Instituto de Telecomunicações

Name

Instituto de Telecomunicações

Legal name

Instituto de Telecomunicações

Website

https://it.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Research

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutes of Technology (IoT / Technical Universities) (EDAHAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

IT Risk Management (ITRM) (HDADAIAD), Enterprise Architecture & Technology Roadmapping (BPAEAAAC), Infrastructure, Networking & Systems Administration Training (BPAEANAJ)

Keywords

• Telecommunications research
• Wireless communications
• Photonics research
• Quantum communications
• Network services research

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: Primary funding from Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through UID/50008/2025 and other national research programs.
2. EU Research Programs: Funding from European Union programs including Horizon 2020, FP7, and other collaborative research initiatives.
3. EU Recovery and Resilience Funds: Funding through PRR (Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência) / Next Generation EU.
4. Industry Collaboration: Collaborative research agreements with companies such as Capgemini for specific technology development.
5. Regional Development Funds: Funding from COMPETE 2030, Portugal 2030, Centro 2030, Norte 2030 programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT) is a Portuguese non-profit research institute that conducts fundamental and applied research in telecommunications and information technology across five thematic lines: Wireless Technologies, Optics and Photonics, Information and Data Sciences, Networks and Services, and Basic Sciences & Enabling Technologies. It delivers its outputs through collaborative research projects with industry, EU and national grants, peer-reviewed publications, patent licensing, and the creation of technology spin-off companies. Its portfolio includes the AMALIA large language model, quantum communications research via QuLab, IoT healthcare monitoring systems, and deep learning-based point cloud coding technologies.

Product overview

Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT) is a Portuguese research institution focused on communications and information technology. The organization operates across five main research areas: Wireless Technologies, Optics and Photonics, Information and Data Sciences, Networks & Services, and Basic Sciences & Enabling Technologies. IT's product portfolio includes AMALIA (Portugal's first Large Language Model for generative AI), QuLab (Quantum Photonics Laboratory for quantum communications research), IoT healthcare monitoring systems, deep learning-based point cloud coding technologies, and spin-off products like Lampsy Health for epilepsy detection. The institution also contributes to European initiatives including the EuroLLM multilingual model project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AMALIA (Automatic Multimodal Language Assistant with Artificial Intelligence) Portugal's first large language model, a generative AI system supporting multimodal language processing tasks for research and public deployment.
• QuLab (Quantum Photonics Laboratory)

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% accuracy in epileptic seizure detection for Lampsy Health spin-off
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• CapgeminicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2026Capgemini and Instituto de Telecomunicações signed a collaboration agreement in Portugal to jointly research and develop quantum security technologies. The partnership combines Capgemini's Quantum Lab infrastructure with IT's QuLab (Quantum Photonics Laboratory) to create new encryption methods based on quantum principles. The organizations aim to advance toward a quantum-safe environment capable of withstanding sophisticated cyber threats.
• FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia)coreOthersPrimary national funding agency providing core funding through UID/50008/2025 and other research programs. FCT supports the institute's research activities and infrastructure.
• Instituto Superior TécnicocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary academic partner at the University of Lisbon, hosting IT Lisboa site and contributing researchers including Prof. Francisco Cercas. Deep collaboration on wireless communications, coding theory, and signal processing research.
• ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de LisboacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner hosting IT Branch at ISCTE-IUL, with joint research activities in telecommunications and informatics through Prof. Francisco Cercas's affiliations.
• Instituto Politécnico de LeiriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner hosting IT Branch in Leiria and contributing Prof. Nuno Rodrigues. Joint research in multimedia signal processing, image/video coding, and deep learning.
• University of AveirocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for the main headquarters in Aveiro. Home to CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials for joint spin-off AdvayaTech development.
• ERTICO - ITS EuropemoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean partnership for integrated mobility research. IT participates in ERTICO's strategic events and contributes innovations in cooperative vehicle-infrastructure systems, AI-based traffic management, and urban airspace security.
• EuroLLM ConsortiummoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean research consortium developing EuroLLM-22B, a 22-billion parameter multilingual language model supporting 35 languages including all 24 EU official languages.
• European Union (EU Funding Programs)coreOthersFunding through Horizon 2020, FP7, Horizon Europe, and other EU research programs. Major projects include TeamUp5G (5G ultra-dense mobile networks) and 6G-SMART (6G self-organizing networks).
• CICECO - Aveiro Institute of MaterialscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner at University of Aveiro for joint spin-off AdvayaTech, developing photonic security solutions for global supply chains.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TNO: Dutch applied research organization operating across ICT, photonics, and quantum technologies with multi-site infrastructure and a mix of public funding and industry contracts — a European RTO with nearly identical operating logic.
• CTTC (Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya): Spain-based non-profit telecom research center with similar scope in wireless, networks, and signal processing, also grant-funded with industry collaboration — a direct functional peer in southern Europe.
• Fraunhofer Institute: Germany's flagship applied research organization with 76 institutes covering ICT, wireless, photonics, and AI on a similar non-profit, multi-site, mixed public/contract-revenue model — the closest functional analog at larger scale.
• IMDEA Networks Institute: Madrid-based research institute focused on networking, wireless, and data science with university integration and competitive grant funding — closely comparable research scope and size to IT.
• CEA-Leti: France's microelectronics, photonics, and telecommunications RTO with deep university ties, grant funding, and a track record of industrial transfer in semiconductors and wireless — directly comparable to IT's photonics and wireless lines.
• INESC-ID: Lisbon-based, Portuguese non-profit R&D institute jointly hosted by IST and other universities, conducting research across information and communication technologies with a comparable university-embedded, grant-funded operating model.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Finland's national RTO running applied research in wireless, photonics, AI, and quantum with a comparable mix of competitive grant funding, industry contracts, and spin-off creation.

Emerging players

• ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute): Korean government-funded ICT research institute with overlapping wireless, AI, and quantum programs, also a strong publication and patent producer — a non-Western peer operating under a similar public-research-institute model.

Broad incumbents

• Nokia Bell Labs: Industry's historic telecom research organization and the dominant private-sector RTO in wireless, photonics, and quantum communications — overlaps IT's research domains but at vastly greater scale and as part of a global vendor.
• CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche): Italy's national research council covering ICT among many other disciplines with university partnerships and EU grant participation — comparable governance model and funding mix, though broader in mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/itnewspt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Instituto de Telecomunicações