Institute of Computer Science - Foundation for Research & Technology

What Institute of Computer Science - Foundation for Research & Technology does

ICS-FORTH (Institute of Computer Science – Foundation for Research and Technology) is a Greek public research institute established in 1983 as one of six institutes within the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH). It conducts basic and applied research in Information and Communication Technologies, organized principally around the Signal Processing Laboratory (SPL) and the Telecommunications and Networks Laboratory (TNL). Core technical capabilities span statistical signal processing, compressed sensing, sparse representations, non-Gaussian modeling, machine learning, deep learning, computational imaging (SAR, spectral, hyperspectral), software-defined networking, Internet measurement, and network security. The institute also acts as the registry for Greece's .gr country-code top-level domain since 1989 and hosts the W3C Office in Greece. The director is Prof. Panagiotis Tsakalides, who also heads the SPL.

The institute operates a non-commercial revenue model funded entirely through competitive research grants, institutional support, and contract research. Primary funding streams include the European Commission Framework Programmes (FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe) — including flagship grants such as the €2.5M TITAN ERA Chair, the €1.41M ERC NetVolution Starting Grant, the €1.29M FP7 CS-ORION project, and the €1M H2020 PHYSIS project — supplemented by national funding through the Greek General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and bilateral industrial contracts with partners such as British Telecommunications, FORTHnet, and SAGEM. Technology transfer occurs through spin-off creation (most notably FORTHnet, founded 1995 and listed on the Athens Stock Exchange since 2000) and the Science and Technology Park of Crete (STEP-C).

ICS-FORTH's customer base spans the international scientific research community (academic and consortium partners across Europe), Greek and regional public-sector authorities (operational planning, e-health, digital infrastructure), and industrial partners in telecommunications, defense, and technology (BT, SAGEM, Meta via BrainCode). Distribution of outputs occurs through scientific publications, conference participation, EU-funded research consortia, and a website at ics.forth.gr that lists 20+ active projects. The institute is ISO 9001:2000 certified for quality management and is a member of ERCIM.

Name

Institute of Computer Science - Foundation for Research & Technology

Legal name

Institute of Computer Science (ICS) - Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH)

Website

https://ics.forth.gr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

ICS-FORTH is a Greek public research institute within FORTH, conducting basic and applied ICT research in signal processing, machine learning, networking, and computational imaging. It serves academia, industry, and the public sector via EU and national grants, with FORTHnet as a notable spin-off.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

ICT Research Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols) (EDAGAGAG)

Keywords

• Computer science research
• Signal processing research
• Telecommunications research
• Machine learning research
• Applied ICT research

Headquarters

HQ city

Heraklion

HQ country

Greece

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. European Commission Research Grants: ICS-FORTH generates the majority of its revenue through participation in EU Framework Programme projects (FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe) including Marie Curie IAPP, ToK-DEV, ERC Starting Grants, and ERA Chair projects. These competitive grants fund specific research activities and personnel.
2. National Research Funding (GSRT): Funding from the Greek General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and national research programmes supports collaborative research projects with industry and other institutions.
3. Industrial Funded Research Projects: Direct funding from industrial partners such as British Telecommunications, FORTHnet S.A., and other companies for applied research collaborations, technology transfer, and contract research. Includes bilateral industrial projects.
4. Spin-off and Technology Transfer: Revenue is generated through spin-off companies (such as FORTHnet), technology licensing, and services provided to the Science and Technology Park of Crete (STEP-C). The institute also serves as the registry for the .gr country-code top-level domain since 1989.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ICS-FORTH conducts high-quality basic and applied research in Information and Communication Technologies through multiple specialized laboratories, producing scientific publications, patented technologies, and large-scale applications. The institute participates in European and national research projects, transfers technology to industry via spin-offs and licensing, and serves as the registry for the .gr country-code top-level domain and host of the W3C Office in Greece.

Product overview

ICS-FORTH (Institute of Computer Science - Foundation for Research & Technology) is a major Greek public research institute specializing in Information and Communication Technologies. The institute conducts fundamental and applied research across multiple thematic areas including telecommunications, signal processing, computer vision, distributed systems, and ambient intelligence. Rather than commercial products, the institute produces research outputs, publications, and participates in European and national research projects. The Signal Processing Laboratory (SPL) conducts research in imaging, distributed sensor networks, audio and speech processing, and statistical signal processing. The Telecommunications and Networks Laboratory (TNL) focuses on high-performance and wireless networking, mobile communications, and network security. The institute maintains various software tools and datasets for research purposes and provides educational activities through its laboratories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Signal Processing Laboratory (SPL): Research laboratory focused on signal processing, machine learning, imaging, audio/speech processing, and distributed sensor networks.
• Telecommunications and Networks Laboratory (TNL)

Products and services

• Contract Research and Industrial Collaboration Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250 publications including 65+ journal papers by Prof. Tsakalides alone; h-index of 33 and over 5,500 citations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Feature8 records

Partnerships

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

• Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Collaboration through the BrainCode project on brain-inspired video compression technologies, with Dr. Effrosyni Doutsi presenting at Meta's offices. Dr. Ioannis Katsavounidis from Meta delivered a talk at ICS-FORTH on video quality optimization.
• University of Southern California (MiXIL Lab)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2019Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship collaboration (CALCHAS project) with Prof. Mahta Moghaddam's Microwave Systems, Sensors, and Imaging Lab (MiXIL) at USC on microwave remote sensing, GNSS-R, and soil moisture retrieval using deep learning.
• ERCIM (European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2014FORTH-ICS is a member of ERCIM and participates in ERCIM activities and Working Groups, as well as research roadmap projects funded by the European Commission in scientific areas of strategic importance for Europe.
• CEA/Saclay, FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2010Collaborated with CEA/Saclay (Dr. JL Starck) on the CS-ORION project (FP7 MC-IAPP, €1.3M) focused on compressed sensing for remote imaging in aerial and terrestrial surveillance systems.
• SAGEM Defense Securite, FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2010Industrial partner in the CS-ORION FP7 MC-IAPP project for defense and security applications of compressed sensing technology.
• University of Valencia, SpaincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2010Collaboration with Prof. Baltasar Beferull-Lozano at University of Valencia on the ASPIRE project for collaborative signal processing in wireless sensor networks.
• University of Southern California, USAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2006Long-standing collaboration with Prof. C. Kyriakakis at USC on multichannel audio processing, 3D audio synthesis, and wireless audio transmission, with multiple co-authored projects and publications.
• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFORTH-ICS hosts the W3C Office in Greece, an international consortium that defines guidelines, software, and tools for the future development of the World Wide Web.
• CAIDA (Collaborative Association for Internet Data Analysis), UC San DiegomajorTechnology or IntegrationCollaboration with Dr. Claffy's group at CAIDA on Internet measurement and network security research under the INSPIRE project.
• ETH ZurichmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with Prof. Plattner's group at ETH Zurich on Internet measurement and network analysis.
• University of Konstanz (Political Sciences)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Prof. Weidmann's group on studying how geopolitical factors have shaped the expansion of the Internet.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission): Major French public research organization with overlapping expertise in signal processing, SAR imaging, and computational imaging via CEA/Saclay — a documented CS-ORION project partner of ICS-FORTH.
• Fraunhofer Society: Europe's largest applied research organization with 76 institutes; comparable to ICS-FORTH in its contract-research model and industrial funding channels but far larger in scale and scope across multiple disciplines.
• TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research): Dutch applied research organization with comparable contract-research model and industrial funding channels, particularly in telecommunications and networked systems research.

Regional players

• CSIC (Spanish National Research Council): Spain's largest public research institution with multiple ICT-adjacent institutes, comparable as a Southern European government-funded multidisciplinary research body participating in EU framework programs.
• Italian National Research Council (CNR): Italy's largest national research council with multiple ICT-focused institutes, comparable as a Southern European government-funded research body engaged in EU framework projects and academic collaboration.

Direct peers

• CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica): Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science; comparable in scale and structure as a publicly-funded ICT research organization with strong EU project participation and publications track record.
• IMDEA Software Institute: Madrid-based research institute focused on software, distributed systems, networking and security — closely aligned with ICS-FORTH's TNL lab on internet measurement, SDN, and network security research.
• Max Planck Institute for Informatics: German national research institute specializing in computer science research with strong publication output, ERC-funded projects, and partnerships with industry — directly comparable to ICS-FORTH's research mission and lab structure.
• INRIA (French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology): France's national public research institute dedicated to digital science, with parallel structure to ICS-FORTH: government-funded, EU project-driven, ICT-focused research producing publications, software, and spin-offs.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Finland's national applied research centre with comparable contract-research and EU-project-driven model, particularly in signal processing, communications, and applied ICT research with industrial partners.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ICS_FORTH
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCi5pjihBIZqWg52biUg4MTQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ICSFORTH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/icsforth/?viewAsMember=true

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute of Computer Science - Foundation for Research & Technology