SPT Labtech and 10x Genomics announced a strategic partnership to automate single‑cell workflows by integrating SPT’s Firefly liquid‑handling system with 10x’s Chromium single‑cell chemistry and future Visium spatial protocols. The collaboration targets scale-up, reproducibility and plug‑and‑play automation for single‑cell and spatial applications, reducing manual bottlenecks in library preparation. In commercial lab capacity news, analytical lab Sampled (formerly RUCDR) signed an agreement to outsource nucleic acid extraction to AutoGen, leveraging AutoGen’s automated DNA and RNA extraction services to expand throughput and customer access. The deal indicates growing demand for outsourced, high‑throughput sample processing and the value of paired automation partners in supporting genomics workflows. Together these moves underscore an industry trend: vendors coupling robust chemistries with scalable automation and service providers to accelerate single‑cell and large‑cohort genomic projects while minimizing technical variability and turnaround times.