Life Science Network
Life Science Network gGmbH operates a modular professional networking platform for life sciences researchers, offering job postings, publications, preprints, protocols, events, and news across interconnected sub-brands serving 100,000+ global users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersHeidelberg, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Life Science Network does
Life Science Network gGmbH, founded in 2011 in Heidelberg, Germany by alumni of EMBL and Heidelberg University, operates a modular professional networking and information-sharing platform for the global life sciences community. The platform serves academic research institutions (including KU Leuven, Columbia, EMBL, Max Planck, Francis Crick, and the European Patent Office), life sciences and biotech companies (Thorlabs, Coherent, BioMed X, D.E. Shaw Research), and individual researchers seeking career opportunities, scientific publications, and peer networking. The company has built an interconnected ecosystem of five platforms — Life Science Network, Science HR, Engineering HR, Science Events, and Scientific Today — sharing a single database, single sign-on, and a combined 100,000+ registered users across more than 20 countries.
The core Life Science Network platform comprises nine functional modules — Jobs, Protocols, Events, Publications, Preprints, News, Journal Content, Abstracts, and a Network/World directory — built on a Python/Django stack with PostgreSQL on Heroku/AWS infrastructure. The platform integrates OAuth authentication via LinkedIn and Google, embeds Google Maps API for event localization, ingests journal content from publications such as Science, Cell, and Nature, and uses Plotly for interactive data visualizations. Beyond the marketplace, the company delivers custom web application development, data repositories, and dissemination platforms for research organizations and EU-funded consortia, drawing on more than a decade of platform engineering experience (including the EPI-Net epidemiology platform operated for the University of Verona under the COMBACTE-MAGNET consortium from 2017 to 2022).
Revenue is generated through a diversified mix: paid job postings starting at 225 EUR / 275 USD (with promoted tiers up to 1,100 USD and bundle discounts of up to 30%), event posting fees across three tiers (275 / 550 / 1,100 USD), commercial article publishing at 275 / 1,100 USD, premium user subscriptions, prepaid accounts with bulk pricing, and bespoke web development and EU-consortium communication services. Distribution is self-serve and global, with cross-network syndication automatically propagating paid job posts to Science HR and Engineering HR. Since 2016, the platform has hosted 67,833 job ads from 904 employers, evolving from a niche job board into a multi-module research infrastructure provider for the life sciences community.
Life Science Network firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Life Science Network
- Legal name
- Life Science Network gGmbH
- Website
- https://lifescience.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Life Science Network gGmbH operates a modular professional networking platform for life sciences researchers, offering job postings, publications, preprints, protocols, events, and news across interconnected sub-brands serving 100,000+ global users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Life Science Network industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Scientific Professional Networking Platform
- NAICS
- Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Information (51), All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54199)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence (HLAGAJAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Life Sciences & Biotechnology Congresses (THAHAJAB), Technical & Scientific Expert Networks (BPAHALAH)
Keywords
Where Life Science Network is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Heidelberg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Life Science Network business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Job Posting Services: Paid job posts starting at 225 EUR (275 USD) for standard listings. Promoted job posts offer increased visibility with additional promotion. Job post packages with up to 30% discount available. Fully automated integration and import of job posts. Paid job posts have unlimited duration until application deadline.
- Event Posting Services: Commercial event posting: Standard 275 USD (225 EUR), Standard Plus 550 USD (450 EUR) with social media sharing, Promoted 1100 USD (900 EUR) with personalized content streams and home page features. Non-commercial events (non-profit, academic) are free.
- News Article Publishing: Commercial article publishing: Standard 275 USD (225 EUR) for 12+ month visibility, Promoted 1100 USD (900 EUR) with personalized content streams. Non-commercial articles from academic institutions are free.
- Premium Subscriptions: Premium subscription services offering enhanced features and visibility for users seeking additional platform benefits.
- Web Development Services: Custom web application development, data repository and management systems, and data analysis and visualization services for research organizations and consortia.
- Communication and Dissemination Services: Professional services for EU-funded research consortia including website development, custom networking platforms, content dissemination, event organization support, and data repository management.
- Prepaid Account: Users can deposit funds into prepaid accounts for quick and easy posting until depleted, with significant discounts available for bulk orders.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Job Post - 225 EUR starting price |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Job Post Packages - Up to 30% discount |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Event Posting - 275 USD |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Plus Event - 550 USD |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Promoted Event - 1100 USD |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Article Publishing - 275 USD |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Promoted Article - 1100 USD |
| Professional services/ project-based | Pay-as-you-go | Content Creation Service - Additional 135 USD |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Life Science Network product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Life Science Network operates a modular professional networking and information platform for the life sciences, combining paid job postings, event promotion, article publishing, and free content modules (publications, preprints, protocols, journal content) with optional premium user subscriptions. The company also sells custom web development and communication/dissemination services to research organizations and EU-funded consortia.
Product overview
Life Science Network operates a modular platform for professional networking and information sharing in life sciences, comprising core modules including Jobs, Protocols, Events, Publications, Preprints, News, Journal Content, and Abstracts. The platform is supplemented by related platforms (Science HR for scientific career resources, Science Events for scientific meeting management, and Scientific Today for science news) and services including custom web development and communication/dissemination services for EU research consortia.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Science HR: A specialized career portal for scientists and engineers, connecting top talent with job opportunities in academia and industry.
- Science Events
- Scientific Today
- Research Elements
Products and services
- Life Science Network Platform Modular professional networking and information platform for the life sciences, combining paid job postings, event promotion, article publishing, and free content modules (publications, preprints, protocols, journal content, abstracts) with optional premium user subscriptions. Targets employers (universities, research institutes, biotech/pharma companies) and individual researchers globally.
- Science HR
Quantifiable outcome
- 67,833 job ads featured since 2016
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Life Science Network
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Life Science Network technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature4 records
Life Science Network partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Science HRcoreScience HR is a related platform sharing resources with Life Science Network. It uses the same database and single-sign-on system. Job posts on Life Science Network are automatically featured on Science HR. Part of the Life Science Network gGmbH ecosystem of platforms.
- Engineering HRcoreEngineering HR is a related platform sharing resources with Life Science Network. It uses the same database and single-sign-on system. Part of the Life Science Network gGmbH ecosystem of platforms for scientific professionals.
- Science EventscoreScience Events (sci.events) is a platform under Life Science Network gGmbH that helps scientists organize conferences and workshops. It shares resources with Life Science Network. Over 30 scientific meetings have been hosted on early versions of the platform.
- Scientific TodaycoreScientific Today is a related platform sharing resources with Life Science Network. It uses the same database and single-sign-on system. Content may be displayed across related sites to maximize visibility.
- EPI-NetmajorEPI-Net (epidemiology network) was established in 2015 under the EU-funded COMBACTE-MAGNET consortium of the ND4BB programme. Life Science Network gGmbH created and managed the EPI-Net platform from 2017 to 2022, supporting the University of Verona. The platform facilitates handling of antimicrobial resistance and outbreak data.
- University of VeronamajorPartner for EPI-Net platform development and management. Life Science Network gGmbH supported the university from 2017 to 2022 in building the epidemiology network platform.
- EMBL AlumniminorLife Science Network was founded by alumni of EMBL and Heidelberg University. This connection provides domain expertise and network access within the European life sciences community.
- Heidelberg University AlumniminorLife Science Network was founded by alumni of Heidelberg University. This connection provides academic credibility and connection to the German research community.
- EU Research ConsortiamajorLife Science Network gGmbH provides communication and dissemination services to EU-funded research projects. They join consortia as partners to manage communication work packages. Experience with Horizon Europe MSCA-DN grants.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Life Science Network competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BioSpace: BioSpace is a leading life sciences and biotechnology industry job board and news platform, directly comparable to Life Science Network's biotech/industry customer segment. Both platforms combine job postings, company profiles, and news content for the life sciences workforce.
- ResearchGate: ResearchGate operates a scientific professional networking and publication-sharing platform with tens of millions of researchers, directly competing with Life Science Network's networking, publications, and preprint modules. Both target life sciences communities with integrated profile, content, and job functionality.
- Academia.edu: Academia.edu is a large academic social networking and paper-sharing platform serving researchers across disciplines including life sciences. It competes with Life Science Network's publication sharing and networking modules with a much larger global user base.
- Science Careers (AAAS): Science Careers, operated by AAAS, is a dedicated scientific job board and career resource hub competing directly for life sciences job postings. It serves the same employer base (universities, research institutes) with similar paid job posting models.
- Nature Portfolio (Naturejobs): Nature Portfolio's Naturejobs is the leading dedicated life sciences and scientific job board, directly competing for paid job postings from the same academic and biotech employer base that Life Science Network serves. Both monetize recruitment in the same vertical with tiered pricing models.
Broad incumbents
- Mendeley (Elsevier): Mendeley, owned by Elsevier, is a reference manager and academic social network with literature management features competing with Life Science Network's publication and protocol modules. It serves a similar scientific researcher audience at much larger scale.
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the dominant broad professional networking platform with a massive life sciences user base and integrated recruiting tools, competing with Life Science Network's job board and networking functionality at scale. It serves as both a substitute and a complementary channel via OAuth integration.
- Karger Publishers: Karger Publishers is a scientific publishing company specializing in biomedical and life sciences content with journals, news, and event listings. It overlaps with Life Science Network's news, journal content, and event modules from a publisher-side perspective.
Emerging players
- ORCID: ORCID provides persistent researcher identifiers and a research information infrastructure increasingly embedded in academic publishing workflows. It is an emerging complementary infrastructure that overlaps with Life Science Network's researcher profile and publication modules.
- Conference Compass: Conference Compass provides event management and conference app solutions for scientific and professional associations, directly comparable to Life Science Network's Science Events platform offering registration, abstract handling, and program features.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Life Science Network social profiles
Digital presenceLife Science Network financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Life Science Network leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Life Science Network funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Life Science Network M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Life Science Network
What does Life Science Network do?
Life Science Network operates a modular professional networking and information platform for the life sciences, combining paid job postings, event promotion, article publishing, and free content modules (publications, preprints, protocols, journal content) with optional premium user subscriptions. The company also sells custom web development and communication/dissemination services to research organizations and EU-funded consortia.
Is Life Science Network a public or private company?
Life Science Network is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Life Science Network founded?
Life Science Network was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Life Science Network based?
Life Science Network is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Life Science Network make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Job Posting Services are the primary driver. The others are event Posting Services, news Article Publishing, premium Subscriptions, web Development Services, communication and Dissemination Services and prepaid Account.
Who are Life Science Network's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BioSpace, ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Science Careers (AAAS) and Nature Portfolio (Naturejobs). Broad incumbents are Mendeley (Elsevier), LinkedIn and Karger Publishers. Emerging players are ORCID and Conference Compass.
Does Life Science Network have an API?
No public API is recorded for Life Science Network.
What industry is Life Science Network in?
Life Science Network's product category is Scientific Professional Networking Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAN, Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence, with a secondary code of THAHAJAB, Life Sciences & Biotechnology Congresses. Its NAICS code is 5131 and its SIC code is 8600.