Wimlds

What Wimlds does

WiMLDS (Women in Machine Learning and Data Science) is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in the United States. Its mission is to support and promote women and gender minorities who are practicing, studying, or interested in machine learning and data science. The organization operates a distributed chapter network of more than 75 local chapters across 6 continents, each led by independent volunteer organizers and coordinated by a small global leadership team (Erin LeDell, Agnieszka Kamińska, Alla Zhdan) and board (Sinziana Eckner, Laurence DeTorrente, Reshama Shaikh).

WiMLDS' core products are community programs rather than software: (1) regular meetups and talks featuring practitioners in ML/DS, (2) recurring open source sprints (most prominently scikit-learn) that drive participation in major open source projects, (3) domain hackathons including Smart Cities and Healthcare, (4) a free job board connecting female+ professionals with employer partners, and (5) the global chapter network itself, which is supported by an open-source chapter 'starter kit' on GitHub. Its underlying technology stack is intentionally lightweight — Meetup.com for event management, GitHub for collaboration and the starter kit, Zoom for virtual events, and standard social platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram) for community engagement — reflecting a community-organization operating model rather than a product-platform company.

WiMLDS generates no commercial revenue. It is funded by small-dollar community donations (tax-deductible in the US for amounts over $250) and per-event sponsorships from corporate partners such as Microsoft, Bloomberg, O'Reilly Media, Cloudera, Stack Exchange, iHub, and Amazon Alexa. Operating expenses are limited to Meetup.com fees, Zoom subscriptions, and webhosting. The go-to-market motion is community-led: growth occurs organically as interested volunteers spin up new chapters using the starter kit, and sponsorship is pursued on an event-by-event basis rather than through a sales team. The job board operates as a freemium channel — postings are free, with companies asked to make a donation after posting.

Name

Wimlds

Legal name

Women in Machine Learning and Data Science

Website

https://wimlds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WiMLDS is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a global network of 75+ local chapters supporting women and gender minorities in machine learning and data science through meetups, open source sprints, hackathons, and a free job board.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: WiMLDS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on donations from the community to cover operational expenses including Meetup.com fees, Zoom subscriptions, and webhosting. Donations are tax-deductible in the US for amounts over $250 USD.
2. Event Sponsorships: In-person events (when not during COVID) are often sponsored by host companies or institutions on a per-event basis. Companies can sponsor specific events through local chapters or the Global Team.
3. Job Board Donations: Job postings are free but the organization asks that companies consider making a donation following a posting, particularly companies supporting their mission.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

WiMLDS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates a global network of more than 75 local chapters across six continents, supporting women and gender minorities in machine learning and data science. It delivers its mission through local meetups featuring technical talks, hands-on workshops, networking events, hackathons (Smart Cities and Healthcare), open source sprints (notably scikit-learn), and a free job board connecting members with employers.

Product overview

WiMLDS operates as a community organization rather than a product company. Its core offerings consist of community-driven programs including regular meetups and events featuring technical talks by women and gender minorities in ML/data science, open source sprints (particularly scikit-learn focused), hackathons in domains like Smart Cities and Healthcare, a free job board connecting female+ professionals with employers, and a global network of local chapters across all continents. These services are delivered through platforms like Meetup, GitHub, and social media, rather than through proprietary software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Meetups and Events In-person and virtual meetups featuring talks by women and gender minority individuals working in data science or machine learning, along with technical workshops and networking events, hosted by local chapters worldwide.
• Open Source Sprints Technical sprints focused on contributing to open source projects, particularly scikit-learn, with the goal of increasing women's participation in open source development.
• Hackathons Data-focused hackathon events including Smart Cities and Healthcare challenges, organized by WiMLDS for community members and partners.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered moderate.

• O'Reilly MediamoderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2016O'Reilly Media provided complimentary conference passes to WiMLDS members for events including Strata+Hadoop, JupyterCon, PlotCon, PyGotham, and the O' Reilly AI Conference. WiMLDS members received free or discounted access to these conferences.
• ClouderamoderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2016Cloudera co-sponsored complimentary passes for WiMLDS members to attend the Strata+Hadoop conference in NYC.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AnitaB.org (formerly Anita Borg Institute): AnitaB.org is the largest US-based nonprofit advancing women in technology, including computer science, AI, and data science. Directly comparable to WiMLDS as a mission-aligned professional community for women in computing, with stronger institutional funding.
• Women in Data Science (WiDS) — Stanford: WiDS is a Stanford-initiated global initiative supporting women in data science via conferences, podcasts, and datathons. It is the most direct peer to WiMLDS, addressing the same women in DS audience through educational programming, though anchored to an academic institution.
• Women Who Code: Women Who Code is a global nonprofit with 125,000+ members running local chapters focused on software engineering careers. Comparable to WiMLDS as a chapter-based community for women in tech, though broader in scope beyond ML/DS.
• Women in AI: Women in AI is a global nonprofit building a community of women in artificial intelligence through events, education, and mentorship. Highly comparable to WiMLDS with a narrower AI-only focus and overlapping member base.
• PyLadies: PyLadies is an international mentorship group with local chapters focused on helping women become active participants in the Python open-source community. Closely comparable to WiMLDS through shared open-source sprint ethos and women-in-tech mission.
• R-Ladies Global: R-Ladies is a worldwide organization promoting gender diversity in the R community through local meetups. Comparable to WiMLDS in structure (global chapters, volunteer-led), though focused on R/statistics rather than ML/DS broadly.

Emerging players

• AI4ALL: AI4ALL is a US nonprofit increasing inclusion in AI through education programs for underrepresented groups. WiMLDS's global leader Erin LeDell was interviewed by AI4ALL, suggesting organizational adjacency; both serve women/underrepresented groups in AI.
• Black Girls CODE: Black Girls CODE is a nonprofit introducing girls of color to technology and computer science. Comparable to WiMLDS in mission (increasing women/underrepresented groups in tech), but focused on younger learners rather than practicing professionals.

Broad incumbents

• Girls in Tech: Girls in Tech is a global nonprofit focused on closing the gender gap in technology through education, mentorship, and entrepreneurship programs. Comparable to WiMLDS as an established women-in-tech nonprofit with broader scope beyond ML/DS.
• Women in Technology International (WITI): WITI is a long-running global professional organization supporting women in technology through networking, mentorship, and career resources. Comparable to WiMLDS as a peer professional networking nonprofit, though broader in scope and more established.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wimlds
• GitHubgithub.com/WiMLDS
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/1543251712603090
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-in-machine-learning-data-science
• Instagraminstagram.com/wimlds

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Wimlds