WASP-HS

What WASP-HS does

WASP-HS (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society) is Sweden's largest research initiative studying how artificial intelligence and autonomous systems affect humanity and society. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Umeå, the program coordinates large-scale Research Environments across 15 Swedish universities and research institutes covering themes such as AI and the future of work, AI regulation, autonomous systems and robotics, synthetic data, agentic AI, culture and memory, and the welfare state. Its core academic offerings are a Graduate School with over 100 PhD students from 19 Swedish universities, a Postdoctoral Program, Guest Professorships, and a publications platform; it also runs annual events including a Summer School, Winter Conference, and the 'AI for Humanity and Society' conference.

Underlying WASP-HS is a multidisciplinary research architecture rather than a software platform: research is conducted by affiliated faculty and doctoral candidates embedded in their host universities, with WASP-HS providing grant funding, scholarships, guest-professor placements, networking events, and a coordination office. The technical focus spans generative AI, agentic AI, synthetic data, and autonomous systems, but primarily as objects of social-science and humanities study rather than as products WASP-HS itself builds. No APIs, software products, or commercial AI systems are offered.

The business model is philanthropic rather than commercial. WASP-HS is generously funded by the Wallenberg Foundations and does not sell products or services; its "customers" are PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, academic faculty, and policy/public-sector stakeholders who consume its research outputs, events, and graduate training. Funding flows from a single foundation source, and the program operates as a non-profit research initiative with its own Program Director, Board, and Program Office, with no equity ownership or venture capital structure.

Name

WASP-HS

Legal name

Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS)

Website

https://wasp-hs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WASP-HS is Sweden's largest non-profit research initiative on AI and autonomous systems' societal impact, funded by the Wallenberg Foundations and operating research environments, a graduate school with 100+ PhD students, and postdoctoral programs across 19 Swedish universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research and Graduate Education

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA), Research Collaboration & Joint Labs (International Partnerships) (EDAIABAC)

Keywords

• AI ethics research
• Interdisciplinary AI studies
• Doctoral training programs
• Autonomous systems research
• Academic research initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Umeå

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wallenberg Foundations Funding: WASP-HS is generously funded by the Wallenberg Foundations. The program provides research grants, postdoctoral scholarships, PhD positions, guest professor funding, and event support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WASP-HS runs large-scale collaborative Research Environments across multiple Swedish universities investigating AI's impact on humanity and society, covering themes such as AI and work, AI regulation, robotics, synthetic data, and agentic AI. It operates a Graduate School with over 100 PhD students from 19 Swedish universities and a Postdoctoral Program enabling researchers to grow into independent investigators, complemented by Guest Professorships, scholarly Publications, and recurring academic events such as Summer Schools, Winter Conferences, and the annual AI for Humanity and Society Conference.

Product overview

WASP-HS (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society) is Sweden's largest research initiative on how artificial intelligence and autonomous systems affect humanity and society. The program operates as a coordinated research and graduate school offering rather than a single product. Its core offerings include large-scale Research Environments spanning multiple universities investigating AI's societal impact (covering themes such as AI & work, AI regulation, robotics, synthetic data, and agentic AI), a Graduate School with over 100 PhD students from 19 Swedish universities, a Postdoctoral Program, Guest Professorships, and Publications. The program also organizes regular events including Summer Schools, Winter Conferences, and the annual 'AI for Humanity and Society' conference. WASP-HS is generously funded by the Wallenberg Foundations and engages researchers across 15 Swedish universities and research institutes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Environments Large-scale collaborative research initiatives spanning multiple Swedish universities, exploring AI's impact on humanity and society across themes such as AI and work, AI regulation, robotics, synthetic data, agentic AI, culture and memory, power and politics, welfare state, and child development.
• Graduate School PhD training program with over 100 doctoral students from 19 Swedish universities, offering courses, semester abroad opportunities, study visits, and PhD dissertation support to researchers studying AI's impact on humanity and society.
• Postdoctoral Program Scholarship program enabling postdoctoral researchers to grow into independent investigators and experience new research settings within WASP-HS's research environments.
• WASP-HS Guest Professors Program bringing exceptional researchers, innovators, and leaders into the WASP-HS community to strengthen expertise and drive the program's long-term vision.
• Publications Scholarly outputs including articles, reports, dissertations, and research publications showcasing discoveries and innovations from WASP-HS research on AI's impact on humanity and society.
• Summer School Annual summer school bringing together PhD students for an intensive week of study on AI-and-society themes such as AI, Power and Politics (2026 edition at Umeå University).
• Winter Conference Annual conference featuring workshops, poster presentations, and interactive discussions providing networking opportunities for PhD students, alumni, supervisors, and the broader WASP-HS community.
• AI for Humanity and Society Conference Annual flagship conference on AI and society, with the 2026 theme 'Robots and Autonomous Systems in Everyday Life'.
• WASP-HS Samverkanarena Välfärd (Welfare Collaboration Arena) Platform providing meeting places where researchers and public sector representatives can connect to identify common research questions and develop new collaboration initiatives within AI and welfare.

Quantifiable outcome

• Established research environments covering key AI and society topics including AI governance, labor market effects, welfare state, autonomous systems, synthetic data, and child development

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• National Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Society (CAISA), DenmarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWASP-HS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CAISA in Denmark to initiate Nordic collaboration in AI and society research.
• Norwegian Artificial Intelligence Research Consortium (NORA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWASP-HS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NORA to initiate Nordic collaboration in AI and society research.
• SciLifeLab and DDLS (Wallenbergs Nationella Program för Datadrivna Livsvetenskap)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWASP-HS, SciLifeLab, and DDLS opened a joint call for proposals for research within data-driven life sciences and society in 2026.
• The Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWASP-HS together with SCAS launched an international symposium series on AI transitions in global context.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CAISA - National Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Society: Denmark-based research center focused on AI's societal impacts; explicitly partnered with WASP-HS via a 2026 MoU for Nordic collaboration on AI and society research.
• Norwegian AI Research Consortium (NORA): Norwegian consortium of universities and research institutes conducting AI research with societal impact; partnered with WASP-HS via a 2026 MoU and shares multi-university collaborative structure.
• Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP): The parent WASP program also funded by the Wallenberg Foundations, focused on the technical AI research side; WASP-HS is the complementary humanities-and-society arm, sharing funder, talent base, and ecosystem.
• Ada Lovelace Institute: UK-based independent research institute studying AI and data-driven technologies' societal implications, with policy advisory work; operates a comparable research-and-policy model on AI ethics and governance.
• AI Now Institute: New York University-based research institute producing interdisciplinary research on AI's social implications; directly comparable mission and structure to WASP-HS, with stronger US policy footprint.
• Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence: University of Cambridge multi-disciplinary research centre exploring the future implications of AI; comparable research themes, multi-university partnerships, and policy engagement model.

Emerging players

• Centre for AI and Digital Ethics (CAIDE), University of Melbourne: University-based research center on AI ethics and digital governance; overlaps thematically with WASP-HS but operates from Australia with different geographic scope and regulatory context.

Broad incumbents

• Future of Life Institute: International nonprofit focused on reducing existential and societal risks from transformative technologies including AI; broader remit than WASP-HS with global advocacy and grant-making activities.
• Partnership on AI: Multi-stakeholder nonprofit convening industry, academia, and civil society to study AI impacts; operates at broader global scale than WASP-HS with industry-member funded model.
• CIFAR (Canadian Institute for Advanced Research): Canadian research organization funding global scholarly networks including AI-related programs; comparable in convening multi-institute research networks with long-term foundation funding.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wasp-hs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about WASP-HS