What Académie des sciences does

The Académie des sciences is a French public scientific institution founded in 1666 by royal charter under Louis XIV and re-established in 1795 as part of the Institut de France. It is one of the oldest scientific institutions in the world, hosting 312 members, 102 foreign associates, and 54 correspondents — including 15 Nobel laureates and 9 Fields Medalists — representing every scientific discipline from mathematics to molecular biology. The Academy's statutory mission is to encourage, support, and protect scientific research; contribute to scientific progress and applications; disseminate science in France and internationally; and lead reflection on political, ethical, and societal challenges. It serves three primary audiences: the scientific community and researchers, government and public authorities, and the general public.

The Academy's core products and platform include diamond open-access scientific journals (Comptes rendus) covering multiple disciplines, a science popularization journal (Vie des sciences), official reports and advisory opinions produced by 15 thematic committees, and the audio-visual series "Petites histoires de science" podcast. It maintains a digital Archives Portal preserving 350 years of scientific heritage, including 2.3 km of documents and over 18,000 "Plis cachetés" (Sealed Folds) deposits dating back to 1735 — a unique priority-establishment registry for scientific discoveries. The Academy also operates an HAL open-access repository, a virtual bookstore for publications by academicians, and disseminates its content through weekly Tuesday colloquia, public séances under the Coupole of the Institut de France, and a newsletter.

The Academy operates as a non-commercial public institution with no fees for its services or publications. Its financial model is built on state allocations, private donations through its mécénat program, and endowment income. Approximately 80 annual prizes worth around €1 million are funded by private donors, state organisms, and enterprises. The Academy is governed by a Bureau led by President Françoise Combes and Perpetual Secretary Étienne Ghys (a Fields Medalist), with operations housed at 23 quai de Conti, Paris, within the broader Institut de France framework alongside four other French academies.

Name

Académie des sciences

Legal name

Académie des sciences

Website

https://academie-sciences.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Académie des sciences is a French public scientific institution founded in 1666, operating within the Institut de France. It serves scientific researchers, government, and the public through peer-reviewed journals, policy reports, educational outreach, and approximately 80 annual scientific prizes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Research Institution

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Libraries and Archives (51921), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Scientific advisory services
• Open access journals
• Science policy reports
• Scientific awards administration
• Academic publishing platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Prize Funding and Donations: Private donors, state organisms, and enterprises provide funding for approximately 80 annual prizes worth around €1 million across fundamental and applied scientific domains.
2. Public/Government Support: State support for core operations of the Academy, which has existed since 1666 and operates within the Institut de France framework.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Académie des sciences is a French public scientific institution that mobilizes roughly 300 eminent scientists across all disciplines to produce independent scientific expertise for public policy, publish peer-reviewed diamond open-access journals (Comptes rendus, Vie des sciences), issue official reports and recommendations on scientific and societal issues, award approximately 80 annual scientific prizes, and maintain a historical scientific archive. It convenes public séances under the Coupole of the Institut de France, weekly colloquia, and an open-access publishing infrastructure (HAL Portal, Archives Portal), with all outputs offered free of charge.

Product overview

The Académie des sciences operates as a scientific academy providing expertise, scientific publications, and educational outreach. Its core offerings include peer-reviewed scientific journals (Comptes rendus) covering multiple disciplines, outreach publications (Vie des sciences), official reports and recommendations, and an archive portal preserving scientific heritage since the 17th century. The Academy also publishes podcasts (Petites histoires de science), maintains an open-access repository (HAL Portal), operates a virtual bookstore for publications by academicians, and administers approximately 80 annual prizes and medals. The organization functions through thematic committees addressing specialized scientific areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Comptes rendus: Diamond open-access scientific journals covering mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geoscience, mechanics, and paleontology.
• Vie des sciences
• Archives de l'Académie des sciences
• CODHOS
• CODHOS
• Les Clés pour comprendre
• Rencontres avec un académicien

Products and services

• Comptes rendus Peer-reviewed diamond open-access scientific journals publishing research articles, review articles, and historical/biographical pieces across multiple disciplines including Biologies, Chimie, Géoscience, Physique, Mécanique, and Mathématique. Freely accessible to researchers worldwide.
• Vie des sciences Science popularization journal aimed at the general public, encouraging dialogue between disciplines and between science and any interested reader.
• Rapports (Official Reports) Official reports produced by the Academy, mobilizing competencies of different academicians organized in thematic committees and working groups to address current scientific and societal issues.
• Avis & Recommandations Official opinions and recommendations addressing current scientific, ethical, and societal issues for policymakers and citizens.
• Petites histoires de science Podcast series produced in partnership with Canal Académies and hosted by Étienne Ghys, exploring scientific discoveries and collaborations.
• Archives Portal Digital access to the Academy's scientific heritage, preserving records of academic sessions, prizes, sealed folds (Plis cachetés), and biographical files of academicians since the 17th century (over 18,000 sealed folds deposited since 1735; 2.3 km of preserved documents).
• HAL Portal The Academy's open-access repository on the HAL platform, hosting scholarly publications integrated with the national open archive infrastructure.
• Librairie virtuelle (Virtual Bookstore) Online bookstore featuring books written by academicians on various scientific topics.
• Prix & Médailles (Prizes and Medals) Approximately 80 annual prizes covering all scientific domains, from fundamental to applied sciences, awarded during solemn sessions under the dome of the Institut de France and funded by private donors, state organisms, and enterprises (approximately €1 million distributed per year).

Quantifiable outcome

• Around 80 prizes awarded annually worth approximately €1 million
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Institut de FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Academy operates within the Institut de France, which provides the physical venue (23 quai de Conti) and administrative framework. Five academies are housed together within this institution.
• Canal AcadémiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPodcast partnership for 'Petites histoires de science' series. Partnership for dissemination of scientific content through audio-visual media.
• Cortex MédiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction company for the 'Un été de science entre la France et l'Amérique' video podcast series, produced thanks to Fondation Lounsbery.
• HAL (Hyper Articles en Ligne)majorTechnology or IntegrationThe Academy maintains its own portal on the HAL platform for scientific publications, integrated with the national open archive infrastructure.
• IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOPED committee collaborates with IRD on scientific partnerships with developing countries, including joint forums and conferences.
• CIRADmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOPED committee collaborates with CIRAD on agricultural research partnerships with developing countries.
• NASAC (Network of African Science Academies)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOPED committee maintains relations with the Network of African Science Academies for scientific cooperation with developing nations.
• Bibliothèque nationale de FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSome archives are digitized by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
• Fondation La Main à la pâtemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Academy has partnered with Fondation La Main à la pâte since 2006 to promote science education.
• International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly SocietiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCODHOS participates in this international network for verification of information and greater impact of interventions for scientists facing human rights violations.
• GID (Groupe Interacadémique pour le Développement)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOPED committee works with GID on international development science partnerships, including joint forums on women and sustainable development.
• G7 Science AcademiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Academy participates in G7 declarations on climate policy and public health alongside other national science academies.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina: Founded in 1652, Germany's national science academy performs the same advisory function to its federal government and publishes interdisciplinary scientific statements. As the oldest continuously existing learned society in natural sciences, it is a direct structural peer.
• The Royal Society: The UK's national academy of sciences, founded 1660, is the closest structural and functional peer to the Académie des sciences: it publishes peer-reviewed journals (Philosophical Transactions, Proceedings), awards medals and prizes, advises government, and convenes the most eminent scientists in its jurisdiction.
• Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei: Italy's national academy of sciences, founded 1603, advises the Italian government on scientific matters and publishes scholarly work. Its advisory and scholarly society structure is highly comparable to the Académie des sciences.
• Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: Awards the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry and the Crafoord Prize, and publishes scientific journals. Comparable to the Académie des sciences in its combination of elite membership, prize-giving, and publication of peer-reviewed scientific work across disciplines.
• National Academy of Sciences (US): The US National Academy of Sciences mirrors the Académie des sciences' role as a congressionally-chartered advisor publishing the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and issuing influential reports on science policy. It shares the same advisory, publishing, and prize-giving mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Russian Academy of Sciences: Russia's national academy, historically combining learned society functions with major research institutes. Similar advisory role but far larger operational scope; relevant as an incumbent in the same global category of national science academies.
• Max Planck Society: Germany's leading basic research organization, comparable to CNRS. While it operates Max Planck Institutes rather than functioning as a learned society, it shares the Académie des sciences' mission of advancing fundamental science and convening top scientists, and overlaps on publishing.
• Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS): China's premier research institution combining the academy advisory role with an enormous operational research portfolio across dozens of institutes. Functions as both a learned society and a research performer, making it a broader incumbent rather than a direct peer.

Others

• Institut de France: Parent institution housing five French academies (including the Académie des sciences, Académie française, and others). Provides the physical Coupole venue and administrative framework; relevant as the institutional umbrella and funding conduit.

Regional players

• CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique): France's largest public research organization and a major funder of fundamental research. While not a learned society, it operates in the same French scientific ecosystem and works closely with the Académie des sciences, sharing researchers and policy influence domestically.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3BW_IlgG6orWiej8jYpEow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/academie-des-sciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Académie des sciences