Genios

What Genios does

Genios, legally GBI-Genios Deutsche Wirtschaftsdatenbank GmbH, is a German economic information and press database company headquartered in Munich at Balanstraße 71 a. Founded in 1978 and operating as a joint venture between Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) and Handelsblatt, the company runs an online subscription platform at genios.de that aggregates German-language business and economic content from multiple publishers and research institutions. Its core product categories span company information (Firmen), people (Personen), press (Presse), trade press (Fachpresse), consumer press (Publikumspresse), market data (Marktdaten), eBooks, Videos, Audio, and Abstracts, covering sources such as Bonitätsauskunft (credit information), Handelsregister (trade register entries), Bundesanzeiger (federal publications), and major German trade and consumer press.

The underlying platform is a centralized database service providing search, browsing, and document retrieval across licensed content, with specialized full-text linking for sources such as BLIS and BrewLiT. Distribution is exclusively online: corporate and individual subscribers access the platform directly via account-based login, while universities, libraries, and research institutions are served through dedicated academic licensing arrangements. There is no public API, SDK, or mobile app; the service is a self-serve web platform. The company operates from a single Munich office with a reported headcount of 11–50 employees.

Genios generates revenue through recurring subscription access across four horizontal customer segments: Business and Corporate Users (credit checks, trade register lookups, company verification, market intelligence), Academic and Research Institutions (economic literature, business publications, academic research), Government and Public Sector (regulatory and public records access), and Media and Journalism (press archives, company profiles, fact verification). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by user type and access level. The company is privately held under German law, funded through operational revenues rather than external capital, and currently serves the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

Name

Genios

Legal name

GBI-Genios Deutsche Wirtschaftsdatenbank GmbH

Website

https://genios.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Information Database

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Libraries and Archives (51921), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Archives, Libraries & Institutional Access Platforms (MPAJAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Stock Media, Asset Marketplaces & Licensing Platforms (BPAMAJAM)

Keywords

• Business information database
• Press archive services
• Economic data platform
• Company credit information
• Trade register access

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Database Access: Genios generates revenue through subscription-based access to its comprehensive German economic and business database, providing access to trade registers, press archives, credit information, and company profiles.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Genios operates a subscription-based online database platform aggregating German business and economic information. The platform provides centralized access to Bonitätsauskunft (credit information), Handelsregister (trade registers), press archives, Bundesanzeiger (federal publications), Fachpresse (trade press), and Firmenprofile (company profiles), along with market data, eBooks, videos, audio content, and abstracts from multiple publishers and research institutions.

Product overview

GENIOS is a unified business and economic information database platform operated by GBI-Genios Deutsche Wirtschaftsdatenbank GmbH. The platform aggregates content from multiple publishers and research institutions, offering access through distinct content categories: Firmen (company information), Personen (people), Presse (press), Fachpresse (trade press), Publikumspresse (consumer press), Marktdaten (market data), eBooks, Videos, Audio, and Abstracts. The platform serves as a comprehensive gateway to German and international business information.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GENIOS Database Platform Subscription-based comprehensive business and economic information database platform providing access to company data, press releases, trade publications, market data, eBooks, videos, audio content, and abstracts from various German and international sources. Serves businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, and media professionals for company research, credit assessment, market analysis, and academic research.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)coreOthersFAZ is one of the two parent companies of GBI-Genios Deutsche Wirtschaftsdatenbank GmbH. The partnership provides access to FAZ content and brand association.
• HandelsblattcoreOthersHandelsblatt is one of the two parent companies of GBI-Genios Deutsche Wirtschaftsdatenbank GmbH. The partnership provides access to Handelsblatt content and brand association.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LexisNexis: LexisNexis operates one of the world's largest legal, business, and press database platforms, with extensive German-language content and academic/government licensing — directly comparable to Genios' model of aggregating authoritative content for institutional customers.
• Dow Jones Factiva: Factiva is a global business news and press database subscription service with deep German-language coverage and corporate research use cases — overlapping directly with Genios' press archive, company research, and business intelligence offerings.
• Bisnode (now Dun & Bradstreet): Bisnode was a leading European business information provider (now part of Dun & Bradstreet), offering company data, credit information, and trade registers across DACH and Nordics — directly overlapping with Genios' Bonitätsauskunft and Handelsregister offerings.
• Creditreform: Creditreform is Germany's largest credit bureau and business information provider, offering Bonitätsauskunft and company profiles — a direct German-market competitor to Genios' credit information and trade register data products.
• ProQuest: ProQuest aggregates scholarly journals, dissertations, and business content for academic and library markets — directly comparable to Genios' academic/institutional licensing model and abstract/literature database offerings (e.g., BLISS, IWPR).
• EBSCO Information Services: EBSCO provides research databases and subscription content services to academic, corporate, and government institutions — overlapping with Genios' bibliographic literature, abstracts, and institutional licensing business.

Emerging players

• North Data: North Data is a modern German company data platform providing Handelsregister-derived information, beneficial ownership data, and network visualizations — an emerging digital-native competitor targeting some of Genios' corporate research use cases.

Broad incumbents

• Bureau van Dijk (Moody's): Bureau van Dijk (now Moody's) provides global company information databases including extensive German coverage through Orbis — a broader incumbent with overlapping corporate intelligence offerings but a wider geographic scope than Genios.
• Bloomberg Terminal: Bloomberg Terminal offers broad financial, market, and company information for professional users globally — a broader incumbent that overlaps with Genios' market data and corporate research categories but at far greater scale and price point.
• Refinitiv (LSEG): Refinitiv (now part of London Stock Exchange Group) operates global financial and business information platforms including company data and news — a broader incumbent with overlapping company profiles, market data, and press content offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/gbi.genios
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gbi-genios-deutsche-wirtschaftsdatenbank-gmbh
• Xx.com/GBI_GENIOS

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Genios