The market for upright microscopes was valued at 8.0 billion USD in 2018 and is projected to reach 12 billion USD by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.6% during the forecast period between 2019 and 2025. The growth in the market size is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for upright microscope across academic and research institutes, especially in academic institutes with the expected increase in education funding by the government. The growth is also associated with the decrease in the price of the upright microscopes with the advancement of cutting edge technologies and decreasing costs of production as well as the intense competition among the players. In addition, the increase in the demand for high-resolution microscopes at lower price from smaller companies and increasing discounts by ecommerce players is expected to fuel the demand for upright microscopes.
Optical microscopes have been in the market since many years and are the old or conventional microscopes systems. The market for upright microscopes is highly competitive across the globe, among the well established global players as well as local players who cater a certain region or country. Some of the major players operating in the upright microscope market include Zeiss Group, Olympus Corporation, Leica Microsystems, Nikon Instruments, Euromex, Meiji Techno, Motic, Optika Italy, and Vision Engineering.
The market for binocular upright microscopes accounted for the largest market in terms of value in 2018, followed by trinocular upright microscopes. The market for monocular upright microscopes accounted for the lowest market accounting because these are the entry level microscopes which cater majorly primary schools and hobbyists at beginner level.
Microscopes have been one of the key scientific instruments that have led to the discovery and analysis of numerous materials, cells, organisms, structures and other scientific innovations that were not visible with naked eye. They have been used in various fields from hobbyists and education institutions to research, medical, healthcare, lifesciences, and industrial applications. In the current study of upright microscope market, the applications are broadly categorized into academic & research institutes, hospitals & clinics, pharmaceutical & biotechnology, and industry. Academic & research institutes accounted for the largest market for upright microscopes in in 2018 with a share of 38%, led by the increasing demand for educational microscopes.
The market for upright microscopes is intensely competitive and dominated by a few players. Major market for high-end upright microscopes is dominated by the top four companies Olympus, Zeiss, Nikon, and Leica Microsystems. Entry-level upright microscopes market is highly competitive with smaller vendors, such as OPTIKA Italy, Euromex, Laxco, Labomed, and Vision Engineering apart from the top players. The vendors in the upright microscope market compete based on product portfolio, product differentiation, and the pricing of products. The rise in technological innovations in formulating the lenses is expected to continue to intensify the level of competition among the companies to expand their product portfolios by incorporating innovative features into their products.