang University.

Spin-off from the Beijing Genomics Institute

In 2007, BGI separated from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to become a privately owned company and moved its headquarters to Shenzhen. At this time, Yu Jun exited by selling his shares to fellow founders. In 2008, BGI published the first human genome sequence of an individual of Asian descent.

By 2010, BGI had acquired 128 Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing machines through US$1.5 billion in "collaborative funds" provided over ten years by the China Development Bank. Their annual budget reportedly reached $30 million by year-end. That year also saw the establishment of BGI Americas in Cambridge, Massachusetts and BGI Europe in Copenhagen, Denmark. By 2018, BGI had expanded its presence with offices and laboratories in Seattle, San Jose, London, as well as multiple locations across Asia Pacific including Hong Kong, Kobe, Bangkok, Singapore, and Brisbane.

By 2011, the workforce numbered approximately 4,000 scientists and technicians generating $192 million in revenue. During that year’s Germany E. coli outbreak, BGI sequenced the responsible bacterial strain’s genome within three days under an open-access license. Starting in 2012, BGI began commercializing its services backed by investments from China Life Insurance, CITIC Group’s Goldstone Investment fund, Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital, and SoftBank China Capital. That same year marked the launch of its scientific publication GigaScience, initially partnering with BioMed Central before co-publishing with Oxford University Press.

In 2013, after obtaining approval from U.S. regulatory authorities, BGI acquired Complete Genomics based in Mountain View, California for US$118 million. Complete Genomics then operated as a U.S.-based subsidiary under MGI—a BGI affiliate prior to MGI’s Shanghai Stock Exchange IPO in 2022.

In 2015, a collaboration commenced between BGI and Zhongshan Hospital’s Center for Clinical Precision Medicine in Shanghai with a budget allocation of ¥100 million. The company also participates in China’s extensive US$9.2-billion precision medicine initiative planned over fifteen years. In May 2017, BGI inaugurated its West Coast Innovation Center located in Seattle and San Jose aiming to advance precision medicine alongside next-generation sequencing technologies through partnerships with institutions such as University of Washington, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Washington State University. In 2018, BGISEQ platforms were installed at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto—the first deployment of such technology in North America.

BGI Genomics conducted an initial public offering on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in July 2017 as part of the group structure. By 2018 Wang Jian held an ownership stake of 85.3% in BGI while the group maintained a 42.4% shareholding in BGI Genomics.

In 2019 a subsidiary launched a WeChat-integrated genetic database covering diverse populations across China. After facing scrutiny regarding its receipt of U.S. Paycheck Protection Program funds in July 2020, BGI returned those monies.

In 2021 stakes in BGI Genomics were acquired by state-owned entities State Development and Investment Corporation and China Merchants Group.

U.S. sanctions

In July 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security within the U.S. Department of Commerce added two BGI subsidiaries to its Entity List, citing alleged human rights violations connected to genetic research activities in Xinjiang. Later, in March 2023, BGI Research and BGI Tech Solutions (Hongkong) were also included on this list due to accusations related to the surveillance and suppression of ethnic minority groups.

BGI retained lobbyists from Steptoe & Johnson to advocate against restrictive provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which aimed to prohibit federal funding for BGI and its affiliates.

By 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense officially classified BGI as a Chinese military-affiliated company operating within the United States. In April of the same year, the U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party sought explanations from the Department of Defense regarding why certain BGI subsidiaries, specifically Innomics and STOmics, were omitted from this military company designation.

E. coli

In 2011, BGI successfully sequenced the genome of E. coli strains responsible for a European outbreak, aiming to pinpoint genes associated with antibiotic resistance.

COVID-19

BGI Genomics introduced a real-time fluorescent RT-PCR diagnostic kit for SARS-CoV-2 detection in January 2020. This kit received authorization for use in 14 countries and was listed by the World Health Organization for emergency use. By April 2021, distribution had expanded to over 180 countries and territories. Additionally, BGI established biosafety level 2 high-throughput nucleic acid testing laboratories known as Huo-Yan labs.

Early in 2020, BGI proposed assisting California with establishing COVID-19 testing facilities at cost; however, the state declined due to geopolitical concerns. Nonetheless, Santa Clara County procured test kits and related equipment from BGI.

On August 25, 2020, Reuters reported that roughly 3,700 individuals in Sweden received false-positive COVID-19 diagnoses caused by malfunctions in BGI’s test kits. Although these kits were the fifth to gain WHO Emergency Use Listing and earned top sensitivity ratings in an independent Dutch evaluation, BGI attributed the false positives to variations in laboratory threshold settings when detecting low viral loads.

Bioinformatics technology

BGI allocated an annual budget of approximately US$9 million for its computational center. During that period, their computational biologists developed the first effective algorithm grounded in graph theory to align billions of short DNA reads generated by Illumina's Genome Analyzer during de novo sequencing projects.

SOAPdenovo—part of BGI's "Short Oligonucleotide Analysis Package" (SOAP) software suite—facilitates de novo assembly of genomes comparable in size to humans, along with functions such as alignment, SNP identification, resequencing, indel detection, and structural variant analysis. Tailored for short-read data produced by Illumina sequencers, SOAPdenovo has been instrumental in assembling multiple human genomes and animal species like the giant panda, revealing genomic variations missed when mapping solely against reference genomes.

Up until 2015, BGI launched BGISEQ-100 and BGISEQ-1000 sequencing platforms based on Thermo Fisher Scientific's Ion Torrent technology; these devices gained CFDA approval for use with NIFTY prenatal testing. In October 2015, BGI unveiled BGISEQ-500—a larger desktop sequencer—which reportedly secured over 500 orders and conducted more than 112,000 tests by late 2016. The China National GeneBank, inaugurated in 2016 through collaboration between BGI and government entities, contains 150 BGISEQ-500 units. This platform was engineered to compete directly with Illumina’s sequencing systems. November 2016 saw the release of BGISEQ-50, a smaller desktop sequencer model. By 2017, whole genome sequencing (WGS) services were offered at a price point of $600. In September 2022, MGI introduced DNBSeq-G99—an ultra-high-speed sequencer designed for mid-to-low throughput applications.

In 2021, BGI developed Stereo-seq—a genome-wide spatial transcriptomics technology. Results from a global research consortium utilizing this platform were published in 2022. That same year, BGI-Research partnered with the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and international collaborators employing advanced sequencing methodologies for single-cell sequencing initiatives. These projects expanded understanding of early human embryogenesis, completed comprehensive cellular atlases of non-human primates and pigs throughout their bodies, and uncovered cellular mechanisms underlying social labor division in ants—highlighting sophisticated expertise in single-cell transcriptomics and spatial genomics analysis.

Agriculture and biodiversity

In 2002, BGI released the genome sequence of the indica rice variant. Later, in 2014, it partnered on the re-sequencing of 3,000 rice genomes representing samples from 89 different countries.

BGI participates in the Earth BioGenome Project, which seeks to decode the genomes of all recognized eukaryotic organisms. Additionally, it has played a role in the 10KP Genome Sequencing Project, an initiative focused on sequencing over 10,000 plant genomes.

Animal Kingdom

BGI was involved in the International Chicken Genome Consortium in 2004, which successfully published the chicken genome. By 2009, BGI had published the genome of the Giant Panda. In 2014, BGI collaborated with researchers from 20 nations to complete genome-wide sequencing for 48 bird species. By 2020, BGI had contributed to sequencing a total of 363 bird genomes, covering approximately 92.4% of all bird families.

In 2022, BGI led a study that produced the first-ever spatiotemporal map detailing brain regeneration in axolotls. That same year, research conducted by BGI and collaborators uncovered genomic impacts of inbreeding in the South China tiger by comparing its chromosome-scale genome with that of the Amur tiger.

In 2023, BGI and an international scientific consortium published a comprehensive primate brain cell atlas, enhancing insights into brain cell-type organization within macaques.

Legal disputes

In 2019, competitor Illumina, Inc. initiated several patent infringement lawsuits against BGI. In turn, BGI filed counterclaims against Illumina alleging breaches of federal antitrust statutes and California’s unfair competition laws. In May 2022, a U.S. court ruled that Illumina must pay $333.8 million to BGI after determining that Illumina’s DNA sequencing technology infringed upon two patents owned by BGI. The court also found that Illumina had willfully violated these patents and invalidated three patents previously asserted by Illumina against BGI’s Complete Genomics subsidiary. By July 2022, Illumina reached a settlement with MGI Tech Co. and Complete Genomics involving a $325 million payment and receipt of a license for BGI affiliates’ patents; both parties agreed not to pursue patent or antitrust litigation against each other within the United States for three years.

In September 2024, academic Anna B. Puglisi testified before the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party that she had been subjected to legal threats from BGI Group concerning a report she authored while affiliated with Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

Collaboration with the People's Liberation Army

In January 2021, Reuters disclosed that BGI was collaborating with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and institutions such as the National University of Defense Technology on projects aimed at improving soldier capabilities. Later in July 2021, Reuters revealed that BGI had developed a prenatal test with assistance from the PLA, which was also utilized for gathering genetic data. BGI refuted these allegations in an interview with the South China Morning Post, emphasizing that many leading Chinese hospitals have military affiliations and assuring that genetic data from overseas non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) are stored in Hong Kong and deleted after five years according to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Furthermore, BGI stated it has never provided NIFTY test data to Chinese authorities for national security reasons.

Following Reuters' reports, German privacy regulators launched an investigation into a German laboratory’s use of BGI prenatal testing kits. In August 2021, the UK required registration of BGI’s prenatal tests with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Regulatory scrutiny also emerged in Australia, Estonia, Canada, Poland, and from the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

In November 2021, Reuters reported that Guojie Zhang—a professor at the University of Copenhagen who is also employed by BGI—was involved in developing pharmaceuticals for the PLA to address altitude sickness. BGI clarified that this research was not related to military applications. The University of Copenhagen issued an official statement responding to these claims.

In October 2022, the United States Department of Defense designated BGI Genomics Co., a publicly listed subsidiary of BGI Group, as a "Chinese military company" operating within U.S. jurisdiction, thereby extending investment restrictions against it.

See also

• Chinese National Human Genome Center
• Wellcome Sanger Institute
• Broad Institute