European Mathematical Society

What European Mathematical Society does

The European Mathematical Society (EMS) is a not-for-profit learned society founded in 1990 and registered in Finland as "Euroopan matemaattinen seura ry" (Finnish Patent and Registration Office, business ID 1894243-4) at the University of Helsinki's Department of Mathematics and Statistics. It serves as the pan-European body for mathematicians, with a membership base comprising approximately 3,000 individual mathematicians, around 50 mathematical research centres and departments, and roughly 60 national mathematical societies across Europe. The society is governed by an elected Executive Committee (current President: Jan Philip Solovej, 2023–2026, with a successor elected in June 2026 for 2027–2030) and operates with a small staff of 14 based at the Helsinki secretariat.

EMS operates a portfolio of services rather than a discrete product. Its subsidiary EMS Press (European Mathematical Society - EMS - Publishing House GmbH) publishes more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and a growing catalogue of over 200 books, with a stated focus on technology-driven open-access publishing. The society administers named prizes (EMS/ECMI Lanczos Prize for Mathematical Software, Paul Lévy Prize in Probability Theory, Simon Norton Prize for Mathematics Outreach, and the jointly managed Ethel Newbold Prize), runs the EMS Young Academy (EMYA) for early-career mathematicians, and sponsors conferences including the European Congress of Mathematics (ECM), the Meeting of Presidents, and various multilateral and regional conferences. Partners include ECMI, the Bernoulli Society, École Polytechnique and its Fondation, ERCOM, and the University of Helsinki.

Revenue is generated through recurring membership fees (individual, corporate, and student tiers), EMS Press publishing income, and donations (accepted via Stripe). No public pricing, financial statements, or revenue figures are disclosed; the entity is tax-exempt in Finland and holds no VAT number. Distribution is conducted directly through the Helsinki secretariat, the euromathsoc.org website, the EMS Updates newsletter, and event sponsorships, with marketing primarily community-led via a dedicated Community Engagement Manager.

Name

European Mathematical Society

Legal name

Euroopan matemaattinen seura ry

Website

https://euromathsoc.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The European Mathematical Society is a not-for-profit learned society founded in 1990 serving mathematicians across Europe, with ~3,000 individual members, ~50 research centres, and ~60 national mathematical societies. It operates EMS Press (20+ journals, 200+ books), administers prizes, and sponsors conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The EMS generates revenue through individual memberships (approximately 3,000 individual members), corporate memberships from research centers and departments (approximately 50 mathematical research centres and departments), and national mathematical society memberships (around 60 national mathematical societies in Europe).
2. Publishing - EMS Press: EMS Press, the publishing house of the European Mathematical Society, generates revenue through peer-reviewed journals and books. The portfolio includes more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and a growing catalogue of over 200 books.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The European Mathematical Society operates as a not-for-profit learned society for mathematicians throughout Europe. Its core offerings are membership services (individual, corporate/institutional, and student), academic publishing through its wholly-owned subsidiary EMS Press (more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and over 200 books under an open-access model), and community programmes including the European Congress of Mathematics, the EMS Young Academy for early-career mathematicians, the Simons for Africa programme, and a portfolio of mathematical prizes.

Product overview

The European Mathematical Society operates as a learned society offering a unified platform of membership services, not a modular SaaS product. The portfolio includes: EMS Press (the publishing division with 20+ peer-reviewed journals and 200+ books focused on open-access academic publishing); the main membership platform handling individual, corporate, and student memberships; an events management service for conferences including the European Congress of Mathematics; the EMS Prizes program awarding recognition for mathematical software, outreach, and research achievements; and the EMS Young Academy supporting early-career mathematicians. These services are integrated through a common website infrastructure rather than being separate modular products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EMS Press: The publishing house of the European Mathematical Society, dedicated to the promotion and development of mathematics in Europe, with a digital and print portfolio of more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and a growing catalogue of over 200 books.

Products and services

• EMS Press The publishing house of the European Mathematical Society, offering a digital and print portfolio of more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and a growing catalogue of over 200 books. Built on technology-driven open-access workflows and aimed at academic libraries, researchers and mathematics readers worldwide.
• EMS Membership Programme (Individual, Corporate, Student) Recurring paid memberships for individual mathematicians, student members, and corporate/institutional members (national mathematical societies and research centres/departments). Provides community affiliation, governance participation, access to activities, and eligibility for EMS programmes and prizes.
• EMS Young Academy (EMYA) A programme of the European Mathematical Society dedicated to early-career mathematicians, strengthening their voice within the EMS and supporting their participation in the future of the European mathematical community.
• European Congress of Mathematics (ECM) The flagship conference of the European Mathematical Society, organised as a major gathering for mathematicians across Europe with associated prizes and sponsored activities.
• EMS Job Board Online job listing service hosted on the EMS website for academic and research mathematics positions across Europe.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 43,000 visitors reached by Simon Norton Prize winner CUBOID museum in first year

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ECMI (European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Joint establishment of the EMS/ECMI Lanczos Prize for Mathematical Software in 2023. The prize recognizes outstanding mathematical software with applications in mathematics, science, engineering, society or industry. The prize is awarded every two years with a cash prize of €3,000.
• Bernoulli SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint administration of the Ethel Newbold Prize, recognizing outstanding early- or mid-career scientists in mathematical statistics and related areas. The prize consists of €2,500 and an award certificate.
• École Polytechnique and Fondation de l'École PolytechniqueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint creation of the Paul Lévy Prize in Probability Theory, honoring outstanding contributions to probability theory and its applications, with support from Paul Lévy's family and BNP Paribas.
• ERCOM (European Research Centres for Mathematics Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERCOM is a network of European mathematics research centres. The EMS maintains a link to ERCOM on its website under Activities, indicating collaboration on mathematical research promotion.
• EMS Press (European Mathematical Society - EMS - Publishing House GmbH)coreOthersThe publishing house subsidiary of the European Mathematical Society, responsible for publishing more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and over 200 books. Operates as a not-for-profit organization committed to fair and sustainable open access.
• University of HelsinkiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe EMS is registered at and shares administrative facilities with the University of Helsinki's Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The Community Engagement Manager (Markus Juvonen) is also affiliated with the University of Helsinki.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics: SIAM is an international learned society for applied and computational mathematics, operating membership programmes, peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and prizes — closely comparable to EMS in structure but with a more applied/industrial orientation.
• Institute of Mathematical Statistics: The IMS is the international professional society for statisticians and probabilists, running peer-reviewed journals, meetings, and awards. Its membership, publishing, and awards model closely mirrors EMS Press and EMS prize programmes in an adjacent mathematical discipline.
• American Mathematical Society: The AMS is the largest professional society for mathematicians in the United States, offering membership programmes, peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and prizes — closely mirroring EMS's core operating model but serving the North American community. Both societies share mission, structure, and publishing-portfolio characteristics.
• London Mathematical Society: The LMS is the UK national learned society for mathematics, operating membership programmes, journals, prizes, and grants for the mathematical community. It is structurally identical to a smaller version of EMS but serves the UK specifically — a natural national-society peer within Europe.
• Bernoulli Society: The Bernoulli Society is a global learned society focused on probability and mathematical statistics, co-administering the Ethel Newbold Prize with EMS. It mirrors EMS's learned-society and prize-administration model in a narrower sub-discipline.
• Mathematical Association of America: The MAA is the largest professional society in the US focused on undergraduate mathematics education, journals, and competitions. It is comparable to EMS in mission and activity mix but with a stronger emphasis on teaching and outreach rather than research-only.
• International Mathematical Union: The IMU is the global learned society for mathematics, organising the International Congress of Mathematicians and coordinating international mathematical initiatives. It operates at the global layer above EMS, making it a closely comparable peer in mission, structure, and convening role.

Others

• zbMATH: zbMATH is the world's most comprehensive mathematical review and bibliographic database, partnered with EMS and listed as a community partner on its website. It serves an ecosystem role enabling EMS Press authors and members rather than directly competing.

Regional players

• African Mathematical Union: The African Mathematical Union is the continental learned society for mathematicians in Africa, the regional counterpart to EMS for Europe. EMS's Simons for Africa programme creates a partnership pathway, making it a thematically adjacent regional peer.

Broad incumbents

• European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry: ECMI is a European consortium promoting mathematics in industry, co-administering the EMS/ECMI Lanczos Prize with EMS. It is a peer-level institutional partner in the European mathematical ecosystem rather than a direct competitor, with overlapping membership and prize-administration activity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/european-mathematical-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 European Mathematical Society