What Time Machine Organisation does

Time Machine Organisation (TMO) is a Vienna-based non-profit association founded in October 2019 that coordinates the European Time Machine initiative. The organisation employs 13 people and operates a consortium of 33 founding partner institutions across Europe, anchored by EPFL (project lead, with Frédéric Kaplan as Project Lead), Europeana, ARTE, and European Commission-affiliated bodies. Its mission is to advance the digitisation, preservation, and intelligent exploration of European cultural heritage using artificial intelligence and big data, by orchestrating Local Time Machines — regional projects that transform fragmented historical records into interoperable digital assets.

TMO's core programmatic surface comprises Local Time Machines (regionally focused digitisation projects), TMO Synergy Grants (collaborative research funding), project scouting, the TMO Academies (skills and training), Requests for Comments (RFCs, standards and methodology), and an annual conference. The underlying technology stack combines AI, large-scale data processing, and cultural informatics; TMO functions as the coordination, governance, and standard-setting layer rather than as a primary AI developer, with research execution distributed across partner institutions.

TMO's business model is grant-funded and non-commercial. It was established on the back of an EU Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action with a total project cost of €1,215,578.79 (EU contribution €997,930) running March 2019 to February 2020. Inclusion in the Austrian Government Programme 2020/2024 provides a secondary public funding stream. The customer base is institutional — universities, archives, libraries, and cultural heritage bodies — and revenue is functionally tied to public-sector research and policy funding cycles rather than commercial contracts or licensing.

Name

Time Machine Organisation

Legal name

Time Machine Organisation

Website

https://timemachine.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Time Machine Organisation is a Vienna-based non-profit coordinating the European Time Machine initiative, advancing AI- and big-data-driven digitisation of cultural heritage through a 33-institution consortium, funded primarily by EU research grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Cultural Heritage Research and Coordination

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Development & ICT4D / GovTech Technical Assistance (BPADAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Enterprise Architecture & Technology Roadmapping (BPAEAAAC)

Keywords

• Cultural heritage digitisation
• Digital humanities research
• 3D historical reconstruction
• Big data archival
• AI heritage analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. EU Research Grants: Time Machine Organisation operates as a not-for-profit association funded primarily through EU research grants. The CSA received €997,930 in Horizon 2020 funding for preparation of strategic research roadmaps.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Time Machine Organisation coordinates a pan-European research initiative to digitise and apply AI to Europe's cultural heritage, channelling activity through Local Time Machine projects that produce 3D/4D digital reconstructions of historical sites and archives, the TMO Synergy Grants Programme that funds collaborative projects, a Project Scouting Service that surfaces funding and partnership opportunities, and Time Machine Academies that deliver education and capacity-building in digital heritage technologies. All outputs are provided on an open-access, non-commercial basis through the partner network of 33 founding institutions.

Product overview

Time Machine Organisation operates as a coordination and research support organization for the European Time Machine initiative—a major research effort to digitize and create AI-powered access to Europe's cultural heritage. Rather than a single commercial product, the organization coordinates a portfolio of programmes including Local Time Machine projects (regional 3D digitization initiatives), the TMO Synergy Grants Programme (for funding collaborative work), Project Scouting Services (for opportunity identification), Time Machine Academies (educational programmes), Requests for Comments (standards development), and annual conferences. The core focus is on research coordination rather than commercial product delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Local Time Machines (LTM) A coordinated network of local and regional projects that develop 3D digital reconstructions of historical sites, cities, and cultural collections across Europe. Targeted at European cities, cultural heritage organisations, and research institutions seeking to virtualise their local heritage.
• TMO Synergy Grants Programme A funding programme that awards grants to support collaborative projects and initiatives within the Time Machine network. Targeted at researchers and partner institutions undertaking collaborative cultural heritage work.
• Project Scouting Service A service that identifies and evaluates project opportunities, funding opportunities, and open calls for participation in the Time Machine ecosystem. Targeted at Time Machine members and partner institutions seeking funding and project opportunities.
• Time Machine Academies Educational programmes and training initiatives that build capacity and knowledge sharing around digital heritage and time machine technologies. Targeted at researchers, students, and practitioners in the cultural heritage and digital humanities communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12-month preparation phase with €1M funding leading to 10-year strategic roadmaps

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• EuropeanaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 December 2019Partnership between Time Machine and Europeana Foundation promoting the future of European cultural heritage through digital means. Europeana is Europe's platform for digital cultural heritage.
• 33 Founding Partner InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2019Time Machine consortium consisting of 33 founding partner institutions from across Europe, including EPFL (lead), European universities, research institutions, and cultural heritage organisations.
• EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading technical institution and project lead for the Time Machine initiative, hosting key researchers including Frédéric Kaplan as Project Lead.
• ARTE (European TV network)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerARTE produced documentary content on Time Machine including 'Europe Time Machine: Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence' and 'Europe Time Machine: Historical Sites in Danger'.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ARIADNE Infrastructure: ARIADNE is a European research infrastructure integrating archaeological datasets across institutions. It is a direct peer in pan-European heritage-data aggregation, sharing Time Machine's reliance on inter-institutional collaboration and EU grant funding.
• Digital Public Library of America (DPLA): DPLA is a US non-profit digital library aggregating materials from libraries, archives, and museums. Its mission to digitise and provide free access to cultural heritage closely mirrors Time Machine Organisation's scope, including a network-of-institutions model and focus on large-scale aggregation.
• Europeana Foundation: Europeana is the EU's flagship platform for digital cultural heritage and a direct strategic partner of Time Machine Organisation. Both organisations operate at the pan-European level to aggregate digital heritage assets and provide open access, with TMO's research roadmap complementing Europeana's platform role.
• Internet Archive: Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library preserving cultural artefacts, websites, and historical media. It shares Time Machine Organisation's mission of large-scale heritage digitisation, open access, and programmatic community engagement around historical data.

Others

• UNESCO Memory of the World: UNESCO Memory of the World is an international programme safeguarding documentary heritage. While not a technology platform, it is philosophically aligned with Time Machine Organisation's mission of preserving and providing access to cultural heritage, and operates as a coordinating enabler for global heritage initiatives.

Broad incumbents

• Smithsonian Institution - Digital Programs: The Smithsonian's Open Access initiative released millions of digital assets and 3D models of heritage objects. It is a broad incumbent in cultural heritage digitisation with comparable open-access and 3D modelling ambitions but operates at national US scale with significant public funding.
• Google Arts & Culture: Google Arts & Culture is a large-scale commercial platform offering high-resolution digitisation of cultural heritage assets and 3D walkthroughs of historical sites. It is comparable to Time Machine's Local Time Machines and 4D reconstruction ambitions but operates at global scale with proprietary, well-funded infrastructure.
• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) - Gallica: Gallica is the national digital library of France operated by BnF, providing free access to centuries of digitised French heritage. It is comparable to Time Machine's vision of large-scale free-access cultural heritage, although narrowly national in scope and well-established.

Emerging players

• OpenGLAM: OpenGLAM is a global initiative advocating open access to cultural heritage held by galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. It is a thematic peer sharing Time Machine Organisation's mission of open, fair, and free access to cultural heritage, though it operates primarily as an advocacy community rather than a funded research programme.
• Europeana Sounds: Europeana Sounds is a thematic aggregator for audio heritage within the Europeana ecosystem. It is comparable to Time Machine's narrower focus on digitising and aggregating particular heritage modalities across European institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/timemachineorganisation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Time Machine Organisation