GERAD

What GERAD does

GERAD (Groupe d'études et de recherche en analyse des décisions) is a Montreal-based, multi-university academic research consortium operating as a private non-profit. It consolidates more than 100 regular and associate research members drawn from at least eight Quebec universities (HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, McGill, UQAM, Université de Montréal, Laval, Sherbrooke, and Concordia), with 18 research chairs across decision sciences, optimization, and operations research. The consortium produces approximately 230 peer-reviewed publications per year and supports a graduate-student pipeline of roughly 500 students at any given time, with about 150 master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral graduates completing annually.

Its core technology spans mathematical optimization, decision analysis, operations research, and data-science methods, including game theory, optimal control, mathematical modeling, simulation, derivative-free optimization, and novel algorithmic approaches. GERAD develops and maintains the Gencol optimization solver (with CPLEX integration) and disseminates research outputs through academic journals, the Cahiers du GERAD working-paper series, conferences (including the annual Optimization Days and the International Symposium on Dynamic Games and Applications), seminars, and webinars. Applied projects span transportation (aviation disruption management, maritime weather routing, urban waste collection), energy (sugar-refinery batch scheduling), and logistics.

GERAD's business model is that of a publicly funded research consortium rather than a commercial enterprise. Funding flows from three primary streams: government research grants (FRQNT, NSERC, Mitacs, IVADO), infrastructure and operational sponsorship from four partner universities (HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, McGill, UQAM), and collaborative industrial research contracts with provincial/federal agencies and private companies. No commercial pricing applies; services are delivered through grants, sponsorships, and contract research. Customers include graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, university faculty, government agencies, and private-sector firms in Quebec, Canada, and internationally.

Name

GERAD

Legal name

Groupe d'études et de recherche en analyse des décisions

Website

https://gerad.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

GERAD is a Montreal-based non-profit, multi-university academic research consortium that conducts mathematical optimization and operations research, training approximately 150 graduate students per year and serving Quebec and Canadian government agencies and private companies through grant-funded and contract research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Operations Research and Decision Science Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Management Research Institutes & Doctoral (PhD/DBA) Programs (EDAHAHAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM-Focused Technical Universities (EDAHAEAD), Applied Research & Innovation Universities (EDAHAEAE)

Keywords

• Operations research
• Decision analysis
• Mathematical optimization
• Applied mathematics research
• Academic research consortium

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: Funding from government agencies including FRQNT (Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies), NSERC (natural sciences and engineering research council), Mitacs, and IVADO for research programs and scholarships.
2. University Sponsorship: Infrastructure and operational funding from sponsoring institutions: HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal, McGill University, and Université du Québec à Montréal.
3. Industrial Research Contracts: Research contracts from provincial and federal government agencies as well as private companies in Quebec, Canada, and internationally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GERAD is a multi-university research consortium that conducts applied research in decision analysis, mathematical optimization, operations research, data science, and mathematical engineering, while training graduate students (master's, doctoral, postdoctoral) and collaborating with industry and government through research contracts. It produces approximately 230 scientific publications annually and delivers applied optimization solutions to transportation, logistics, energy, and urban services sectors.

Product overview

GERAD (Groupe d'études et de recherche en analyse des décisions) is a Quebec-based academic research center focused on decision analysis, mathematical optimization, and operations research. Rather than a commercial product company, GERAD functions as a research consortium producing scientific publications, training students, and collaborating with industry partners. The organization's activities center on theoretical research and methodological development in areas such as game theory, optimal control, mathematical modeling, simulation, and derivative-free optimization, rather than packaged software products. GERAD's member researchers develop and share optimization algorithms, solvers, and methodologies primarily through academic publications and open-source software contributions, not through commercial product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gencol Optimization Software

Quantifiable outcome

• 230 publications annually in prestigious scientific journals
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

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

• HEC MontréalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary sponsoring institution and partner university. Provides infrastructure funding, research facilities, and hosts GERAD headquarters. Contributes faculty members as regular members.
• Polytechnique MontréalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary sponsoring institution and partner university. Provides infrastructure funding and research facilities. Faculty members serve as regular members of GERAD.
• McGill UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary sponsoring institution. Contributing departments include Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, and Desautels Faculty of Management.
• Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary sponsoring institution providing infrastructure funding and hosting faculty members as regular GERAD members.
• Université LavalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner allowing faculty members to participate in GERAD activities and collaborative research.
• Université de SherbrookesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner enabling faculty participation in GERAD research activities and industrial collaborations.
• Concordia UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner contributing faculty members including Concordia Research Chair holder Brigitte Jaumard.
• Université de MontréalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner institution providing venue for GERAD headquarters in Pavillon André-Aisenstadt.
• Regroupements sectoriels de recherche industrielle (RSRI)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuebec's industrial research clusters providing funding programs for GERAD member research.
• CIRRELTmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInteruniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation - shares joint infrastructure, network, and collaborates on EDI initiatives with GERAD.
• Numeric Alliance (Alliance numérique)supportingTechnology or IntegrationDigital research infrastructure providing high-performance computing resources through the national research cloud.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• INRIA: France's national research institute dedicated to applied mathematics and computer science, with strong teams in optimization, control, and learning. Closest European analogue to GERAD's applied math/optimization research consortium model.
• IVADO: Montreal-based consortium advancing data science, optimization, and AI research across HEC, Polytechnique, and Université de Montréal. Directly funds a research associate position at GERAD and shares the same partner-university ecosystem.
• CIRRELT: Interuniversity Research Centre on Enterprise Networks, Logistics and Transportation, also based in Montreal and sharing members, infrastructure, and EDI initiatives with GERAD. Closest comparable model — same multi-university consortium structure focused on operations research and decision analysis.
• University of Waterloo — Combinatorics and Optimization: Canadian academic department with world-leading research in combinatorial optimization and operations research. Comparable research scope and doctoral training output.
• MIT Operations Research Center: Premier US academic OR center producing research in optimization, stochastic systems, and analytics. Comparable in scale of publications and doctoral output, though single-institution rather than consortium.
• Georgia Tech H. Milton Stewart School of ISyE: Top-ranked industrial and systems engineering school with strong optimization, logistics, and OR research. Comparable in research output volume and industrial contract research orientation.
• Stanford Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME): Stanford institute that brings together applied math, optimization, and computation across departments — analogous to GERAD's cross-faculty consortium structure at Montreal universities.
• CSIRO Data61: Australia's national science agency's data and digital research arm, combining applied mathematics, optimization, and AI research with industrial partnerships — closest international analogue to a publicly-funded applied research consortium.
• Carnegie Mellon Tepper School — Operations Research group: Leading US business-school-based OR program with similar doctoral training and industry-facing research in optimization and decision analysis. Comparable academic footprint and industry engagement model.

Regional players

• Mila (Quebec AI Institute): Montreal-based AI research consortium led by Yoshua Bengio, operating in the same city and overlapping ecosystem. Thematically adjacent rather than directly competitive — Mila focuses on deep learning while GERAD focuses on optimization and decision science.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/geradinfo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/geradinfo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gerad

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about GERAD