Paul Scherrer Institut

What Paul Scherrer Institut does

Paul Scherrer Institut PSI is Switzerland's largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences, operating as a federally funded national laboratory within the ETH Domain. The institute runs five co-located particle accelerator-based large research facilities — SwissFEL (X-ray free-electron laser), SLS (synchrotron), SINQ (neutron source), SμS (muon source), and CHRISP (particle physics) — supplemented by the COMET proton accelerator that powers the Center for Proton Therapy, Switzerland's only clinical proton therapy facility. Approximately 2,300 staff conduct research across four strategic areas: Future Technologies, Energy and Climate, Health Innovation, and Fundamentals of Nature, structured through eight research centers and 64 labs, groups, and projects.

PSI serves three primary customer sets: (1) an international academic and industrial research community of roughly 3,000 external scientists per year who access beamlines through a formal User Office proposal process and the Digital User Office (DUO); (2) cancer patients referred from across Europe for proton therapy, including pediatric cases treated since 1999 and infants since 2004; and (3) industry partners who license PSI technologies, commission proprietary research, or co-locate as spin-offs at the adjacent Park Innovaare innovation campus. Revenue is generated primarily through Swiss federal appropriations and competitive grants (Swiss and EU), with secondary streams from proton therapy services, facility access fees, and technology licensing/royalties.

The technology stack combines unique capital-intensive infrastructure (multi-decade accelerator and detector IP) with proprietary methodologies including the spot-scanning proton therapy technique that has become a global standard. Active upgrade programs (SLS 2.0, IMPACT) and emerging product lines (QTC@PSI quantum computing, VISTACT AI-based virtual tissue staining, Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences producing terbium isotopes) demonstrate ongoing capability expansion. Research output is published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals and feeds a technology transfer pipeline that includes spin-offs such as leadXPro and ecosystem nodes such as the Swiss Photonics Integration Center.

Name

Paul Scherrer Institut

Legal name

Paul Scherrer Institut PSI

Website

https://psi.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) is Switzerland's largest national research institute, operating five co-located particle accelerator facilities (SwissFEL, SLS, SINQ, SμS, CHRISP) to serve approximately 3,000 international academic and industrial researchers per year, while running the country's only clinical proton therapy center for cancer patients from across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Diagnostic Imaging Centers (621512), Medical Laboratories (621511), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), X-Ray Apparatus & Tubes & Related Irradiation Apparatus (3844)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nuclear Medicine Clinical Services & Therapy Centers (HLAIAGAI), Advanced Imaging & Specialty Radiology Centers (PET/CT, Nuclear Medicine, Interventional Radiology) (HLAFAKAB), Radiation Therapy Isotopes & Sources (Brachytherapy seeds, sealed sources for oncology) (EUAKAIAD), Radioisotope Production (Reactor/Cyclotron/Gamma) (HLAIAGAD)

Keywords

• Scientific research services
• Particle accelerator facilities
• Proton cancer therapy
• Synchrotron light source
• Technology transfer licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Aarau

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: PSI receives core funding from Swiss government sources, forming the primary revenue base for operations and research activities.
2. Research Grants and Project Funding: Competitive research grants from Swiss and European funding agencies including EU support programmes and ETH Domain initiatives.
3. Proton Therapy Services: Revenue from providing proton therapy cancer treatments, with patients from across Europe treated at the Center for Proton Therapy.
4. Facility Access Fees: Fees charged to external researchers and companies for access to large research facilities including synchrotron, neutron, and muon sources.
5. Technology Licensing and Spin-offs: Revenue from licensing technologies to industry and supporting spin-off companies through the technology transfer office.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Paul Scherrer Institut PSI operates five large particle accelerator-based research facilities (SwissFEL, SLS, SINQ, SμS, CHRISP) that are made available to roughly 3,000 external researchers per year through a formal proposal and beam time application process. It also operates the Center for Proton Therapy (CPT), the only facility in Switzerland delivering spot-scanning proton therapy for specific cancer types, and conducts applied research in energy, climate, health, and quantum technologies that is commercialized via technology licensing and spin-off support.

Product overview

Paul Scherrer Institut PSI is Switzerland's largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences, operating as a multi-facility research center rather than a single product company. The institute provides access to five major large research facilities (SwissFEL, SLS, SINQ, SμS, and CHRISP) for researchers worldwide, and offers commercial proton therapy services through its Center for Proton Therapy (CPT) for cancer treatment. PSI's product portfolio centers around these large-scale research facilities available to external users via proposal processes, supplemented by specialized research centers including the Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, various upgrade projects (IMPACT, SLS 2.0, ESI Platform, QTC@PSI), and novel techniques like VISTACT for virtual tissue staining. The institute focuses on four main research areas: Future Technologies, Energy and Climate, Health Innovation, and Fundamentals of Nature.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SwissFEL: Swiss X-ray Free Electron Laser - a large research facility operated by PSI
• SLS
• SINQ
• SμS
• Center for Proton Therapy (CPT)
• Park Innovaare

Products and services

• Center for Proton Therapy (CPT) The only facility in Switzerland providing proton therapy for specific cancer treatments, using the spot-scanning (Pencil Beam Scanning) technique developed at PSI to deliver precise tumor targeting while preserving healthy tissue. Treats pediatric and adult patients from across Europe following tumor board review.
• SwissFEL – Swiss X-ray Free Electron Laser X-ray free-electron laser facility providing ultra-short X-ray pulses for research in physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science, enabling atomic-scale investigation of ultrafast processes. Accessible to external researchers via the User Office proposal process.
• SLS – Swiss Light Source Synchrotron light source producing intense X-ray beams for research in materials science, biology, chemistry, and physics, currently undergoing the SLS 2.0 upgrade for improved performance. Accessible to external researchers via the User Office proposal process.
• SINQ – Swiss Spallation Neutron Source Spallation neutron source providing neutron beams for research in condensed matter physics, materials science, and biology. Accessible to external researchers via the User Office proposal process.
• SμS – Swiss Muon Source Muon source producing muons for research in particle physics, condensed matter physics, and materials science using muon spin spectroscopy. Accessible to external researchers via the User Office proposal process.
• CHRISP – Swiss Research Infrastructure for Particle Physics Swiss research infrastructure for particle physics providing facilities and expertise for particle physics experiments and research, operated as part of the Laboratory for Particle Physics at PSI.
• Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Research center developing radiopharmaceuticals for targeted tumor therapy, including work on terbium radionuclides (149, 152, 155, 161Tb) for nuclear medicine applications in cancer diagnosis and therapy.
• VISTACT (3D Virtual Tissue Staining) 3D virtual tissue staining method that combines high-resolution phase-contrast micro-CT imaging with machine learning to generate histological stains from CT scans without physical sectioning. Currently in proof-of-concept stage.

Quantifiable outcome

• PSI has treated children with proton therapy since 1999 and babies/infants since 2004
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), Czech RepublicmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026Collaboration on determining the three-dimensional structure of human cone opsins. PSI researchers worked with ELI Czech Republic to conduct this groundbreaking vision research published in Science.
• University of Tokyo, JapanmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026International collaboration with University of Tokyo on the cone opsin structure determination study, contributing to understanding of human color vision.
• Copenhagen Atomics (Denmark)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026PSI in Villigen, Switzerland hosts a European-premiere experiment testing Copenhagen Atomics' novel molten salt reactor. This marks the first such reactor to achieve critical operation on the continent.
• leadXPro (PSI Spin-off)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2026PSI spin-off company leadXPro is involved in photopharmacology research, working on light-switchable drug development including the photoazolol-1 compound.
• CSIC Barcelona, SpainmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2026Collaboration with CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) in Barcelona on the photopharmacology study of light-switchable drugs published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
• NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbHmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026PSI and NUKEM signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a close research and development collaboration focused on advanced nuclear fuel and reactor technologies.
• Broad Institute of MIT and HarvardmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Collaboration on AI-driven framework to analyze multimodal cellular data, enhancing understanding of complex cell states for disease research.
• ETH Zurich (for AI cell biology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 February 2026Partnership with ETH Zurich on AI framework for analyzing cellular data, working with Broad Institute researchers.
• ETH ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Collaboration with ETH Zurich on quantum computing research, demonstrating fault-tolerant lattice surgery on superconducting qubits using surface codes.
• RWTH Aachen UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Collaboration on quantum computing research demonstrating fault-tolerant lattice surgery on superconducting processors.
• Forschungszentrum JülichmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026German research partner in the quantum computing collaboration demonstrating lattice surgery with surface codes on superconducting qubits.
• Swiss Photonic Integration Center (Swiss PIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2025Swiss PIC was founded in 2023 by industry and research stakeholders including PSI, OST Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Swissphotonics, Ligentec, and Polariton Technologies. The center opened a manufacturing center at Park Innovaare for photonic integration.
• ETH Domain InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI is part of the ETH Domain (Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology), collaborating closely with ETH Zurich, EPFL, and other institutions on joint initiatives and research projects.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron): Germany's national particle accelerator and photon science center. Operates PETRA III synchrotron and FLASH free-electron laser with comparable large-facility research access, beam-time user programs, and technology transfer to industry — directly comparable to PSI's SwissFEL/SLS model.
• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): France-based, multi-country-funded synchrotron operating the EBS (Extremely Brilliant Source) upgrade. Directly comparable mission, user community, and beam-time access model; ESRF-EBS is PSI/SLS 2.0's principal international competitor for top-tier photon science.
• Diamond Light Source: UK's national synchrotron facility, jointly government-funded and operating a large external user program. Directly comparable as a publicly funded multi-technique photon science center.
• Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB): Operates the BESSY II synchrotron and is building BESSY III, with photon science user programs and accelerator R&D. Closely comparable as a national photon and accelerator research center serving external scientific users.
• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory: Stanford-operated US national lab operating the LCLS X-ray free-electron laser and SSRL synchrotron. Directly comparable as an accelerator-based user facility with deep industry and academic engagement.
• SPring-8 / JASRI: Japan's flagship synchrotron and SACLA X-ray free-electron laser facility, operated by the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute. Comparable large-facility research mission and external user model.

Broad incumbents

• CERN: European particle physics laboratory operating the LHC complex. Comparable as a multi-national large-scale accelerator facility with CHRISP-aligned particle physics research and shared user/beam-time model.
• ETH Zurich (research operations): Sister institution within the ETH Domain. Operates broader academic research programs but collaborates closely with PSI on quantum (lattice surgery), AI (cellular data), and radiopharmaceuticals — comparable as a top-tier Swiss research establishment.

Emerging players

• ITM Isotope Technologies Munich: Private radiopharmaceutical company specializing in targeted radionuclide therapy and medical isotopes. Comparable to PSI's Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, particularly the terbium-161 and other theranostic isotope work — ITM is the principal commercial counterpart to PSI's isotope production pipeline.
• Mass General Brigham / MGH Burr Proton Therapy Center: Major US academic proton therapy center using PSI-licensed spot-scanning technology. Comparable clinical operation to PSI's CPT, with similar pediatric and adult oncology indications and referral-based patient intake.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paul-scherrer-institut
• Instagraminstagram.com/paul_scherrer_institut
• Xx.com/psich_de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Paul Scherrer Institut