ELIXIR
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
ELIXIR firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ELIXIR
- Legal name
- ELIXIR
- Website
- https://elixir-europe.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ELIXIR industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Bioinformatics Research Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D) (HLAGAJAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence (HLAGAJAN), Clinical & Translational Informatics (Clinical Data Integration/Real-World Data for R&D) (HLAGAJAF), Regulatory Information Management (RIM) & Submission Publishing Software (HLAGAJAL)
Keywords
Where ELIXIR is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
ELIXIR business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: ELIXIR Hub is funded through membership fees paid by Member countries, with much of this funding transferred back to Nodes via Commissioned Services to deliver ELIXIR's five-year Scientific Programme. ELIXIR has 24 Member countries and four Observers.
- European Union Grant Funding: ELIXIR Hub and Nodes compete for grant funding from the European Union under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI). EU projects support the work of Platforms and Communities.
- National-Level Investments: ELIXIR Nodes are funded through national-level investments supporting national coordination, development and operation of services. Some Nodes also access EU Structural Funds.
- International Funder Support: ELIXIR Nodes receive support from international funders such as the US National Institute of Health (NIH).
- Foundation Funding: Some Nodes receive support from foundations such as the Wellcome Trust and Wallenberg Foundation.
- Industry Engagement: Some ELIXIR Nodes generate modest revenue from industry partnerships, including software licensing (e.g., PLAZA platform licensed to companies in plant breeding, RING software licensed to Sanofi), training services to companies, and Knowledge Exchange Schemes with private sector.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free access for all researchers |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels10 records
ELIXIR product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ELIXIR operates a distributed pan-European research infrastructure for life science data, coordinated through a central Hub at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge, UK and 24 national Nodes across member countries. The infrastructure delivers software platforms, data registries, training portals, authentication services, and cloud/compute resources that enable life scientists to find, store, analyze, share, and manage large biological datasets. Key offerings include tool/workflow registries (bio.tools, WorkflowHub, BioContainers), analysis platforms (Galaxy), training portals (TeSS), authentication infrastructure (AAI/LS-AAI), and Core Data Resources for long-term data preservation.
Product overview
ELIXIR is Europe's distributed research infrastructure for life science data, operating as an intergovernmental organization with a Hub-and-Nodes model (24 member countries, 4 observers, 240+ research organizations). The infrastructure is organized around five interconnected Platforms (Compute, Data, Tools, Interoperability, Training) delivering coordinated services. The product portfolio includes: bio.tools (33,000+ tool registry), Galaxy/UseGalaxy.eu (web-based analysis with 2500+ tools), WorkflowHub (workflow registry), BioContainers (containerized software), OpenEBench (benchmarking), and TeSS (training portal aggregating resources from across Europe). Supporting infrastructure includes the Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure (AAI/LS-AAI), Core Data Resources, Deposition Databases, RDMkit, FAIR Cookbook, and Training Metrics Database. These products collectively enable researchers to find, analyze, share, and manage life science data across European borders.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- bio.tools A registry of software tools and data resources for life sciences that helps researchers find, select, and connect bioinformatics software and integrate it into workflows.
- Galaxy (UseGalaxy.eu) A web-based bioinformatics analysis platform providing access to 2,500+ tools, visualizations, and 200 reference genomes, enabling researchers to perform complex biological data analyses through an accessible cloud interface.
- WorkflowHub A registry for describing, sharing, and publishing scientific computational workflows, supporting reproducibility and discoverability of analysis pipelines.
- BioContainers A repository of containerized bioinformatics software that can be built into workflows and deployed across heterogeneous computational environments.
- OpenEBench A benchmarking platform for monitoring and evaluating bioinformatics software quality and performance.
- TeSS (Training e-Support System) ELIXIR's training portal that aggregates life science training materials, courses, and workflows from across Europe, providing a single gateway for researchers to discover and access bioinformatics training.
- Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure (AAI/LS-AAI) User access and identity management service providing LS-AAI for academia and industry, enabling consolidation of multiple identities (university, Google, ORCID) and REMS for resource entitlement approval workflows.
- FAIR Cookbook An online resource with recipes helping researchers make and maintain data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) in the life sciences.
- RDMkit Research Data Management guidelines and best practices helping researchers manage life science data throughout the data lifecycle.
- Core Data Resources European data resources of fundamental importance to life science research that are committed to long-term data preservation.
- ELIXIR Deposition Databases Recommended repositories for deposition of open life science experimental data, ensuring data accessibility and preservation.
- ELIXIR-SI eLearning Platform (EeLP) A single access point for dynamic educational resources, tools, and services for training events, including registration, compute infrastructure access, exams, communications, and certificates.
- Training Metrics Database A database for ELIXIR Training Coordinators to streamline collection, storage, and visualization of training quality and impact data.
- FAIRsharing A platform for searching databases and data policies by domain, species, and country, supporting standards discovery and adoption.
Quantifiable outcome
- Since 2019, ELIXIR's annual BioHackathon Europe has resulted in 43 preprints with combined total of over 14,000 downloads
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use ELIXIR
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
ELIXIR technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature8 records
ELIXIR partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Scientifica Venture CapitalminorELIXIR Italy signed partnership agreement in September 2024 with Scientifica Venture Capital to promote technology transfer in life sciences. ELIXIR Italy provides scientific expertise and resources while Scientifica provides investment and industry connections.
- SanofiminorBioComputingUP lab at University of Padova (ELIXIR Italy Node) renewed commercial licence agreement with Sanofi for RING (Residue Interaction Network Generator) software package.
- Researchalize (AstraZeneca)minorELIXIR Italy joined forces with Researchalize by AstraZeneca to empower Italian biomedical research, connecting researchers with a platform to access resources, discover funding and network.
- Australian BioCommonsminorELIXIR and the Australian BioCommons announced extension of collaboration strategy to 2028, expanding international partnerships beyond Europe.
- VEIL.AIminorELIXIR Finland has a project with VEIL.AI on health data anonymization, synthetic data and pseudonymization service technology, part of the ELIXIR Knowledge Exchange Scheme.
- JADBiominorELIXIR Greece (Biomedical Sciences Research Center 'Alexander Fleming') teamed up with JADBio to massively analyse omics data spanning 31 diseases, achieving high predictive performance with few biomarkers.
- PetaGeneminorELIXIR Luxembourg collaborated with PetaGene on best practices for storing genomic data including compression and encryption workshop in 2020.
- Bigpicture IMI2 ProjectminorELIXIR Finland is a partner of the Bigpicture IMI2 project providing data for building a central repository for digital pathology.
- EMBL-EBI (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)coreEMBL-EBI is the only international Node in ELIXIR (not associated with a country). It houses the ELIXIR Hub in the South Building at Wellcome Genome Campus. EMBL carries out activities on behalf of ELIXIR that require EMBL's legal personality, allowing ELIXIR to benefit from EMBL's privileges and immunities as an international treaty organisation.
- ELIXIR Member Countries (23 national Nodes)core23 countries established ELIXIR Nodes, each a network of research institutes. Countries joined from 2013 onwards: EMBL-EBI, UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Estonia (2013); Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Israel, Portugal, Finland (2014); France, Belgium (2015); Italy, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Ireland, Germany (2016); Hungary (2017); Spain (2017); Greece (2019); Slovakia (2025).
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ELIXIR competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CyVerse: US NSF-funded life science cyberinfrastructure providing data storage, compute and analysis platforms to researchers; comparable to ELIXIR's Compute Platform and Tools Platform from a national infrastructure operator perspective.
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB): Switzerland's national bioinformatics organisation coordinating databases, tools and training across Swiss research institutes; very similar role to ELIXIR at Swiss national level, and ELIXIR Switzerland is itself a Node. Directly comparable as a national-scale federated bioinformatics infrastructure provider.
- Australian BioCommons: Australia's distributed bioinformatics infrastructure linking life science researchers to compute, tools and training; ELIXIR and Australian BioCommons explicitly extended their collaboration strategy through 2028, making them the closest international analogue in mission and structure.
- EMBL-EBI (European Bioinformatics Institute): EMBL-EBI houses the ELIXIR Hub on the Wellcome Genome Campus and is the only international Node; it provides the world's leading public bioinformatics data resources (e.g., UniProt, Ensembl, ENA). Functionally overlapping with ELIXIR in scope and audience, and partnership is core-tier.
- Galaxy Project: Open-source web-based bioinformatics analysis platform used by ELIXIR (UseGalaxy.eu); provides 2,500+ tools and 200 reference genomes. Highly comparable in user-facing research service and is tightly integrated with ELIXIR's Tools Platform.
Broad incumbents
- NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information): US federally funded bioinformatics resource providing literature, sequence, genomic and tool services (PubMed, GenBank, BLAST) for global researchers; the established incumbent ELIXIR is positioned against for international research audiences, but serves a broader mandate and population.
Regional players
- SciLifeLab (Sweden): Sweden's national life science laboratory providing genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics services and infrastructure. Operates as both a national Node for ELIXIR and a regional peer in capabilities and audience.
Emerging players
- NFDI (Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur): Germany's federated national research data infrastructure across multiple domains including life sciences (NFDI4Health, NFDI4Microbiota); comparable mission around FAIR data and cross-institution coordination, but broader scope and earlier-stage for life sciences than ELIXIR.
Others
- European Open Science Cloud (EOSC): EU-wide open science cloud for FAIR data and services across disciplines; ELIXIR runs EOSC projects (EOSC-ENTRUST, EOSC-EVERSE, EOSC-FIDELIS), making EOSC a sibling ecosystem and ecosystem-level coordinator rather than direct competitor.
- Global Biodata Coalition: International coalition of research funders that supports the long-term sustainability of Core Data Resources, including those identified through ELIXIR; adjacent enabler that provides coordinated funding for assets ELIXIR coordinates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ELIXIR social profiles
Digital presenceELIXIR financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ELIXIR leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
ELIXIR funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ELIXIR M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ELIXIR
What does ELIXIR do?
ELIXIR operates a distributed pan-European research infrastructure for life science data, coordinated through a central Hub at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge, UK and 24 national Nodes across member countries. The infrastructure delivers software platforms, data registries, training portals, authentication services, and cloud/compute resources that enable life scientists to find, store, analyze, share, and manage large biological datasets. Key offerings include tool/workflow registries (bio.tools, WorkflowHub, BioContainers), analysis platforms (Galaxy), training portals (TeSS), authentication infrastructure (AAI/LS-AAI), and Core Data Resources for long-term data preservation.
Is ELIXIR a public or private company?
ELIXIR is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was ELIXIR founded?
ELIXIR was founded in 2013. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is ELIXIR based?
ELIXIR is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does ELIXIR make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are european Union Grant Funding, national-Level Investments, international Funder Support, foundation Funding and industry Engagement.
Who are ELIXIR's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CyVerse, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Australian BioCommons, EMBL-EBI (European Bioinformatics Institute) and Galaxy Project. NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) is listed as a broad incumbent. SciLifeLab (Sweden) is listed as a regional player. NFDI (Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur) is listed as an emerging player. Others are European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and Global Biodata Coalition.
Does ELIXIR have an API?
No public API is recorded for ELIXIR.
What industry is ELIXIR in?
ELIXIR's product category is Bioinformatics Research Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAC, Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D), with a secondary code of HLAGAJAN, Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence. Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.