Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) gGmbH

What Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) gGmbH does

CAIS is a publicly funded, non-profit research institute (gemeinnützige GmbH) headquartered in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, founded in November 2016 and operational as a central digitalization research institute since April 2021 under funding from the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKW NRW). The institute conducts four interdisciplinary five-year research programs: Digital Democratic Innovations (DDI), Educational Technologies and AI (BKI), Design of Trustworthy AI, and Transformation of Digital Democratic Discourses (T3D), combining social sciences, humanities, and computer science methods. Supporting infrastructure includes the RD&M (Research Data & Methods) department, a Research Incubator for cross-disciplinary networking, the PhDnet doctoral network, the CAIS Kolleg fellowships and working groups program, and the Medienkompetenz_LAB platform co-established with the State Chancellery of NRW.

CAIS's core outputs are research publications, the open-access Internet Policy Review journal (co-published with HIIG), the CAISzeit podcast, CAIS Reports working papers, and science communication events including the CAIS-Forum annual public forum and the Press Play science festival. The institute is owned by nine shareholder universities and research institutes (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Duisburg-Essen, HHU Düsseldorf, Universität Münster, TU Dortmund, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Grimme-Institut, GESIS, RWI) and is part of the national NIfD network of German digitalization research institutes. Leadership consists of Scientific Directors Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders and Prof. Dr. Tim A. Majchrzak, and Commercial Managing Director Michael Paul.

The business model is non-commercial: CAIS does not sell products to customers. Operating revenue consists of institutional funding from MKW NRW, third-party research grants, and fellowship funding lines. The institute serves academic researchers, policymakers, journalists, and the general public, with the primary customer being the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as funder. Distribution occurs through academic publications, open-access journals, public events, podcasts, and direct institutional collaboration rather than commercial sales channels.

Name

Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) gGmbH

Legal name

Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) gGmbH

Website

https://cais-research.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CAIS is a publicly funded, non-profit German research institute in Bochum that conducts interdisciplinary research on digital transformation across four programs covering digital democracy, educational technologies, trustworthy AI, and digital discourses, serving academia, policymakers, journalists, and the public under NRW state funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Transformation Research Institute

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

EdTech & Digital Learning Policy Research (EDADADAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)

Keywords

• Interdisciplinary digital research
• Internet policy research
• Trustworthy AI research
• Digital transformation studies
• Science communication services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bochum

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CAIS is a publicly funded non-profit research institute that conducts interdisciplinary research on digital transformation, operating four five-year research programs spanning digital democratic innovations, educational technologies and AI, trustworthy AI design, and transformation of digital democratic discourses. It offers fellowships, working groups, a doctoral network, and science communication outputs including a podcast, open-access journal, and public events. Research findings are translated into evidence-based policy recommendations through real laboratories and direct engagement with academia, politics, business, and civil society.

Product overview

CAIS is a digital transformation research institute operating four interdisciplinary five-year research programs: DDI (Digital Democratic Innovations) examining online participation and smart cities; BKI (Educational Technologies and AI) investigating AI in learning environments; Vertrauenswürdige KI (Trustworthy AI Design) developing AI principles tested with users; and T3D (Transformation of Digital Democratic Discourses) studying digital public opinion formation. Supporting infrastructure includes RD&M for research data and methods, the Research Incubator for identifying societal topics, and PhDnet for doctoral training. Science communication offerings encompass the CAISzeit podcast, CAIS Forum annual events, Press Play science festival, and Medienkompetenz_LAB for media literacy. The Internet Policy Review journal publishes open-access research, while the CAIS Kolleg offers fellowships and working groups for visiting researchers. CAIS Reports document fellowship research outputs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DDI – Digital Democratic Innovations (Digitale Demokratische Innovationen) Interdisciplinary five-year research program examining how democracy changes in a digital society and how digitalization can promote democratic participation, with focus on online voting and smart city projects. Led by Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber.
• BKI – Educational Technologies and AI (Bildungstechnologien und Künstliche Intelligenz) Five-year research program investigating how digitalization can be leveraged positively in educational contexts and how learners can be supported by intelligent systems, examining the dynamic interplay between teachers, learners, and supporting technologies. Led by Prof. Dr. Nikol Rummel.
• Design of Trustworthy AI (Design Vertrauenswürdiger Künstlicher Intelligenz) Five-year research program developing principles for trustworthy AI, implementing them technically, and testing with users in practical application fields, with particular focus on social media improvement. Led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hendrik Heuer.
• T3D – Transformation of Digital Democratic Discourses (Transformation Digitaler Demokratischer Diskurse) Five-year research program examining how topics and opinions form, express, and develop in digital democratic public spheres, integrating theoretical and methodological approaches from social sciences and computer science.
• Internet Policy Review Open-access journal on internet policy jointly published with the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), covering research on digital transformation, regulation, and governance.
• CAISzeit Podcast Podcast series featuring discussions with researchers from various disciplines exploring how digital transformation affects society, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Deezer. Episode #27 covers 'Sprachmaschinen: Philosophy of AI' with Roberto Simanowski and Jana Baum.
• CAIS Kolleg Fellowships Funding line supporting innovative projects addressing societal opportunities and challenges of digital transformation, offering fellowships for visiting researchers and practitioners.
• CAIS Kolleg Working Groups (Arbeitsgemeinschaften) Funding line for working groups addressing digital transformation challenges, combinable with fellowships.
• PhDnet@CAIS Network for doctoral researchers working on consequences of digitalization for society, offering workshops, summer schools, conferences, and networking opportunities free of charge.
• Medienkompetenz_LAB Platform bringing together educational stakeholders in NRW for regular exchange, jointly established by CAIS and the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia to strengthen cooperation on media literacy.
• CAIS Reports Working papers produced by fellows documenting research conducted during their fellowships at CAIS.

Quantifiable outcome

• Final acceptance rate of 60.65% for Creating Spaces for Digital Futures conference 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability12 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ruhr-Universität BochumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder university providing research collaboration. Home to Horst Görtz Institut für IT-Sicherheit (HGI) and other digital research institutions that complement CAIS research programs.
• Universität Duisburg-EssencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder university contributing research expertise in Learning Lab, digital society research, and interdisciplinary projects.
• Heinrich-Heine-Universität DüsseldorfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder university with NRW Forschungskolleg 'Online-Partizipation', DFG research group on political communication, and Düsseldorf Institute for Internet and Democracy (DIID).
• Universität MünstercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder university hosting Institute for Information, Telecommunications and Media Law (ITM), DFG Graduiertenkolleg on trust and communication in digital world, and ERCIS.
• TU DortmundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder technical university contributing interdisciplinary research across 17 faculties in natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and cultural studies.
• Bergische Universität WuppertalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder university with focus on technology and management of digital transformation, Machine Learning and Data Analytics center.
• Grimme-InstitutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder institute known for Grimme Prize and Grimme Online Award, providing expertise in media quality, media education, and media communication research.
• GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für SozialwissenschaftencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder Leibniz institute providing infrastructure for social sciences, data services, and computational social science expertise.
• RWI – Leibniz-Institut für WirtschaftsforschungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder Leibniz institute contributing economic research and evidence-based policy advice for digital transformation impacts.
• Weizenbaum-Institut für die vernetzte GesellschaftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Network of Institutes for Digitalization Research (NIfD). German Internet Institute focusing on networked society research.
• Alexander von Humboldt-Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft (HIIG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NIfD network, conducting research on the internet and digital transformation from legal, social, and economic perspectives.
• Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung/Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NIfD network, focusing on media research and media education with relevance to digital transformation studies.
• Bayerisches Forschungsinstitut für Digitale Transformation (bidt)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NIfD network, conducting research on digital transformation from a Bavarian perspective.
• Zentrum verantwortungsbewusste Digitalisierung (ZEVEDI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NIfD network, focused on responsible digitalization research.
• RC Trust (Research Center Trustworthy Data Science & Security)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-supporter of the conference 'Human-Centered AI' organized by DGPs, working with CAIS on psychological perspectives on AI.
• Universitätsallianz RuhrminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the DGPs conference on human-centered AI together with RC Trust and CAIS.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB): Large Berlin-based social science research institute studying transformation of democracy, digitalization, and inequality — overlapping with CAIS's DDI and T3D programs but operating at a much larger national scale.
• GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften: CAIS shareholder providing infrastructure for social sciences and computational social science expertise; a much larger Leibniz institute with broadly overlapping methodology (survey, computational social science) but a much wider mandate than CAIS.
• RWI – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: CAIS shareholder contributing economic research and evidence-based policy advice on digital transformation; a broader Leibniz economic research institute with comparable evidence-to-policy translation work but a wider economic scope.

Emerging players

• AlgorithmWatch gGmbH: Non-profit civil-society organization researching and advocating on algorithmic decision-making and AI — comparable to CAIS's Trustworthy AI and digital democracy work as a mission-driven organization, though more advocacy-oriented than academic.
• Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (Harvard): Harvard-based interdisciplinary research center studying internet and society; comparable to CAIS in its interdisciplinary approach to digital society, AI governance, and democracy, but operating globally and embedded in a private university rather than state-funded.

Direct peers

• Zentrum verantwortungsbewusste Digitalisierung (ZEVEDI): NIfD partner focused on responsible digitalisation research; comparable to CAIS's Trustworthy AI and digital ethics streams as a small, mission-driven institute tackling digital society challenges.
• Bayerisches Forschungsinstitut für Digitale Transformation (bidt): Bavarian NIfD partner conducting research on digital transformation; directly comparable to CAIS in scope (interdisciplinary digitalisation research) and public funding model, though serving a different German state.
• Weizenbaum-Institut für die vernetzte Gesellschaft: Berlin-based NIfD network partner that conducts interdisciplinary research on the networked society, focusing on digital transformation from social, economic, and legal perspectives — directly comparable to CAIS's mission and structure.
• Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung / Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI): NIfD partner focused on media research and media education with relevance to digital transformation studies; comparable to CAIS as a publicly funded, multi-university-affiliated institute producing interdisciplinary research on digital society.
• Alexander von Humboldt-Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft (HIIG): NIfD partner jointly publishing the Internet Policy Review journal with CAIS; researches internet and digital transformation from legal, social, and economic perspectives and shares CAIS's interdisciplinary, policy-oriented research model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UClCqAar9lGav5spwJOJgrUw
• Facebookfacebook.com/CenterforAdvancedInternetStudies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-advanced-internet-studies
• Instagraminstagram.com/caisnrw

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) gGmbH