Name

IONIS Education Group

Legal name

SAS IONIS CORPORATE

Website

https://ionis-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM-Focused Research Universities (Engineering & Applied Sciences) (EDAHABAB)

Keywords

• Private higher education
• Engineering schools
• Business schools
• Vocational training programs
• Continuing professional education

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices20 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees: Revenue generated from student tuition fees across 27 schools and entities offering various programs in engineering, business, communication, digital, biotechnology, aeronautics, and creative fields.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IONIS Education Group is the first independent private higher education group in France, operating 27 schools and entities that deliver undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs across engineering, business, marketing, communication, technology, digital arts, aeronautics, biotechnology, fashion, and sports management. Programs are delivered through 26 campuses in France and internationally, supported by an alumni network of 100,000+ graduates, and funded primarily through student tuition fees.

Product overview

IONIS Education Group is the first independent private higher education group in France, founded in 1980 by Marc Sellam. The group operates as a platform of 27 schools and entities organized into four main poles: Business, Marketing & Communication (ISG, ISEFAC, ISEG, MOD'SPE); Engineering (EPITA, ESME, IPSA, SupBiotech, Ionis-STM); Tech & Design (Epitech, ETNA, e-artsup, Coding Academy, Web@cadémie, PHG Academy, SecureSphere, IA Institut, XP School, SUPINFO, Epitech Digital School); and Institutional (Concours Advance, IONIS 361 incubator, IONISNEXT alumni network, Fondation IONIS). These schools collectively serve over 35,000 students across 26 cities in France and internationally, offering programs in engineering, business, finance, IT, digital, aeronautics, space, biotechnology, creation, communication, energy, and sport management. The group also provides supplementary services including a startup incubator, alumni network, and scholarship programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IONIS 361: Startup incubator for entrepreneurs within the IONIS group
• IONISNEXT
• IONIS Goodwills
• Concours Advance
• Project Week
• IONIS Inside
• Fondation IONIS

Products and services

• ISG (Institut Supérieur de Gestion) International business school offering multi-year programs in management, marketing, finance, and tech for prospective students pursuing corporate careers; operates across 9 cities in France and Switzerland.
• ISG Sport Business Management Specialized business program dedicated to sport business careers, offering immersion into sports industry management for students seeking roles in the sports sector.
• ISG Luxury Management Business program focused on luxury industry professions including haute couture, maroquinerie, design, gastronomy, automobile, cosmetics, real estate, horology, jewelry, and hospitality for students targeting luxury-sector careers.
• ISG RH Specialized program in human resources and legal professions, training HR actors capable of building impact policies and managing transformations for students targeting HR and legal careers.
• MOD'SPE Paris Fashion, styling and creation school founded in 1993, training future leaders in the fashion universe for students seeking careers in fashion design, styling, and creative direction.
• ESME Sudria Multidisciplinary generalist engineering school present in Paris, Bordeaux, Lille and Lyon, offering training around four domains: digital, AI, robotics and energy for engineering students.
• ISEFAC Event, communication and management school present in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon and Nantes, training students in event management, communication, commerce, marketing and digital sectors.
• e-artsup Creative school merging traditional art and new technologies, present in 11 cities, preparing students for careers in design, video game, animation and digital communication.
• ISEG Communication school new generation, pioneering school of IONIS Group, training communication and digital marketing experts for students seeking careers in marketing and communication.
• IPSA Engineering school in aeronautics and space, training engineers to address challenges of air, space, sustainable aviation and New Space for students targeting aerospace careers.
• ICS Bégué School for management, finance and accounting professions since 1957, training expert accountants for high-level positions for students pursuing chartered accounting and finance careers.
• Ionis-STM School offering dual competency through integrated technical and managerial training in energy, IT, biotech and digital sectors for students seeking combined engineering-management careers.
• ETNA Leading alternation (work-study) school in IT for over 20 years, focused on development and system, network and security administration with DevOps culture for students.
• SupBiotech Engineering school in biotechnologies present in Paris and Lyon, training engineers and experts in health, environment, food and cosmetics sectors for biotech students.
• Epitech Computer science excellence school, first IT school outside CTI to receive accreditation from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, known for practical pedagogy without lectures using the Piscine method.
• Epitech Digital School Digital school balancing business and engineering education, preparing students for new digital, design, data, AI, business and management professions.
• Executive MBA Epitech by Ionis-STM Executive MBA for digital leaders, addressing professionals seeking to develop or update managerial and entrepreneurial skills for digital transition challenges.
• Coding Academy Intensive coding training based on Epitech's innovative pedagogy, offering short, intensive training for profiles wanting to become developers or transition to tech.
• Web@cadémie Pioneering IT training in France, co-founded in 2010, allowing young people over 18 away from school or employment to obtain web integrator-developer title in 2 years.
• PHG Academy (PowerHouseGaming) Esports and gaming training center, accompanying young cyber-athletes in professionalization on French and international scenes.
• Concours Advance Common admission competition for four IONIS Group engineering schools: EPITA, ESME, IPSA and SupBiotech, providing a unified entry point for engineering programs.
• EPITA Computer science and digital talent engineering school, present in Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse, combining teaching and research around AI, cybersecurity, embedded systems and quantum computing.
• IA Institut by EPITA & ISG

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 8,000 graduates celebrated annually at Paris Congress Center ceremony
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• AnkamacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2025Partnership between e-artsup and Ankama to create the 'Académie Transmédia' training program. Students develop an original animated series 'Morshiken' whose first episode premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Students benefit from training by artists who created Dofus and Wakfu cultural phenomena.
• ArianeGroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 202585 fifth-year Motion Design students from e-artsup campuses in Paris, Lyon, Nantes, and Bordeaux designed trailers for the first launch of Ariane 6, the new ArianeGroup space launcher. Exceptional partnership bringing students into real aerospace industry projects.
• Établissement Français du Sang (EFS)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 February 2024Collaboration during Project Week where 1,200 students from 9 cities and 4 IONIS schools worked on digital solutions to engage young people in blood and plasma donation. Partnership supports annual 'Printemps du Sang' blood donation initiative since 2008.
• UNIgreen AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 February 2022SupBiotech joined UNIgreen, a European higher education alliance in life sciences. Eight institutions submitted a joint funding application to the European Commission. The alliance aims to advance life sciences education across Europe.
• NBAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerISG Sport Business Management program established with NBA involvement, making it 'the official NBA business school in Europe.' The partnership brought prestige and industry connections to the sports business program.
• 650+ International Universities in 75 CountriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnerships including semester abroad programs, double degrees, and learning expeditions. Schools maintain over 650 international agreements enabling student exchanges and collaborative programs across five continents.
• Sony Music EntertainmentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner for Project Week student challenge. Major music entertainment company setting real business challenges for IONIS students.
• NikeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner for Project Week and orientation events. Nike has challenged IONIS students with innovation projects and participated in campus events.
• FranceTV PublicitéminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner for Project Week challenges. France's public broadcasting advertising arm has worked with IONIS students on video advertising format innovation projects.
• JCDecauxminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUrban advertising leader partnered with IONIS for Project Week challenges, including 2023 edition focused on 'Imagining Tomorrow's City' with students proposing smart city solutions.
• MeeticminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDating platform challenged IONIS students during Project Week 2022 to develop innovations addressing loneliness among young adults aged 22-30.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Galileo Global Education: French-headquartered private higher education group operating a multi-school platform across Europe and Latin America. Most direct comparable to IONIS in terms of multi-school, multi-vertical portfolio strategy, regulatory exposure, and France-centric core.
• INSEEC U. French private higher education group offering programs in business, engineering, communication, and digital across multiple schools. Competes head-to-head with IONIS schools for the same French student pool and corporate partnership budgets.
• Collège de Paris: French private higher education network aggregating schools in fashion, design, digital, and business. Operates a similar multi-school partnership-based model to IONIS with comparable regulatory exposure.
• IGENSIA Education Group: French private higher education group offering business, engineering, and digital programs through multiple specialized schools. Competes directly with IONIS schools in the French apprenticeship and Grande École-adjacent segments.
• Ynov Campus: French private higher education network specializing in digital, tech, design, animation, and business programs. Closely comparable to Epitech, e-artsup, and EPITA within IONIS's tech/creative pole.

Broad incumbents

• Laureate Education: Global network of for-profit higher education institutions operating across multiple countries and verticals. Provides a scaled benchmark for multi-school private higher education business models, though focused on different geographies than IONIS.
• GEMS Education: Global private K-12 and higher education operator with international campus footprint. Comparable to IONIS for multi-school platform strategy, international campus expansion, and premium positioning, though anchored in K-12 and Middle East.
• Adtalem Global Education: US-listed education company operating professional and postsecondary institutions across healthcare, law, business, and technology. Comparable to IONIS for multi-vertical private higher education portfolio strategy and professional-skills positioning.
• Navitas: Global education provider offering university pathway programs, English language training, and higher education services. Comparable to IONIS for international student mobility infrastructure and partnership-based growth model.
• Kaplan International: Global private education and training provider offering higher education preparation, language training, and professional programs. Comparable to IONIS for international reach and multi-channel student recruitment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Groupe_IONIS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCI3uEYG4Rpxtral5OMKHf7g
• Facebookfacebook.com/groupe.ionis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ionis-education-group

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries27 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 IONIS Education Group