NEOS Lab

What NEOS Lab does

NEOS Lab – Das liberale Forum is an Austrian non-profit association (Verein) headquartered in Vienna, founded in 2015 as the research, policy, and educational arm of the NEOS political party. It operates under the tagline "Das offene Labor für neue Politik" (the open laboratory for new politics) and styles itself as the "pink think tank," combining evidence-based policy research with civic education. The organization serves three primary audiences: politically interested Austrian citizens seeking liberal-political education, members of the NEOS party receiving training resources, and European policy researchers and analysts who collaborate on studies and policy briefs. Helmut Brandstätter serves as President; the research team includes named Senior Researchers such as Silvia Nadjivan and Clemens Ableidinger.

The product portfolio centers on two interconnected core offerings. The NEOS Lab Thinktank functions as a knowledge portal producing scientific studies, policy briefs, and data analyses through international cooperation (notably with the European Liberal Forum) and participatory collaboration. The NEOS Lab Academy, launched in 2020, is a free digital learning platform (LMS) delivering courses, trainings, and workshops on liberal politics, the Austrian political system, and European affairs, accessible to any interested user without registration fees or NEOS membership requirements. Supporting features include a Blog with current political commentary, the "amPunkt" Podcast, a political Glossary, an Events program (including the NEOS Lab Gemeindetage municipal events), a Newsletter, and a Publications catalog covering topics such as the European economy, labor market, climate policy, and democracy.

NEOS Lab operates as a non-commercial, non-revenue entity under Austrian law. All Academy content, events, and educational materials are provided free of charge, with no subscription, course, or registration fees. Income sources are not publicly disclosed but are inferred to flow from the affiliated NEOS party budget, possible ELF/network grants, and donations. The organization has roughly 11 employees, no external venture or institutional investors, and no subsidiaries. Its relationship with NEOS, JUNOS, and UNOS is governed under a joint data-processing arrangement per GDPR Article 26.

Name

NEOS Lab

Legal name

NEOS Lab – Das liberale Forum

Website

https://lab.neos.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NEOS Lab is a Vienna-based non-profit think tank affiliated with Austria's NEOS political party. It produces liberal-policy research, publications, and the free NEOS Lab Academy digital learning platform for politically interested citizens, party members, and European policy researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Think Tank and Political Education Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (61171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Simulation-Based Learning & Virtual Labs (EDAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Political education
• Policy research
• Think tank services
• Digital learning platform
• Civic engagement training

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NEOS Lab operates two core offerings: the NEOS Lab Academy, a free digital learning platform providing courses and training on political education, liberal politics, European affairs, and the Austrian political system; and the NEOS Lab Thinktank, a knowledge portal that produces scientific studies, policy briefs, and data analyses based on international cooperation. Both offerings are open and free to access for any interested person, without requiring NEOS party membership.

Product overview

NEOS Lab operates as an open laboratory for new politics, functioning as a think tank and educational organization. Its product portfolio consists primarily of two interconnected core offerings: the NEOS Lab Academy (a digital learning platform) and the NEOS Lab Thinktank (a knowledge portal). These are supported by content features including a Blog, Podcast (amPunkt), Publications, and Glossary, along with service features for Events and Newsletter. All educational content on the Academy platform is provided free of charge and is open to all interested persons. The Thinktank produces scientific studies, policy briefs, and data analyses that form the knowledge base for evidence-based political work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NEOS Lab Academy: The digital learning platform of NEOS Lab offering free political education, courses and training programs for new politics.

Products and services

• NEOS Lab Academy Digital learning platform offering free education and further training for new politics. Provides courses, trainings, and workshops on political education, liberal politics, European affairs, and the Austrian political system, accessible to all interested persons without requiring NEOS party membership.
• NEOS Lab Thinktank Knowledge portal for liberal politics that produces scientific studies, policy briefs, data analyses, and publications based on international cooperation and participatory collaboration. The Thinktank covers topics such as European economy, labor market, climate policy, and democracy.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Renew Europe: Pan-European liberal political group in the European Parliament aligned with NEOS. Its affiliated foundation and policy work represent both a partner and a peer in producing liberal policy positions and political education content for European audiences.
• Agenda Austria: Austrian economic and policy think tank that produces studies, policy briefs, and data analyses on similar topics (labor market, economy, public policy). It is the leading Austrian policy think tank competitor and serves as a direct comparison point for research output and influence.
• European Liberal Forum (ELF): Pan-European liberal think tank network that NEOS Lab already collaborates with on publications. ELF operates a similar model of policy research, publications, and political education across European liberal parties, making it the closest functional peer.
• Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom: German liberal political foundation affiliated with the FDP, combining policy research, political education programs, and digital learning platforms. Its dual think tank + civic education model closely mirrors NEOS Lab's structure at a larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Bruegel: Leading European economic think tank producing high-quality policy research and data-driven analysis. While not party-affiliated and not focused on civic education, its research output and European policy footprint are benchmarks NEOS Lab may aspire to.
• Chatham House: Established international affairs think tank producing policy research, publications, and events. Represents the upper-bound of think tank scale and brand authority that any policy-oriented research organization aspires to.
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung: Large German political foundation with extensive civic education programs, publications, and international conferences. Operates a similar think tank + education model at much greater scale, with established global infrastructure NEOS Lab could learn from.
• Politico Europe: European political news and policy intelligence platform covering EU affairs, politics, and policy. Represents the media-and-education hybrid model targeting politically engaged citizens similar to NEOS Lab's audience.
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung: German political foundation affiliated with the Greens, producing policy studies, hosting events, and offering political education. Comparable in combining ideological research orientation with broad civic education programming.
• Open Society Foundations: Global philanthropic foundation funding policy research, civic education, and democratic engagement initiatives. Its scale, scope, and focus on democratic values are conceptually adjacent to NEOS Lab's mission at a much larger order of magnitude.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/neos-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 NEOS Lab