IR-780 iodide, a lipophilic cation heptamethine, is a near‐infrared fluorescent (NIF) dye with higher and more stable fluorescence intensity than clinically applied dye indocyanine green (ICG). Meanwhile, IR-780 can be utilized in photothermal therapy with laser irradiation. IR-780 is an important theranostic agent but its lipophilicity limited its application. It is used for the exclusive characterization of human CSCs through the HIF‐1α/glycolysis dependent mitochondrial transporter ABCB10's activity.