Cibio

What Cibio does

Cibio (Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos) is a non-profit Portuguese research institution founded in 2002 and hosted by the University of Porto on its Vairão Campus. It operates under the BIOPOLIS umbrella and is organized into eight research groups (EVOLGEN, InvasionS, ADNA, ECOGEN, BIOISLE, BIODESERTS, APPLECOL, FBIO) covering evolutionary genetics, conservation genomics, invasion science, ancient DNA, and applied ecology. The institution maintains an Ultra-clean Ancient DNA laboratory, a Genomics Platform, and field networks spanning Europe, Africa (including an Angola office supporting Project Nzau), and Macaronesia, and serves as a host for the BIODIV Doctoral Programme jointly offered with the University of Lisbon.

The institution delivers education through doctoral training (BIODIV), short advanced training courses (€95-€200 per participant, with discounts for members and students), and an annual TiBE conference (€40-€200 registration). It offers fee-for-service Molecular Analysis Services and Applied Ecology Services to external researchers and organizations. Knowledge transfer is further pursued via the SPIn Lab, founded to broker strategic projects with industry, civil society, and government.

Revenue is primarily grant-based, drawing from Portuguese national sources (FCT), European Commission framework programmes, Norte 2020 co-financing, and specialized international funders such as the Elephant Crisis Fund (US$1.2 million awarded in 2026 — the largest in that fund's history). Ancillary fee revenue from courses, conferences, and laboratory services is small relative to grants. There are no external equity investors, no patents filed, and the center operates as a non-commercial academic entity affiliated with the University of Porto, Universidade dos Açores, and InBIO Associated Laboratory.

Name

Cibio

Legal name

Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO)

Website

https://cibio.up.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cibio is a non-profit Portuguese research institution at the University of Porto that conducts biodiversity, evolutionary genetics, and conservation genomics research across eight groups. It trains doctoral students through the BIODIV programme, runs the annual TiBE conference and advanced training courses, and offers fee-for-service molecular and applied ecology analyses to external researchers, NGOs, and conservation organizations across Europe and Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biodiversity and Genetics Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Microbiome Analytics, Sequencing & Bioinformatics Platforms (HLAAAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAC)

Keywords

• Biodiversity research
• Conservation genetics
• Evolutionary biology
• Genomics services
• Molecular analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Vairão

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Funding and Grants: Funded by national and international research grants including FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia), European Commission programmes, and specialized funds such as the Elephant Crisis Fund. Core operational funding from host institutions University of Porto and Universities of the Azores.
2. Conference and Course Fees: Registration fees for educational events including TiBE conferences (€40-€200) and advanced training courses (€95-€200). Services provided to BIODIV students and CIBIO members at discounted rates.
3. Molecular Analysis and Applied Ecology Services: Fee-for-service laboratory and analysis services in molecular biology and applied ecology offered to external researchers and organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CIBIO is a non-profit research institution that conducts fundamental and applied research in biodiversity, evolutionary biology, conservation genetics, and genomics. It delivers the BIODIV Doctoral Programme, advanced training courses, fee-for-service molecular analysis and applied ecology services, and organizes the annual TiBE conference. Research is organized across specialized groups covering invasion science, evolutionary genetics, functional biodiversity, applied ecology, island biodiversity, ecogenomics, ancient DNA, and desert biodiversity.

Product overview

Cibio (Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos) is a biodiversity and genetic resources research center at the University of Porto. It operates as a multi-disciplinary research institution organized into multiple research groups including InvasionS, EVOLGEN, FBIO, APPLECOL, BIOISLE, ECOGEN, ADNA, and BIODESERTS. The institution provides education through the BIODIV Doctoral Programme and advanced training courses, and offers knowledge transfer services including Molecular Analysis Services and Applied Ecology Services. Major platforms include the Genomics Platform, ORBEA, and BIOPOLIS. Annual events include the TiBE conference and various workshops and seminars in biodiversity and evolution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EuropaBON: A European biodiversity monitoring initiative project

Products and services

• BIODIV Doctoral Programme A doctoral program in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution jointly offered by the University of Porto and the University of Lisbon, providing advanced research training for PhD candidates worldwide.
• Advanced Training Courses in Functional Genomics Hands-on short courses and workshops in functional genomics, ecological modelling, and conservation techniques offered to students and researchers (e.g., €95 students / €200 others, with discounts for BIOPOLIS/CIBIO members).
• TiBE - Trends in Biodiversity and Evolution Conference Annual conference providing a forum for senior researchers and students to present and discuss developments in evolutionary biology, including speciation, molecular evolution, comparative genomics, and population genetics.
• Genomics Platform A platform providing genomics research services and infrastructure (including the ultra-clean ancient DNA laboratory and functional genomics capabilities) for the research community.
• Molecular Analysis Services Fee-for-service laboratory and analysis services in molecular biology, including genetic sequencing and molecular diagnostics, offered to external researchers, organizations, and stakeholders.
• Applied Ecology Services Fee-for-service applied ecology expertise including biodiversity assessments, ecological monitoring, and conservation planning offered to external organizations and stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Selection against domestication alleles demonstrated in introduced rabbit populations - published in Nature Ecology & Evolution
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Kissama Foundation (Angola)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership led by Angolan conservation foundation for forest elephant research and protection in Angola. Coordinates Project Nzau, contributing scientific expertise in biodiversity monitoring, wildlife ecology and conservation genetics. Supported by US$1.2 million Elephant Crisis Fund.
• Carlsberg Research LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration on plant molecular sensors for crop biofortification. Led to development of innovative approach that tripled zinc levels in sorghum through modulation of the SbFbZIP1 gene sensor.
• STRiVE Network (Structural Variation Network)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organization of TiBE 2026 special edition conference on structural genomic variation. STRiVE members receive discounted registration fees (€40-€100 vs €80-€200 for non-members).
• INRAE (France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration on golden jackal expansion in Europe. Nathan Ranc from INRAE led 13-country study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
• Universities Mandume Ya Ndemufayo (Angola) and University of PortocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwinLabs partnership including first international master's programme between an African and European institution, lecionado entirely in Angola. Supported by Camões - Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua.
• University of PortoflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution providing institutional framework. Faculty of Sciences hosts CIBIO researchers and BIODIV doctoral programme. Director Nuno Ferrand holds professorship at Faculty of Sciences.
• Université de MontpelliercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration aligned with BIOPOLIS strategy to strengthen research partnerships in biodiversity and evolutionary biology.
• InBIO - Associated LaboratoryflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIBIO is part of InBIO (Research Network in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology), an associated laboratory bringing together researchers across multiple Portuguese institutions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• INRAE (France): INRAE is France's national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment with broad ecological and biodiversity portfolios. CIBIO is an active INRAE collaborator (e.g., golden jackal study) but INRAE operates at vastly larger scale across multiple life-science domains.
• Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute: Smithsonian's conservation biology arm runs global conservation genetics and biodiversity programmes with applied outcomes similar to CIBIO's elephant and lynx projects. Comparable in applied wildlife genetics and international field programmes.
• Natural History Museum, London (NHM): NHM London combines evolutionary biology, systematics, and natural history collections at global scale. It shares CIBIO's emphasis on collection-based biodiversity research and ancient DNA, and is comparable via the joint CETAF ecosystem.

Direct peers

• MNCN-CSIC (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spain): Spain's national natural history museum under CSIC runs evolutionary biology, conservation genetics, and biodiversity research. Highly comparable to CIBIO-InBIO across research themes and Iberian institutional positioning.
• German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv): iDiv is a German research consortium running large-scale biodiversity, evolutionary, and ecological research with strong doctoral training programmes. It overlaps directly with CIBIO on biodiversity genomics, conservation biology, and structured PhD training — the same core mission CIBIO pursues at smaller scale.
• Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology: Max Planck's Plön institute runs fundamental and applied research in evolutionary genetics, population genomics, and evolutionary ecology. Both groups publish in Nature/Science on related evolutionary questions and compete for overlapping grant pools.
• University of Helsinki — Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences: Helsinki's bioscience faculty runs biodiversity, evolutionary, and conservation research programmes of comparable scope and academic structure. Overlaps with CIBIO on evolutionary genomics and doctoral training.
• Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF): CREAF is a Catalonia-based research centre focused on biodiversity, ecology, and ecosystem services, with significant overlap to CIBIO's APPLECOL and FBIO research groups. Both institutions serve as field-research hubs in Iberia.

Others

• Wildlife Conservation Society: WCS is a conservation funder and operator — not a research centre — but co-funds conservation genetics work with CIBIO through the Elephant Crisis Fund/Save the Elephants ecosystem. Comparable as a counterpart in conservation delivery partnerships.

Emerging players

• Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC), University of Copenhagen: CMEC researches biodiversity dynamics under global change, with strong overlap to CIBIO's FBIO group. Both institutions publish in ecology and conservation journals and train graduate-level researchers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cibio.inbio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cibio
• Xx.com/cibio_inbio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cibio