What Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra) does

The Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE; legal name: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra) is a public research institute jointly established in 2008 by CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. It concentrates approximately 130 researchers across 25 specialized research groups working on three programmatic pillars: discovering life, unraveling evolution, and conserving biodiversity. Core technical domains include evolutionary genomics, paleogenomics and paleoproteomics (ancient DNA analysis), biodiversity research (e.g., butterfly species complexes, marine organisms), and conservation biology. Research outputs are disseminated via peer-reviewed publication in journals such as Nature, Science, PNAS, and Molecular Biology and Evolution, alongside scientific-technical services to internal and external researchers.

IBE's business model is non-commercial. Revenue and operating support come entirely from institutional grants and public funding streams — CSIC, UPF, the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, the Generalitat de Catalunya (Department of Research and Universities, via Incasòl), and the Barcelona City Council. IBE does not sell products or services to commercial customers and has no venture or private equity involvement. Distribution of research outputs occurs through academic publications, open data initiatives, scientific conferences, and structured public outreach including the annual BiodIBErsity Day, the #WhoisyourSHERo campaign, an educator training course (with FCRI support), and the Barcelona Zoo Biobank partnership (a southern European reference for conservation biobanking).

A defining strategic initiative is the Mercat del Peix research complex: a 46,000 m² innovation campus shared with UPF and BIST, with IBE occupying a dedicated 6,500 m² building, total investment €92.8M, targeting LEED Platinum certification and a 2026 opening. ZGF Architects + MIRAG + Double Twist won the architectural competition in December 2022. Leadership comprises Salvador Carranza (Director) and Anna Pérez Lezaun (Managing Director, appointed 2009; previously Head of UPF Genomics Service and Executive Director of CEGEN). Planned scale at the new facility is up to 35 research groups, including two new programs in Conservation and Evolution of Behavior.

Name

Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

Legal name

Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (IBE, CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

Website

https://ibe.upf-csic.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) is a joint CSIC-UPF public research institute in Barcelona, Spain, conducting genomics, paleogenomics, biodiversity, and conservation research with approximately 130 researchers across 25 groups, funded by Spanish and Catalan government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: Public funding from CSIC, UPF, Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, and Barcelona City Council for research programs and infrastructure projects

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) is a joint CSIC-UPF research center conducting scientific research in evolutionary biology, biodiversity conservation, genomics, paleogenomics, and evolutionary behavior. It organizes approximately 130 researchers across 25 research groups, delivers scientific-technical laboratory services to internal and external researchers, and runs educational programs for teachers and science outreach for the general public.

Product overview

The Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) is a joint research center of CSIC and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), established in 2008. IBE operates as a unified research institution offering scientific research programs in evolutionary biology, biodiversity conservation, and related disciplines, supported by dedicated scientific-technical services and specialized research laboratories. The institute provides educational services including training courses for educators, conducts public science outreach, and is expanding through the Mercat del Peix infrastructure project. IBE brings together approximately 130 researchers organized into 25 research groups working across its core research domains of discovering life, unraveling evolution, and conserving biodiversity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Programs in Evolutionary Biology Core scientific research programs focusing on discovering life, unraveling evolution, and conserving biodiversity, including studies in genomics, evolutionary biology, and conservation, for the academic and scientific community.
• Scientific-Technical Services Laboratory and research infrastructure services provided to internal and external researchers, including access to specialized equipment and technical support in genomics and related fields.
• Research Labs Specialized research laboratories conducting studies across various domains of evolutionary biology, biodiversity, and conservation science, organized into research groups.
• Evolutionary Biology Course for Educators Training program for secondary school biology teachers providing updates on evolutionary biology knowledge and educational resources, organized with FCRI support.
• Public Outreach Programs Science communication and public engagement initiatives including the #WhoisyourSHERo campaign highlighting female scientists and various outreach activities targeting the general public.
• Publications and Research Outputs Scientific publications, cover gallery, and research articles documenting discoveries in evolutionary biology, genomics, and biodiversity, published in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Science, PNAS, and Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació (FCRI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023FCRI supported the IBE's Evolutionary Biology Course for Educators program, providing backing for science education outreach activities.
• ZGF Architects + MIRAG + Double TwistminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022Architecture consortium selected to design and supervise construction of IBE's new headquarters at Mercat del Peix, awarded the project through a two-phase international competition.
• Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021BIST is a strategic partner in the Mercat del Peix project, which will house a new research complex including IBE's future headquarters alongside BIST's new building dedicated to precision medicine research.
• Barcelona City Council (Ajuntament de Barcelona)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Barcelona City Council is the main promoter of the Mercat del Peix project, providing urban planning approvals and funding for the research complex where IBE's new headquarters will be located.
• Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The Catalan Government, through the Department of Research and Universities and Incasòl, is co-financing the Mercat del Peix project including IBE's new building (EMC/954/2019 funding).
• Fundación Barcelona Zoo BiobankminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020IBE participates in the Barcelona Zoo Biobank project for conservation and animal tissue/cell banking, serving as a reference for southern Europe.
• CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008CSIC is the Spanish National Research Council, Spain's largest public research institution. CSIC co-founded IBE with UPF in 2008 as a joint research institute focused on evolutionary biology, biodiversity, and conservation research.
• Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008UPF is a public university in Barcelona. Together with CSIC, UPF co-founded IBE in 2008 as a mixed research center. IBE is currently housed on UPF's Ciutadella campus.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental European research organization for life sciences with sites across Europe. Comparable as a publicly funded, European-scope molecular biology research organization, though significantly larger and broader in scope than IBE's evolutionary biology niche.
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: US-based genomic medicine and biological research institute jointly operated by MIT, Harvard, and affiliated hospitals. Comparable as a large-scale genomics and evolutionary biology research institute, though with significant biomedical and translational focus beyond IBE's biodiversity/conservation scope.
• Wellcome Sanger Institute: UK-based genomics and biodata research institute funded by Wellcome. Comparable as a leading genomics research institute with evolutionary and biodiversity applications, though much larger and more focused on human health genomics.
• Pasteur Institute: French non-profit foundation dedicated to research in biology, microorganisms, diseases, and vaccines. Comparable as a large, publicly-aligned European life sciences research institute with similar mixed funding model, though focused more on infectious disease and immunology than evolutionary biology.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI): US-based non-profit biomedical research organization funding research across hundreds of laboratories. Comparable as a large, publicly-aligned biomedical/life sciences research funder with similar academic-output model, though operating model (distributed labs at universities) differs from IBE's single-site structure.

Direct peers

• Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG): A public research institute in Barcelona co-located within the PRBB building alongside IBE, focused on genomics, bioinformatics, and systems biology. Highly comparable as a public Spanish/European research institute with overlapping genomics infrastructure and shared scientific-technical services ecosystem.
• Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology: Publicly funded German research institute focused specifically on evolutionary biology, including evolutionary genetics and evolutionary ecology. Directly comparable mission, governance model (Max Planck Society), and research scope to IBE's evolutionary biology focus.
• Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW): German public research institute focused on wildlife and conservation biology, including reproductive biology, diseases, and biodiversity. Comparable as a publicly funded conservation biology research institute with similar academic-output model and government funding structure.

Others

• Natural History Museum, London: UK-based museum and research institution focused on natural history, taxonomy, and biodiversity science. Comparable as a complementary research ecosystem participant in biodiversity genomics, conservation science, and public outreach, though operating as a museum rather than pure research institute.
• Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB): The shared biomedical research park in Barcelona where IBE currently operates from the PRBB building. Comparable as a co-located research infrastructure ecosystem and ecosystem participant, rather than a direct research competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IBE_Barcelona
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5QUHpExNPNsW-0EM1utCng
• Facebookfacebook.com/IBEvolutiva
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-of-evolutionary-biology

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra)