FIZ Karlsruhe
FIZ Karlsruhe is a non-profit Leibniz Institute providing scientific information infrastructure including the zbMATH mathematics database, STN patent information network, RADAR research data repository, and knowledge graph services to research institutions, universities, and government bodies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1977
- HeadquartersKarlsruhe, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What FIZ Karlsruhe does
FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz-Institut für Informationsinfrastruktur GmbH is a non-profit German information infrastructure institute founded in 1977 and headquartered in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen near Karlsruhe, with a secondary site in Berlin. It is a member of the Leibniz Association and is jointly funded by the German federal government and federal states under a public mandate to supply science and research with scientific information. The organization operates a portfolio of specialized information services: zbMATH Open (the world's largest mathematical reviewing service with over 4 million bibliographic records and 100,000+ new publications added annually), STN (patent and scientific literature search), FIZ AutoDoc (document delivery across 28,000+ Open Access sources), RADAR (a FAIR-aligned research data repository), and ICSD (inorganic crystal structure database). It also participates as a core partner in multiple National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) consortia and serves as the technical platform for the German Digital Library.
The underlying technology stack combines database management, semantic web technologies, knowledge graphs (including the PMDcore materials science ontology), and machine learning — including natural language processing, deep learning, and few-shot/zero-shot methods for knowledge graph population. A dedicated Information Service Engineering research unit develops these capabilities in-house, distinguishing FIZ Karlsruhe from generic information service providers. Revenue comes from three streams: (1) core public institutional funding from Bund and Länder through Leibniz Association membership, (2) subscription and service revenues from information products (STN, FIZ AutoDoc, RADAR, zbMATH) sold to research institutions and industry, and (3) third-party research project funding from bodies such as DFG, BMBF, and NFDI. The customer base spans German and European research institutions, universities, government agencies (including the Federal Ministry of Finance and State Archives of Baden-Württemberg), and corporate research departments requiring patent and scientific information access.
FIZ Karlsruhe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FIZ Karlsruhe
- Legal name
- FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz-Institut für Informationsinfrastruktur GmbH
- Website
- https://fiz-karlsruhe.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1977
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- FIZ Karlsruhe is a non-profit Leibniz Institute providing scientific information infrastructure including the zbMATH mathematics database, STN patent information network, RADAR research data repository, and knowledge graph services to research institutions, universities, and government bodies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FIZ Karlsruhe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Scientific Information Services
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols) (EDAGAGAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Government, Public Policy & Regulatory Reference (Public Administration, Regulatory Guidance) (EDAGAGAK)
Keywords
Where FIZ Karlsruhe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Karlsruhe
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
FIZ Karlsruhe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Public Institutional Funding: Core funding from German federal government (Bund) and state governments (Länder) through membership in the Leibniz Association, representing the primary revenue source for this non-profit GmbH
- Information Services and Products: Revenue from operating information services such as zbMATH, patent information databases (STN), and document delivery services (FIZ AutoDoc) for research institutions and industry
- Research Project Funding: Third-party funding from organizations such as DFG (German Research Foundation), BMBF, and NFDI consortia for specific research and development projects
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Open Access Check Service |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
FIZ Karlsruhe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FIZ Karlsruhe operates a portfolio of curated scientific databases, research data repositories, and patent information services used by research institutions, universities, and industry. Its core products include zbMATH Open (the world's largest mathematical reviewing service with 4+ million bibliographic entries), STN (patent and scientific literature network), FIZ AutoDoc (document delivery), RADAR (research data repository), and ICSD (Inorganic Crystal Structure Database), delivered alongside proprietary knowledge graph and semantic technologies.
Product overview
FIZ Karlsruhe is a Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure that operates a comprehensive portfolio of information products and services. The core offerings include zbMATH Open (mathematical literature database), STN (patent and scientific information network), FIZ AutoDoc (document delivery), RADAR (research data repository), and ICSD (crystal structure database). These products serve scientific research, innovation, and patenting processes. The institute also develops e-Research solutions and participates in multiple NFDI consortia (NFDI4Chem, NFDI4Culture, NFDI4Memory) for national research data infrastructure. The Information Service Engineering unit provides underlying AI/ML technologies including knowledge graphs, semantic search, and natural language processing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- zbMATH Open: The world's largest reviewing service for pure and applied mathematics, containing more than 4 million bibliographic entries, reviews and abstracts.
- STN
- FIZ AutoDoc
- RADAR
- ICSD
- FIZ PatMon
Products and services
- zbMATH Open World's largest reviewing service for pure and applied mathematics, containing over 4 million bibliographic entries, reviews, and abstracts covering nearly three centuries of mathematical publications. Used by mathematicians and researchers at academic institutions worldwide.
- STN (Scientific and Technical Information Network) Comprehensive information service for patent and scientific literature research, including chemical structures, sequences, and material properties. Used by corporate R&D and IP professionals for patent search and technology intelligence.
- FIZ AutoDoc Document delivery service enabling access to scientific literature, with Open Access checking capability for over 28,000 Open Access sources. Used by researchers and information professionals to obtain full-text articles.
- RADAR Research Data Repository Flexible research data repository service for archiving, publishing, and managing research data across disciplines with FAIR principles support. Used by research institutions and consortia for long-term data preservation.
- ICSD (Inorganic Crystal Structure Database) Database of inorganic crystal structures for crystallography research, providing curated structural data for materials scientists and chemists.
- Archivportal-D Archive portal providing information on archives throughout Germany with online access to index information and archival records. Part of the German Digital Library initiative containing over 45 million cultural objects.
Quantifiable outcome
- zbMATH serves as the world's largest mathematical reviewing service with 4+ million records and 100,000+ new publications annually
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use FIZ Karlsruhe
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
FIZ Karlsruhe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
FIZ Karlsruhe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)coreJoint ScienceCampus 'Digital Transformation in Research' (DiTraRe) investigating the effects of digitalization on scientific work. Leibniz-Senat approved funding of approximately 1.2 million EUR for this collaboration focusing on responsible digital transformation of research methods and workflows.
- NFDI (Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur) ConsortiacoreSuccessful participation in NFDI consortia including NFDI4Chem, NFDI4Culture, NFDI4Memory, and NFDI4Objects for developing national research data infrastructure across multiple scientific disciplines.
- DFG (German Research Foundation) - Patents4Science ProjectcoreFour Leibniz Institutes collaborating to build information infrastructure for using patent knowledge in science, developing the first patent-centric knowledge graph for scientific research applications.
- Prof. Dr. Harald Sack (Hasso-Plattner-Institut)coreAppointment of Prof. Dr. Harald Sack to establish the new 'Information Service Engineering' research unit at FIZ Karlsruhe, focusing on semantic analysis, knowledge graphs, and exploratory search methods for scientific information services.
- State Archives of Baden-Württemberg (LABW)coreDevelopment of ArQ - a modern Archival Information System (AFIS) for professional archive tasks, setting new standards for scientific archiving and research infrastructure.
- European Mathematical Society, Heidelberg Academy of SciencescoreJoint editors of zbMATH Open alongside FIZ Karlsruhe, with Springer Verlag as distribution partner for this internationally recognized mathematical information service.
- Springer VerlagminorPublisher distributing zbMATH database and content to international academic markets.
- Bundesfinanzministerium (Federal Ministry of Finance)coreLong-term cooperation for digital accessibility of NS-Unrecht compensation documents, making historical records on reparation efforts publicly available.
- German Digital Library (DDB)coreTechnical platform provider for German Digital Library initiatives including newspaper portal, archival portal, and colonial context collections with over 45 million cultural objects.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
FIZ Karlsruhe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TIB – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Technik und Naturwissenschaften Universitätsbibliothek: TIB is the Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library in Hannover — the closest direct peer to FIZ Karlsruhe as a fellow Leibniz-affiliated scientific information infrastructure institution with comparable mandate, scale, and public funding model.
- ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft: ZBW is the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics and a fellow Leibniz-associated information infrastructure institute. Highly comparable to FIZ Karlsruhe in governance model (publicly funded), product portfolio (librarian-curated databases, research data services), and customer base (research institutions and universities).
- GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften: GESIS is a Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences and a parallel non-academic research data infrastructure provider, offering a directly comparable institutional model (Leibniz member, public funding, research data services, NFDI consortium participation) to FIZ Karlsruhe.
- CrossRef: CrossRef operates the dominant scholarly metadata infrastructure (DOIs, citation linking) used by publishers worldwide. Comparable to FIZ Karlsruhe in providing foundational bibliographic metadata infrastructure for research, though distributed rather than curated.
- DataCite: DataCite provides DOIs and metadata infrastructure for research data, directly comparable to FIZ's RADAR research data repository service. Both serve the FAIR data mission and compete for the same institutional research data management customers.
Emerging players
- OpenAlex: OpenAlex is an open scholarly metadata catalog providing free bibliographic and citation data that increasingly competes with paid bibliographic services. Comparable to FIZ's STN and zbMATH on the bibliographic metadata dimension but with an open-data model.
- Europe PMC: Europe PMC is a Europe-wide life sciences bibliographic database, comparable to FIZ's zbMATH in operating as a publicly funded, domain-specific bibliographic service — though focused on life sciences rather than mathematics.
Broad incumbents
- CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service): CAS is the global leader in chemical and patent information and a co-operator of STN with FIZ Karlsruhe. Directly comparable on chemical/patent information services (where FIZ also operates), though CAS operates at significantly larger global scale and with a commercial orientation.
- Clarivate (Web of Science): Clarivate operates Web of Science, the largest commercial citation indexing service. Comparable to FIZ on scholarly information services but operating commercially at much larger scale with broader domain coverage than FIZ's curated mathematics/chemistry/crystallography focus.
- Elsevier (Scopus): Elsevier's Scopus is a leading commercial bibliographic and citation database. Comparable to FIZ's zbMATH/STN in providing scholarly information infrastructure but operating at global scale with commercial orientation and broader domain coverage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
FIZ Karlsruhe social profiles
Digital presenceFIZ Karlsruhe compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
FIZ Karlsruhe financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FIZ Karlsruhe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
FIZ Karlsruhe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FIZ Karlsruhe 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 FIZ Karlsruhe
What does FIZ Karlsruhe do?
FIZ Karlsruhe operates a portfolio of curated scientific databases, research data repositories, and patent information services used by research institutions, universities, and industry. Its core products include zbMATH Open (the world's largest mathematical reviewing service with 4+ million bibliographic entries), STN (patent and scientific literature network), FIZ AutoDoc (document delivery), RADAR (research data repository), and ICSD (Inorganic Crystal Structure Database), delivered alongside proprietary knowledge graph and semantic technologies.
Is FIZ Karlsruhe a public or private company?
FIZ Karlsruhe is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was FIZ Karlsruhe founded?
FIZ Karlsruhe was founded in 1977. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is FIZ Karlsruhe based?
FIZ Karlsruhe is headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does FIZ Karlsruhe make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Public Institutional Funding is the primary driver. The others are information Services and Products and research Project Funding.
Who are FIZ Karlsruhe's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are TIB – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Technik und Naturwissenschaften Universitätsbibliothek, ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft, GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, CrossRef and DataCite. Emerging players are OpenAlex and Europe PMC. Broad incumbents are CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service), Clarivate (Web of Science) and Elsevier (Scopus).
Does FIZ Karlsruhe have an API?
No public API is recorded for FIZ Karlsruhe.
What industry is FIZ Karlsruhe in?
FIZ Karlsruhe's product category is Scientific Information Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAGAG, Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols), with a secondary code of EDAGAGAK, Government, Public Policy & Regulatory Reference (Public Administration, Regulatory Guidance). Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 8731.