ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. It was founded in 2008 by Dr. Ijad Madisch, Dr. Sören Hofmayer, and Horst Fickenscher in Boston, Massachusetts.
Who started ResearchGate?
ResearchGate was founded by three individuals – Dr. Ijad Madisch, Dr. Sören Hofmayer, and Horst Fickenscher.
Dr. Ijad Madisch is a physician and computer scientist from Germany. He received his M.D. degree from Hannover Medical School in 2006 and his doctorate in virology from Hannover Medical School in 2008. During his doctoral research, he became frustrated with the lack of collaboration between scientists and co-founded ResearchGate to change this.
Dr. Sören Hofmayer is a German computer scientist who studied with Dr. Madisch at Hannover Medical School. He obtained a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Hanover in 2005. He worked with Dr. Madisch to turn the idea for ResearchGate into reality.
Horst Fickenscher is an experienced entrepreneur and investor from Germany. He provided early-stage funding and advice to get ResearchGate off the ground. His business expertise complemented the scientific knowledge of Dr. Madisch and Dr. Hofmayer.
When was ResearchGate founded?
ResearchGate was founded in 2008 by Dr. Madisch, Dr. Hofmayer, and Mr. Fickenscher. The headquarters was established in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, but the founders continued to live and work in Germany in the early stages.
The initial development of the ResearchGate platform took place in Boston with a small team. The website was officially launched to scientists worldwide in May 2008 at the American Society of Microbiology General Meeting in Boston.
Within the first year, over 35,000 members signed up on ResearchGate. The unique visitors grew rapidly to reach over 1 million by 2010. This early growth demonstrated the interest in social networking specifically for researchers.
How did ResearchGate grow after being founded?
ResearchGate focused on catering to researchers and scientists after its founding. Some key developments include:
- 2009 – Reached over 250,000 members.
- 2010 – Expanded headquarters in Boston and opened an office in Berlin, Germany.
- 2011 – Membership exceeded 1 million researchers.
- 2012 – Opened additional offices in London and Melbourne.
- 2013 – Membership passed 3 million. Added investors and raised $35 million in venture funding.
- 2014 – Hired first full-time sales and marketing teams and introduced recruitment services.
- 2015 – Reached over 7 million members.
- 2016 – Expanded services for publishers and institutions.
- 2017 – Membership exceeded 11 million researchers.
- 2018 – Passed 12 million members.
- 2019 – Launched ResearchGate Services for Institutes.
This growth demonstrates that ResearchGate filled an important need for scientists and scholars around the world seeking to connect and share knowledge.
Who are the major shareholders of ResearchGate?
As a private company, ResearchGate does not disclose detailed information about its ownership structure. However, based on available information, the major shareholders appear to be:
- The founders – Dr. Ijad Madisch, Dr. Sören Hofmayer, and Horst Fickenscher likely retain significant ownership stakes.
- Early individual investors – Including Bill Gates, who provided seed funding in 2009.
- Institutional investors – Several venture capital firms invested in ResearchGate, including Benchmark, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Ashton Kutcher’s firm Sound Ventures.
- Employees – Many key employees likely hold shares and stock options.
ResearchGate has raised over $100 million from investors since it was founded. But the company remains privately held, so the exact distribution of shares is not public knowledge.
Who sits on the Board of Directors?
Again, as a private company, the full composition of ResearchGate’s Board of Directors is not publicly disclosed. Based on available information, the Board likely includes:
- The founders – Dr. Ijad Madisch (CEO), Dr. Sören Hofmayer, and Horst Fickenscher.
- Representatives from VC investors – Such as Benchmark and Goldman Sachs.
- Independent directors – Likely business experts and advisors.
Publicly announced members include Bill Gates, Benchmark’s Matt Cohler, and Goldman Sachs’ Holger Staude. But the full board makeup remains private.
What is the company’s business and revenue model?
ResearchGate operates using a “freemium” business model. Basic membership and use of the platform is free for researchers and scientists. This helps drive uptake within the core user base.
ResearchGate then offers premium paid services to generate revenue, including:
- ResearchGate Services for Institutes – Paid plans for universities and research organizations to increase visibility.
- ResearchGate Jobs – Paid recruitment services connecting hiring labs/organizations with researchers looking for jobs.
- Sponsored content – Paid promotions through sponsored questions or corporate profiles.
ResearchGate also likely generates some revenue from advertising across its site, though advertising is not a core part of its model.
This freemium approach leverages the large member base to provide value to organizations willing to pay for access, visibility, talent recruitment, and marketing on the platform.
How many people work for ResearchGate?
As of 2022, ResearchGate employs over 450 people worldwide. The company headquarters remains in Berlin, Germany, but they have offices across Europe, North America, and Australia.
Some key employee centers include:
- Berlin, Germany – Headquarters and product development.
- Boston, USA – Software engineering and sales operations.
- Los Angeles, USA – Marketing, user experience, and design.
- London, UK – Marketing, partnerships, and sales.
- Melbourne, Australia – Software development.
ResearchGate has expanded from the 3 founders to over 450 employees in 15 years. This shows the company’s rapid growth and need for diverse talent across engineering, sales, marketing, design, and more as its member base scales globally.
What is ResearchGate’s user base?
ResearchGate reports having over 20 million members in 2022. The member base consists primarily of researchers and scientists across academia, corporations, governments, and non-profits worldwide.
Based on available demographic data:
- Over 75% of members hold a PhD degree.
- Over 85% of members are affiliated with a university or research institution.
- Members span all fields of research, including life sciences, medicine, engineering, and physical sciences.
- The top countries by member base include the United States, India, UK, Germany, Brazil, Canada, France, and China.
ResearchGate has become the dominant global social network for researchers. The multi-disciplinary user base enables cross-pollination of ideas and expertise sharing across diverse fields and organizations.
How does ResearchGate make money?
As noted above, ResearchGate operates under a “freemium” model where the core platform is free to use for researchers, but premium paid services exist for other entities.
Key ways ResearchGate generates revenue include:
- ResearchGate Services for Institutes – Paid plans for increased visibility and analysis of an organization’s researcher profiles and engagement.
- ResearchGate Jobs – Paid job listings and recruitment services to connect hiring organizations with researchers.
- Sponsored Content – Companies can pay to promote content like sponsored questions to reach the ResearchGate audience.
- Advertising – Limited advertising is sold across the ResearchGate site and in email newsletters.
ResearchGate likely also generates some revenue from partnerships with publishers and other research-focused organizations around content sharing and distribution.
But the core social network remains free to drive engagement, while premium services are targeted to monetize the large user base. This strikes a balance between value and revenue.
Is ResearchGate profitable?
ResearchGate is not yet profitable, which is common for fast-growing tech startups. As a private company, ResearchGate does not share detailed financial results publicly.
However, there are some signs that profitability may be on the horizon:
- In 2019, ResearchGate began generating recurring revenue from the launch of its Services for Institutes.
- Headcount growth has slowed, indicating the company is maturing. In 2022, ResearchGate hired just ~50 new employees compared to 200+ new hires annually in prior years.
- With over 20 million members globally, ResearchGate benefits from economies of scale.
ResearchGate CEO Ijad Madisch has stated profitability is a major priority moving forward. The company appears to be working to optimize monetization from its massive user base.
But the timeline to profitability is likely still at least a few years given its current high-growth phase. Wide losses are common for capital-intensive startups building global user platforms.
Does ResearchGate plan to go public?
There are no definitive plans for ResearchGate to hold an initial public offering (IPO) and become a publicly traded company. It remains privately held as of late 2022.
As a well-funded startup valued over $1 billion, ResearchGate does meet criteria to be considered a “unicorn” company. Many unicorns eventually opt to go public, but have the luxury of remaining private longer than small startups.
Potential factors that may influence ResearchGate’s likelihood of going public in the future include:
- Market conditions – Favorable IPO markets increase likelihood of listing.
- Need for capital – Accessing public equity markets raises capital for growth.
- Investor desires – VC backers may want liquidity from an IPO exit.
- Competitive moves – Rival platforms going public could spur an IPO.
But ResearchGate appears focused on product-market fit and monetization for now. An IPO likely remains at least a few years away unless market conditions change or rapid capital is needed.
What is the company’s valuation?
As a privately held startup, ResearchGate does not disclose an official valuation. However, private tender offers and funding rounds provide data to estimate the valuation:
- 2014 – $1.36 billion valuation based on $35 million round.
- 2015 – $2 billion valuation based on $52.6 million round.
- 2016 – $3 billion valuation based on $52.6 million round.
Estimates from 2019 put ResearchGate’s private valuation between $2-3 billion. This would qualify ResearchGate as a “unicorn” startup with valuation exceeding $1 billion.
More recent valuation estimates are not available. But continued strong membership growth suggests the valuation likely remains in the $2-3 billion range as of late 2022 if ResearchGate sought new funding or a buyer.
Who are ResearchGate’s competitors?
As a social network and collaboration platform for researchers, ResearchGate competes with both specialized sites and broader platforms. Some key competitors include:
- Academia.edu – Direct competitor also focused solely on research community.
- Mendeley – Reference manager tool for research papers and datasets.
- Google Scholar – Search engine specifically indexing scholarly literature.
- LinkedIn – Broader professional social network where researchers also connect.
- Facebook Groups – Researchers interact in topical Facebook Groups.
ResearchGate differentiates itself through features tailored specifically to collaborative research, such as sharing full-texts, finding co-authors, and discussing ideas. But competitors create an overlapping set of options.
Conclusion
ResearchGate has grown rapidly since its founding in 2008 to become the dominant social network for over 20 million researchers worldwide. While the company remains privately held, it is backed by major institutional investors and commands a multi-billion dollar valuation.
The platform leverages a freemium model to provide free access and collaboration tools for the research community while generating revenue from premium services. Profitability remains elusive but appears to be a priority moving forward.
An IPO may eventually occur, but likely remains several years away barring a shift in priorities. For now, ResearchGate seems focused on enhancing its value to researchers through community tools while optimizing monetization of its network.
