Ellis
ELLIS is a pan-European non-profit AI research network connecting nearly 2,000 members across 47 sites in 19 countries through its PhD & Postdoc Program, cross-border research Programs, and Site network, coordinating Europe's top machine learning talent and producing sovereign AI artifacts like EuroLLM-22B.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersTübingen, Germany
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Ellis does
ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) is a pan-European non-profit AI research network founded in 2019 and headquartered in Tübingen, Germany (registered as ELLIS Society e.V.). The organization coordinates machine learning and AI research across a distributed federation of 47 sites in 19 countries, connecting nearly 2,000 members including 560 Fellows & Scholars and 500+ PhD students and postdocs. Its core programmatic offerings are the ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program (with mandatory joint supervision across institutions and international exchanges), the ELLIS Sites network (regional AI research hubs hosted at institutions such as ETH Zurich, University of Oxford, University of Tübingen, and Instituto Superior Técnico Lisbon), and 16 cross-border ELLIS Programs focused on theoretical foundations, algorithms, and applied domains including health, NLP, computer vision, and robotics. Notable technical outputs include EuroLLM-22B, a 22-billion-parameter open-source Large Language Model supporting all 24 official EU languages, demonstrating sovereign European AI development capability.
ELLIS does not sell commercial products or services; all programs and membership are free for eligible researchers. Revenue is sourced from institutional grants and partnerships, principally from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (which hosts the headquarters) and the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, with G-Research added as the first major private-sector partner in 2026 funding 36 PhD researchers through 2028. Additional strategic partners include the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) for AI-driven life sciences and the Max Planck Artificial Intelligence Network (MP-AIX) for doctoral training. The organization is governed by a Board led by President Serge Belongie (University of Copenhagen), Vice President Nuria Oliver (ELLIS Alicante), and Board Member Florence d'Alché-Buc (Télécom Paris), with co-founder Bernhard Schölkopf having transitioned from President to ELLIS Fellow.
ELLIS distributes its programs and community building through a website portal, the ELLIS Edge monthly newsletter (7,000+ subscribers), a dedicated academic jobs newsletter, social channels (X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Facebook), and a calendar of decentralized events including the Pre-NeurIPS Fest (19 sites in 2025), Pre-ICML Fest, the ELLIS Doctoral Symposium (Lisbon 2026, capped at 200 participants), and summer schools in Lisbon and Cambridge. Members produced 804 papers at NeurIPS 2025 (12.9% of proceedings), 449 at ICML 2025, and 520 at ICLR 2025, and 217 members hold ERC grants. The organization positions itself as Europe's institutional counterweight to US and Chinese AI dominance, with expansion to seven new Units in 2026 and ELLIS Institute Finland providing access to the LUMI supercomputer.
Ellis firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ellis
- Legal name
- ELLIS Society e.V.
- Website
- https://ellis.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- ELLIS is a pan-European non-profit AI research network connecting nearly 2,000 members across 47 sites in 19 countries through its PhD & Postdoc Program, cross-border research Programs, and Site network, coordinating Europe's top machine learning talent and producing sovereign AI artifacts like EuroLLM-22B.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Ellis is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tübingen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
Ellis business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- PhD & Postdoc Program Support: ELLIS operates as a non-profit association (ELLIS Society e.V.) funded primarily through institutional support. The organization receives funding from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg. Private sector partnerships, such as G-Research's scholarship funding for PhD students (2026-2028), represent emerging revenue streams.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Ellis product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ELLIS is a pan-European AI research network of excellence that connects leading machine learning and AI researchers across 47 sites in 19 countries through membership programs, the ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program (with joint supervision and international exchanges), 16 cross-border research Programs, and networking events such as the ELLIS Doctoral Symposium, Summer Schools, and Pre-NeurIPS/ICML Fests. The network produces open research output including the EuroLLM-22B sovereign European LLM, supports AI talent development, and fosters cross-border scientific collaboration to secure Europe's lasting international leadership in AI.
Product overview
ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) is a pan-European AI research network of excellence built upon machine learning as the driver for modern AI. Rather than a traditional software product company, ELLIS offers a portfolio of research programs and services including the ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program for talent development, a network of 47 ELLIS Sites serving as local research hubs across 19 countries, 16 cross-border ELLIS Programs advancing theoretical and applied AI research, and networking events such as the ELLIS Doctoral Symposium, ELLIS Pre-NeurIPS Fest, and ELLIS Sites ICML Fest. The network connects nearly 2,000 members and 560 Fellows & Scholars who publish extensively at top venues including NeurIPS (804 papers in 2025), ICML (449 papers), and ICLR (520 papers). ELLIS contributes to open AI development including the EuroLLM-22B language model.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program International graduate and postdoctoral program pairing outstanding students with leading researchers across Europe in machine learning and AI, offering joint supervision (with secondary advisors at different institutions), international research exchanges, and a vibrant research community. Over 500 students and postdocs participate.
- ELLIS Sites Network A network of 47 distributed research hubs across 19 European countries, implemented through partner institutions such as ETH AI Center, University of Oxford, Instituto Superior Técnico Lisbon, and Tübingen AI Center. Each Site serves as a local center of excellence for AI research collaboration, hosting activities, events, and job postings.
- ELLIS Programs 16 cross-border research programs led by ELLIS Fellows and Scholars, focusing on advancing AI through theoretical foundations, algorithms, and applications across areas such as health, climate, computer vision, NLP, robotics, and AI for science.
- EuroLLM-22B A fully open 22-billion-parameter Large Language Model supporting all 24 official EU languages, developed with ELLIS Member contributions to demonstrate Europe's sovereign AI development capability.
Quantifiable outcome
- 804 papers accepted at NeurIPS 2025 (12.9% of conference proceedings)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Ellis
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ellis technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability11 records
Feature3 records
Ellis partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)flagshipELLIS formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with EMBL in 2025 to drive AI-driven discovery in the life sciences. The partnership was signed by Edith Heard (EMBL) and Bernhard Schoelkopf (ELLIS) in Brussels. This interdisciplinary collaboration combines ELLIS's machine learning expertise with EMBL's life sciences research infrastructure.
- Max Planck Artificial Intelligence Network (MP-AIX)coreELLIS established a partnership with MP-AIX in 2025 to expand doctoral training opportunities. The collaboration leverages the Max Planck AI network's resources and expertise to enhance ELLIS's PhD and postdoctoral training programs.
- Instituto Superior Técnico (IST)coreIST serves as the primary host institution for ELLIS Unit Lisbon. The partnership enables research collaboration in Human-Interacting Responsible AI and Natural Language Processing, with IST researchers leading Unit leadership including Mário A. T. Figueiredo as Unit Director.
- ETH ZurichcoreETH Zurich hosts ELLIS Unit Zurich through its ETH AI Center, bringing together researchers across all university departments for AI foundations, applications, and implications research. Andreas Krause leads as the Unit's primary contact.
- University of OxfordcoreUniversity of Oxford hosts ELLIS Unit Oxford, building on Oxford's strengths in computational, mathematical, and statistical foundations of ML/AI. The unit expanded in 2026 to include University of Warwick and Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford.
- Tübingen AI Center (TÜ.AI)coreThe Tübingen AI Center implements ELLIS Unit Tübingen and ELLIS Institute Tübingen, combining researchers from University of Tübingen and Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. It is permanently funded as one of Germany's six national AI centers.
- WASP – Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software ProgramcoreSwedish national graduate school program partnering with ELLIS. PhD positions at Linköping University are part of WASP, which funds AI research across Sweden.
Scale indicators17 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ellis competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Ellis social profiles
Digital presenceEllis financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ellis leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Ellis funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ellis 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 Ellis
What does Ellis do?
ELLIS is a pan-European AI research network of excellence that connects leading machine learning and AI researchers across 47 sites in 19 countries through membership programs, the ELLIS PhD & Postdoc Program (with joint supervision and international exchanges), 16 cross-border research Programs, and networking events such as the ELLIS Doctoral Symposium, Summer Schools, and Pre-NeurIPS/ICML Fests. The network produces open research output including the EuroLLM-22B sovereign European LLM, supports AI talent development, and fosters cross-border scientific collaboration to secure Europe's lasting international leadership in AI.
Is Ellis a public or private company?
Ellis is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Ellis founded?
Ellis was founded in 2019. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Ellis based?
Ellis is headquartered in Tübingen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Ellis make money?
One revenue line is on record: phD & Postdoc Program Support.
Does Ellis have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ellis.