What Gesellschaft für Informatik does

Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI) is Germany's oldest and largest professional association for informatics, founded in 1969 and headquartered in Bonn with a communications office in Berlin. Organized as a registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein), GI serves computer science professionals, researchers, students, educators, and government stakeholders through a hybrid membership, events, publications, and policy advocacy model. Its primary offerings include tiered individual and institutional memberships (student, regular, institutional), the digital library and .inf magazine, national informatics competitions (Informatik-Biber, Bundeswettbewerb Informatik, informatiCup), the annual INFORMATIK Jahrestagung conference, and awards including the Konrad-Zuse-Medaille and Dissertationspreis.

GI's commercial activities are diversified across membership dues (recurring), event registration and sponsorship (transactional), publication sales and digital library access (recurring), job board listing fees, and project-based funding from partners such as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (vzbv). Its technology stack is administrative rather than product-oriented: TYPO3 CMS for gi.de, Matomo for web analytics, and a member portal at meine.gi.de, with no proprietary technology products, APIs, or AI pipelines. Go-to-market is community-led: members are acquired through the website, university outreach (Junge GI, Hochschulgruppen), regional groups (Regionalgruppen), specialist divisions (Fachbereiche), and competitions. Distribution runs through the website, in-person chapters across all 16 German federal states, conference registration, and competitions distributed via schools.

GI generates significant non-financial value through policy advocacy, having contributed to informatics becoming a mandatory school subject (Pflichtfach Informatik) across an increasing number of German federal states, and through partnerships with BMBF, FITKO, Stifterverband, NFDIxCS, and vzbv that position it as the recognized voice of the German informatics community in national and EU policy debates.

Name

Gesellschaft für Informatik

Legal name

Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.

Website

https://gi.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI) is Germany's oldest informatics professional association, founded in 1969. It serves computer scientists, researchers, students, and educators through membership services, national competitions, publications, and policy advocacy across Germany's 16 federal states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Informatics education advocacy
• Membership community building
• Digital policy research
• Computer science competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: GI generates primary revenue through annual membership fees from informatics professionals, researchers, students, and institutional members across Germany. Fee structure varies by membership category (student, regular, institutional), as referenced by the 'Beitragsinformationen' (contribution information) page and membership application process.
2. Publications and Digital Library: GI publishes scientific journals, conference proceedings, the .inf magazine, working papers (Arbeits- und Positionspapiere), and policy briefs. Revenue is generated through sale of publications and digital library access.
3. Event Revenue: GI organizes major annual conferences (GI-Jahrestagung / INFORMATIK), workshops, the INFORMATIK 2026 in Dresden, and numerous regional events. Revenue includes conference registration fees and sponsorships.
4. Job Portal / Stellenanzeigen: GI operates a job board (Stellenanzeigen) where companies post informatics-related job vacancies, generating listing fee revenue.
5. Competitions and Awards: GI organizes national informatics competitions including Bundeswettbewerb Informatik, Informatik-Biber, informatiCup, and awards including the Dissertationspreis and Innovationspreis. Some competitions may have associated fees or sponsorship revenue.
6. GI-Bahnticket: GI offers a reduced-price Deutsche Bahn ticket for members (GI-Bahnticket), potentially generating revenue through partnerships with Deutsche Bahn.
7. Sponsorship and Partnerships: GI engages in project-based collaborations with government bodies (BMBF, BMBF-funded projects like Allianz für informatische Bildung, KI-Camp), corporate partners (Huawei as partner for BYTE Challenge), and receives funding for research and education initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. is a non-profit membership-based professional association for informatics professionals, researchers, educators, and students in Germany. It sells annual memberships (student, regular, institutional), publishes scientific journals and the .inf magazine, organizes the annual INFORMATIK Jahrestagung conference and national informatics competitions, operates a digital library, job board, and mentoring platform, and advocates for informatics education and digital policy through position papers and expert consultation.

Product overview

Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI) is a professional society for computer science and informatics in Germany, not a technology product company. It does not offer commercial products or services. The organization provides membership services, professional development, competitions (Bundeswettbewerb Informatik, informatiCup, Dissertationspreis, Unterrichtspreis, Innovations- und Entrepreneurpreis), publications (including the .inf magazine), a digital library, position papers, and various educational/professional initiatives and projects related to informatics education, digital policy, and IT sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GI Membership (Student, Regular, Institutional) Annual membership subscription providing informatics professionals, researchers, students, and institutions with access to specialist divisions, regional groups, publications, events, job board, mentoring, and member benefits such as the GI-Bahnticket. Members participate in elections and governance of the association.
• .inf Magazine and Scientific Publications Subscription-based access to GI's scientific journals, conference proceedings, the .inf magazine, working papers (Arbeits- und Positionspapiere), and policy briefs, delivered through the digital library.
• INFORMATIK Jahrestagung (Annual Conference) GI's flagship annual conference attracting informatics professionals, researchers, and industry from across Germany and internationally, with registration fees and sponsorship opportunities.
• National Informatics Competitions (Informatik-Biber, Bundeswettbewerb Informatik, informatiCup) Three annual national informatics competitions: Informatik-Biber for school students (engaging hundreds of thousands across all German federal states), Bundeswettbewerb Informatik for high school students, and informatiCup for university students.
• GI Awards (Dissertationspreis, Innovations- und Entrepreneurpreis, Unterrichtspreis) Annual GI awards recognizing excellence in informatics: Dissertationspreis (doctoral dissertations), Innovations- und Entrepreneurpreis (innovation and entrepreneurship), and Unterrichtspreis (informatics teaching).
• Digital Library Online digital library providing access to GI's scientific publications, conference proceedings, working papers, and policy briefs for members and the broader informatics community.
• Stellenanzeigen (Job Board) Online job board where companies post informatics-related job vacancies, generating listing fee revenue and targeting the GI member community of qualified informatics professionals.
• GI Mentoring Platform Online mentoring platform connecting informatics students and early-career professionals with experienced mentors for career guidance and professional development.
• GI-Bahnticket Reduced-rate Deutsche Bahn ticket offered to GI members as a member benefit through a commercial partnership with Deutsche Bahn.

Quantifiable outcome

• GI's press releases are regularly cited by major German media outlets including heise, Tagesspiegel, Deutschlandfunk, Handelsblatt, and ZDF, demonstrating broad reach and influence in policy debates.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• HuaweiminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 January 2021Huawei is a partner for the BYTE Challenge, a competition for young informatics talent organized by GI. Huawei's partnership supports the next generation of informatics professionals through this educational competition.
• BMBF (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGI collaborates with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research on major initiatives including the KI-Camp (AI Newcomer Award) and the Allianz für informatische Bildung (Alliance for Informatics Education). BMBF provides funding and policy support for joint projects aimed at strengthening informatics education and research in Germany.
• Allianz für informatische Bildung (Informatics Education Alliance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA multi-stakeholder alliance coordinated by GI to advance informatics education in German schools. Partners include educational institutions, companies, and other organizations committed to making informatics a mandatory school subject.
• StifterverbandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGI collaborates with Stifterverband on the annual Informatik-Monitor, which tracks the state of informatics education across German federal states. This partnership combines GI's informatics expertise with Stifterverband's education monitoring capabilities.
• Deutsche BahnminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGI offers its members a reduced-rate Deutsche Bahn ticket (GI-Bahnticket), providing travel discounts as a member benefit. This is a commercial partnership offering value to GI members.
• Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (vzbv)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGI became a member of the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband in 2022, strengthening its role as an advocate for consumer interests in the digital domain, particularly regarding data protection, AI ethics, and digital rights.
• NFDIxCS (National Research Data Infrastructure for Computer Science)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGI is involved in NFDIxCS, the German National Research Data Infrastructure for Computer Science, which aims to establish standards and infrastructure for research data management in the informatics discipline across German universities and research institutions.
• FITKO (Föderale IT-Kooperation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGI collaborates with FITKO (Föderale IT-Kooperation) on digital government initiatives. GI's expertise in informatics informs FITKO's work on digital administration and IT standardization across German public sector organizations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• acatech (Deutsche Akademie der Technikwissenschaften): acatech is Germany's national academy of science and engineering, advising government and industry on technology policy. Comparable as a German technology-policy thought leader and convening body, though with a broader STEM remit.
• Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung (DMV): DMV is the German professional society for mathematics, with comparable structure: regional groups, journals, conferences, and education advocacy. Analogous operating model in the same German scientific ecosystem.

Direct peers

• AAAI (Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence): AAAI is the leading global scientific society for AI researchers, running major conferences (AAAI, NeurIPS sponsorship history) and promoting the field. Comparable as a discipline-specific scholarly society with research, awards, and policy advocacy.
• IEEE Computer Society: IEEE Computer Society is a global, member-driven organization for computing professionals that publishes journals/conference proceedings and supports standards and conferences. Directly comparable to GI in mission, publishing, and conference operations.
• SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics): SIAM is an international learned society for applied math and computational science that publishes journals, runs conferences, and serves a professional membership. Directly comparable in scholarly publishing and community-driven operations.
• Association for Information Systems (AIS): AIS is a global professional association for information systems scholars and practitioners, with journals, conferences (ICIS, AMCIS), and a membership model. Comparable as a scholarly society serving an adjacent computing discipline with similar publishing and event activities.
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): ACM is the world's largest international professional society for computer science, publishing leading journals/conferences and serving members in academia and industry. Highly analogous to GI's role as the representative membership body for informatics, only at global scale.
• Informatics Europe: Informatics Europe is an association of European university CS departments and national informatics societies, including GI itself. Comparable as an umbrella for academic CS representation and policy input at the European level.

Regional players

• SPECIFIE (Société des Personnels Enseignants d'Informatique de France) / Afia: Association française pour l'intelligence artificielle (AFIA) and broader French informatics teaching associations (e.g., FEE, SPECIFIE) represent France's informatics academic community and education policy advocacy — the closest French/regional mirror to GI's German role.
• BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT: BCS is the chartered professional body for IT in the UK, providing membership, publications, events, and education policy advocacy. Functionally equivalent to GI for the UK market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/WirsindInformatik
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2415643
• Xx.com/informatikradar
• Facebookfacebook.com/wir.sind.informatik

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Gesellschaft für Informatik