Center for Digital Trust (C4DT), EPFL

Name

Center for Digital Trust (C4DT), EPFL

Legal name

Center for Digital Trust (C4DT), EPFL

Website

https://c4dt.epfl.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Trust Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy Management, Training & Ethics/Whistleblowing (BPAEAPAI)

Keywords

• Digital trust research
• Privacy enhancing technologies
• Cybersecurity research services
• Knowledge transfer hub
• Secure multi-party computation

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Partner Membership Contributions: Organizations pay to become partners of C4DT, gaining access to research collaborations, advisory services, talent pipeline, and exclusive events. Partners include major Swiss corporations, government agencies, and startups.
2. Research Grants and Funding: C4DT researchers secure funding from Swiss government agencies (SERI, SECO, cantons), European funding programs, and international organizations for specific research projects.
3. Executive Education Programs: C4DT Academy offers courses for decision makers and researchers on digital trust topics, including the 'Foundations of ICT and Digital Trust for Decision Makers' program offered in collaboration with Fondation Lombard Odier.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

C4DT is an academic research and knowledge transfer center within EPFL that connects 34 affiliated EPFL laboratories with 13+ partner organizations across industry, government, and civil society. It delivers partner membership programs, executive education courses, policy publications, collaborative research projects, and develops open-source privacy, cryptography, and AI trust technologies such as DP-3T, Meditron, Apertus, and Votegral.

Product overview

The Center for Digital Trust (C4DT) at EPFL is a research and knowledge transfer hub focused on digital trust, cybersecurity, and privacy technologies. Rather than a single product, C4DT operates as a platform of interconnected programs: the Academy provides educational courses for decision-makers and researchers; the Factory develops and showcases trust-building software, demonstrators, and Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs); and various Publications (C4DT Focus, Observer, and Insight series) disseminate policy analysis and research findings. C4DT also runs a Policy Fellowship program and Start-up Program to foster innovation in digital trust. Research outputs include specialized tools like Predikon (vote prediction), MeditronFO (medical LLM), Votegral (e-voting), Datashare Network (secure journalism tools), and SF-GWAS (secure genomic analysis), as well as Apertus, Switzerland's sovereign multilingual language model. The Factory division provides Software, Demonstrators, and PET Links, while the Embassy facilitates the network of digital trust centers internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Partner Membership Program
• C4DT Academy
• C4DT Factory
• C4DT Focus Publication Series
• C4DT Observer Publication Series
• C4DT Insight Publication Series
• Digital Trust Policy Fellowship Program
• C4DT Start-up Program
• Apertus
• Meditron / MeditronFO
• DP-3T / SwissCovid
• Votegral E-Voting System
• Predikon Voting Prediction System
• SF-GWAS Secure Genomic Analysis
• Datashare Network
• MedCo Secure Computation System
• Coughvid AI Detection System

Quantifiable outcome

• 12 founding partners in 2018 grew to 13+ partners including startups
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ELCAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Swiss IT services company and founding partner of C4DT. Collaborates on research projects and co-organizes events including the C4DT Observer #15 on AI impact on software development.
• SICPAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecurity solutions provider and founding partner. Co-organized 'Quantum Demystified' roundtable and collaborates on e-ID trust infrastructure with EPFL.
• SwisscomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss telecommunications provider and founding partner. Collaborates on digital trust research and joined Nym privacy blockchain network.
• Swiss PostcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss postal services company and partner. Accelerating collaborations with EPFL ecosystem including C4DT.
• SwissquotecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss online financial services provider and founding partner in C4DT consortium.
• RochecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPharmaceutical company joining C4DT in June 2020, bringing healthcare industry perspective to digital trust ecosystem.
• Kudelski GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital security company and founding partner of C4DT and Trust Valley initiative.
• armasuissecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Federal Office for Defence Acquisition (armasuisse) and core government partner for cyber-defence research.
• Ruag AGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partner of Swiss Armed Forces owned by the Confederation. Joined C4DT in November 2021, strengthening cybersecurity and cyber-defence expertise alongside armasuisse.
• ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian organization collaborating with C4DT on digital trust training for lawyers and security challenges in humanitarian action. Partner since founding.
• BIT (Federal Office for Information Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss federal government IT agency and founding partner of C4DT.
• BEYSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss IT services company participating in C4DT partner ecosystem.
• DuoKeyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss cybersecurity startup that won Digital Award Start-up of the Year 2022. Joined C4DT through associate partner program in November 2021 for two-year term.
• Futurae TechnologiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss cybersecurity startup joining C4DT through associate partner program in November 2021 for two-year term.
• Nym TechnologiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivacy blockchain startup. Chelsea Manning is associated with Nym. Joined C4DT associate partner program November 2021. Swisscom joined Nym network as validator.
• DtangleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup joining C4DT through start-up program in December 2025, complementing partner community with innovation perspectives.
• HafnovaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup joining C4DT through start-up program in December 2025 for two-year collaboration term.
• csky.aiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI assistant startup with privacy-by-design approach based on Edge AI. Joined C4DT associate partner program December 2023 for two-year term.
• EgonymminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep tech company focused on visual privacy protection with reversible image alteration pipeline. Joined C4DT associate partner program December 2023.
• RegdataminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup joining C4DT at program launch in December 2020, among first four startups in the ecosystem.
• strong.networkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup joining C4DT at program launch in December 2020 as part of initial four-startup cohort.
• TaurusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup joining C4DT at program launch in December 2020 as part of initial four-startup cohort.
• XorlabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCybersecurity startup joining C4DT at program launch in December 2020 as part of initial four-startup cohort.
• CMTA (Capital Markets and Technology Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent not-for-profit association established to facilitate blockchain use in financial markets. C4DT and EPFL supported development and are represented in the association.
• Trust ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic-private cooperation between Vaud and Geneva cantons with C4DT founding partners ELCA, Kudelski, and SICPA. Includes 300 companies and 500 experts for safe digital transformation and cybersecurity innovation.
• World Bank GovTech Global PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerC4DT joined World Bank's GovTech Global Partnership program in January 2024 to integrate academic insights for improving public sector operations through technology.
• HEIG-VDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland partner in [seal] Program for innovation in cybersecurity and digital trust alongside EPFL and UNIL.
• UNIL (University of Lausanne)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in [seal] Program strategic academic alliance with EPFL and HEIG-VD for cybersecurity and digital trust innovation.
• EPFL AI CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerC4DT collaborates with EPFL AI Center on AI governance research including 'AI, good servant, bad master' report on AI adoption perceptions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC): Berkeley-affiliated center combining cybersecurity research with industry and policy engagement, structurally similar to C4DT's academy/factory/policy model.
• ETH Zurich Cyber Security Center: Peer Swiss federal institute center for cybersecurity research, closely comparable in mission, geography, and industry-partner model. Direct competitor for Swiss talent, grants, and partners.
• CMU CyLab: Carnegie Mellon's cybersecurity research hub with industry partnerships, training programs, and policy work — a long-running academic-industry model comparable to C4DT.
• IMDEA Software Institute: Madrid-based government-funded research institute focused on software, security, and privacy research with strong industry ties. European peer in the digital-trust research ecosystem.
• CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security: German national research center for information security with broad industry collaboration; one of Europe's flagship cyber research centers and a natural peer for C4DT.
• INRIA (Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique): French national digital research institute with security, privacy, and AI research across multiple labs — comparable European public research institution serving as a peer.
• Stanford Center for Security and Trust (SST): Stanford-affiliated academic-industry center focused on digital trust, cybersecurity, and cryptography with an industry affiliate program. Closest US analogue to C4DT's academic-industry partnership model.
• Oxford Cyber Security Centre: Oxford university research centre conducting interdisciplinary cybersecurity and digital-trust research with strong industry engagement, paralleling C4DT's mission.
• MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative (IPRI): MIT-based research initiative studying the relationship between internet technology and public policy, with strong overlap on digital trust, AI governance, and privacy research.

Broad incumbents

• World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity: Global multi-stakeholder platform convening governments and industry on cybersecurity and digital trust policy. Less research-focused than C4DT but competes for policy attention and partner mindshare.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/epflnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/epflcampus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c4dt-epfl
• Instagraminstagram.com/epflcampus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Center for Digital Trust (C4DT), EPFL