Many companies began developing NIPS in 2011. Today, over 60 companies offer this service all around the world.

Illumina was founded in San Diego in 1998 and, in 2012, it became the first publicly listed company to offer NIPS service. Illumina is also the biggest manufacturer of gene sequencing equipment and services gene sequencing and analysis software around the world. The company has a market value of over thirty billion US dollars.

Since 2013, Illumina has controlled more than 70% of the market share for gene sequencing equipment and related software. Innovations from Illumina have decreased the time and cost required for genetic testing. In 2014, the MIT Technology Review ranked Illumina as the smartest company of the year.

Research conducted in 1997 discovered Y-chromosome fragments in the blood of a woman who was carrying a male child. This finding revealed that it was possible to retrieve fetal chromosomes from the mother's blood and test them for Down syndrome. In 2005, such techniques were made commercially available.Today, they are not only simple and easy, but also boast a 99% accuracy level.

Illumina has been a pioneer in the gene sequencing industry. With diverse product lines and high competitiveness, Illumina has collected data from more than 35,000 clinical cases and completed over 100,000 Down syndrome tests. Illumina remains an industry leader thanks to high success rates as well as the accuracy and sensitivity of its equipment and testing methods.

To keep up with rapidly growing demand for genetic testing around the world, Illumina has been pursuing international technical collaborations in order to increase the global accessibility of testing services. In Taiwan, Illumina has established a long-term partnership with Sofiva Genomics. The goal of this partnership is to develop novel clinical methodologies as well as advanced, noninvasive pre-birth diagnostic technologies.