Press release

ResearchGate secures investments from Wellcome Trust, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Four Rivers Group as the place where scientific progress happens

February 28, 2017

Berlin, Germany – February 28, 2017 – ResearchGate, the professional network for scientists, announced investments from Wellcome Trust, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Four Rivers Group with participation from Ashton Kutcher, Groupe Arnault, Xavier Niel, and existing investors Bill Gates, Tenaya Capital, Benchmark, and Founders Fund.

Since receiving this growth investment of 52.6 million USD in November 2015, ResearchGate has broken new ground in connecting the world of science and making it open to all. Already, more than 12 million members share over half a million research updates daily and 2.5 million publications every month, including information traditionally not shared, like code or negative results.

“On ResearchGate, for the first time in history, millions of scientists are speaking out and providing transparency into their current research. ResearchGate has become the place where scientific progress happens – and where everyone can learn about it,” said Ijad Madisch, co-founder and CEO of ResearchGate.We provide scientists with the platform for this fundamental shift and are excited to count Wellcome Trust, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Four Rivers Group among our investors and well-known supporters.”

The latest investment contributed to the launch of a new feature called Projects. Since its inception in March 2016, scientists have created more than half a million Projects, updating peers and the world about ongoing research, including scientific data.

“ResearchGate will become the hub for scientific data online,” said Madisch. Like other research results, scientific data will be included in researchers’ profiles, enabling collaboration and discovery. The latest investment is partially going into this effort to store and structure scientific data in ways that help scientists make progress today and in the future.

Geoffrey Love, senior member of the Investment Division at Wellcome Trust, the second-highest spending charitable foundation in the world said: “ResearchGate is an innovative and widely-used platform, which connects researchers with their peers around the world. Through providing a space to share results and ideas, it is helping researchers to advance their research and develop applications that benefit society.”

“The way in which the scientific community innovates is rapidly evolving away from siloed experimentation and toward network-driven collaboration. With its member network of 12 million individuals, ResearchGate has clearly become the dominant player driving that transformation,” said Ian Friedman, Co-Head of Goldman Sachs Investment Partners Venture Capital & Growth Equity team.  “Partnering with a team leading the change in something as important as the way in which research is conducted is a rare opportunity and we’re excited to support ResearchGate in fulfilling their mission of accelerating the pace of scientific advancement.”

Since the November 2015 investment, ResearchGate has also successfully implemented an advertising model selling scientific advertising and recruiting solutions. These solutions connect those who sell scientific products and services to those who work with them

“To be successful, everything a true network-effect business like ResearchGate does needs to be useful to its members,” said Matt Cohler, Benchmark General Partner who led the company’s Series A investment and is a member of the board. “This includes making money. True to their mission, ResearchGate’s has tapped into a sustainable business model that serves to fuel the network’s growth as the place where science happens and progress is made.”

About ResearchGate

ResearchGate was founded in 2008 by the physicians Dr. Ijad Madisch and Dr. Sören Hofmayer, along with computer specialist Horst Fickenscher. The company’s mission is to connect the world of science and make research open to all. 12 million researchers have made more than 140 million connections on the network, and share over half a million updates about their research daily. ResearchGate has completed four rounds of financing from Benchmark, Founders Fund, Bill Gates, Tenaya Capital, Wellcome Trust, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Four Rivers Group.

About Wellcome Trust

Wellcome is an independent global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health.  Wellcome’s investment portfolio provides the income for its funding.

About Goldman Sachs Investment Partners

The Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP) Venture Capital & Growth Equity team has invested more than $6 billion in private opportunities globally since 2003. The team partners with entrepreneurs to build disruptive businesses and has invested in over 100 private transactions, including Uber, Facebook, Spotify, SMS Assist, Pinterest, thredUP, foodpanda, GoEuro, Cadre and Compass. The team is located in New York, Hong Kong, and Mumbai and is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

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