The Company and Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
The Company and Basis of Presentation	Sep. 30, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
The Company and Basis of Presentation	The Company and Basis of Presentation Description of Business Berkeley Lights, Inc. (the “Company” or “Berkeley Lights”) is a leading Digital Cell Biology company focused on enabling and accelerating the rapid development and commercialization of biotherapeutics and other cell-based products. Berkeley Lights’ platform is a fully integrated, end-to-end solution, comprised of advanced automation systems, proprietary consumables, including the Company’s OptoSelect chips and reagent kits, and advanced application and workflow software. Berkeley Lights and its consolidated subsidiaries are hereinafter referred to as the “Company.” The Company’s headquarters are in Emeryville, California. Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements (the “condensed consolidated financial statements”) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. Liquidity The Company has experienced losses from its operations since its inception and has relied primarily on equity and debt financing to fund its operations to date. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company had a consolidated net loss of $21.6 million and $68.7 million, respectively, and as of September 30, 2022 had an accumulated deficit of $332.3 million. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities was $134.7 million at September 30, 2022. Management expects to continue to incur significant expenses for the foreseeable future and to incur operating losses in the near term while the Company makes investments to support its anticipated growth. The Company believes that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance as of September 30, 2022 provides sufficient capital resources to continue its operations for at least 12 months from the issuance date of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Organizational and presentational changes During the third quarter 2022, the Company made certain changes to its operating structure to align with its new business strategy. These changes included reorganizing the Company’s go-to-market efforts, the termination of approximately 12% of its workforce (see Note 12 to these condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information), and additional organizational changes. As part of these changes, the Company’s “service center,” a team of scientists and engineers who perform services for both internal and external projects, is now part of the Company’s platform sales and support organization. The service center historically reported to the Company’s former Chief Product Officer. As a result of these changes, the Company updated its classification of operating expenses as follows: 1. Expenses related to the termination of employees during the third quarter discussed above are classified in “Restructuring” within Operating Expenses. 2. The Company now discloses “Selling, general and administrative” expenses which includes expenses historically reported in “Sales and marketing” as well as “General and administrative” expenses. The Company has reclassified the prior period to conform to the current period presentation for this change. 3. Expenses associated with the Company’s service center are no longer be classified as “Research and development” expenses, and instead are classified as “Selling, general and administrative” expenses on the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations as of the third quarter of 2022. Service center expenses recorded in “Selling, general and administrative” during the three months ended September 30, 2022, were $4.7 million. Service center expenses recorded in “Research and development” during the six months ended June 30, 2022, were $9.7 million. Service center expenses recorded in “Research and development” during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, were $3.8 million and $7.8 million, respectively.