WAV Recherchekollektiv

What WAV Recherchekollektiv does

WAV Recherchekollektiv is a Zurich-based nonprofit research cooperative (Genossenschaft WAV) founded in 2021 that conducts data-driven investigative journalism on Swiss politics, finance, and corporate accountability. The organization employs 7–9 researchers, designers, IT specialists, and communications staff who systematically apply Switzerland's Freedom of Information Act (Öffentlichkeitsgesetz), open-source intelligence (OSINT), database analysis, supply-chain mapping, and interactive data journalism to expose undisclosed financial flows, corporate misconduct, and government decision-making. Core products include interactive transparency platforms — moneyinpolitics.ch (political finance, co-developed with Lobbywatch, investigativ.ch, and opendata.ch) and spotlightonblackrock.ch — alongside large thematic research projects such as Tausend Milliarden Franken Verantwortung (Swiss public pension fund investments, with CORRECTIV.Schweiz), Wem gehört Zürich? (Zurich land-registry analysis), and investigative series including the Swiss Frontex Files (with Das Lamm), Palantir in Switzerland (with Republik), and Intellexa/Predator (with Amnesty Security Lab and international partners).

The revenue model is dual and structurally independent of commercial clients. First, WAV conducts commissioned research on a project basis for Swiss NGOs including Public Eye, Campax, WWF Schweiz, Klima-Allianz Schweiz, HEKS, FIZ, Koalition für Konzernverantwortung, and Algorithm Watch CH, following journalistic and/or social science standards. Second, the organization is funded entirely by donations and grants from a broad base of civil-society foundations — Volkart Stiftung, Stiftung Temperatio, Stiftung Mercator Schweiz, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, Fondation Leenaards, FAIRster Foundation, JournaFONDS, investigativ.ch, Stiftung Hamasil, Stiftung für Medienvielfalt, and others — explicitly excluding advertisers, patrons, and lobbying organizations. No public pricing exists; commissioned work is project-quoted and grants cover overhead.

Distribution is channeled through Swiss editorial partners — WOZ Die Wochenzeitung, Republik, Das Lamm, Tsüri.ch, Heidi.news, Beobachter, and Hauptstadt — which co-publish its investigations, supplemented by the organization's own website, a Mailchimp newsletter, and Instagram/LinkedIn. Documented impact includes disclosure of CHF 638 million in pension fund armaments investments across eight cantonal funds, UBS connections to US-sanctioned Chinese military companies, a near-total court victory against Palantir (22 of 23 counterclaims rejected), and a Federal Administrative Court ruling forcing FDP accounting disclosure. Recognition includes Prix Média Newcomer 2025, Helen Darbishire Award 2025 finalist, and Medienpreis für Qualitätsjournalismus nomination.

Name

WAV Recherchekollektiv

Legal name

Genossenschaft WAV

Website

https://wav.info

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WAV Recherchekollektiv is a Zurich-based nonprofit research cooperative founded in 2021 that conducts data-driven investigative journalism on Swiss politics, finance, and corporate accountability, serving Swiss NGOs, independent media, and civil-society foundations through commissioned research and transparency platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investigative Research Services

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Due Diligence & Investigative Research (BPAHALAI), Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

Keywords

• Investigative research services
• Nonprofit journalism research
• Freedom of information research
• Data journalism investigations
• Corporate accountability research

Headquarters

HQ city

Zurich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Commissioned Research Services: Research conducted on commission for NGOs and nonprofit organizations, priced per project. Clients include Public Eye, Campax, WWF Schweiz, FIZ, Klima-Allianz Schweiz, and others. Research follows journalistic and/or social science standards.
2. Civil Society Donations and Grants: Funded entirely by civil society — no advertisers, patrons, or lobbying organizations. Receives financial support from foundations including Volkart Stiftung, Stiftung Temperatio, Stiftung Mercator Schweiz, Stiftung Hamasil, Stiftung für Medienvielfalt, Stiftung Felsengrund, Schweizerische Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, Fondation Leenaards, FAIRster Foundation, and others. Also supported by JournaFONDS and investigativ.ch.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

WAV Recherchekollektiv conducts data-driven investigative research on Swiss politics, finance, and corporate accountability, producing reports, interactive transparency platforms, and datasets for media outlets and NGOs. The collective systematically uses the Swiss Freedom of Information Act (Öffentlichkeitsgesetz), open-source intelligence (OSINT), database analysis, and supply-chain mapping to produce investigative journalism and commissioned research for civil society clients.

Product overview

WAV Recherchekollektiv is a Swiss investigative research collective that operates as a platform of research tools and services rather than a unified software product. The core offering consists of investigative reports on Swiss politics, finance, and corporate accountability. Key products include the Spotlight on BlackRock transparency initiative with datasets on investment behavior, the Das Geld + die Politik (moneyinpolitics.ch) transparency tool for political financing data, and the Tausend Milliarden Verantwortung project on pension fund investments. Additional products include the Zurich property ownership analysis and Swiss Frontex Files investigation. Services include commissioned research for NGOs and civil society capacity building through workshops and datasets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spotlight on BlackRock: A transparency project on BlackRock's investments in Switzerland, publishing datasets and analysis on the asset manager's role in the Swiss economy.
• Das Geld + die Politik
• Tausend Milliarden Franken Verantwortung
• WOZ-Rüstungsreport

Products and services

• Investigative Reports (Recherchen) Investigative journalism covering Swiss pension fund investments, political financing, arms exports, corporate structures, and land ownership, distributed through partner media outlets and wav.info.
• Spotlight on BlackRock Transparency initiative examining BlackRock's investments in Switzerland, comprising seven datasets on investment behavior, country comparisons, and ownership structures, accompanied by civil society workshops.
• Das Geld + die Politik (moneyinpolitics.ch) Interactive transparency tool that prepares and visualizes Swiss political financing data, enabling users to search party donations, compare campaign budgets, and examine political spending.
• Tausend Milliarden Franken Verantwortung Transparency initiative demanding disclosure of Swiss public pension fund investments, publishing detailed investment data and organizing public discussions ('Zukunftsgespräche').
• Zurich Property Ownership Analysis (Wem gehört Zürich?) Comprehensive analysis of Zurich's land registry data revealing property ownership patterns, identifying corporate and private owners of more than 1 million square meters of residential space.
• Swiss Frontex Files Four-part investigative series examining Switzerland's involvement with EU border agency Frontex, built on more than 1,000 pages of documents obtained through freedom of information requests.
• Commissioned Research Services (Auftragsrecherchen) Research services delivered to NGOs and nonprofits, applying journalistic and social science standards to specific topics, including database analysis, corporate research, qualitative field studies, and OSINT.
• Civil Society Research Support (Zivilgesellschaft) Capacity-building service for civil society organizations that includes workshops, interactive tools, researched datasets, and factsheets to strengthen research competencies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 638 million CHF in pension fund armaments investments exposed through FOI requests; estimated CHF 7 billion total Swiss pension fund armaments exposure
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RepublikcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Joint investigations including Palantir in Switzerland (resulting in a court victory with 22 of 23 Palantir counterclaims rejected), Samos refugee camp investigations with Forensic Architecture Initiative Athens, and follow-up reporting.
• Das LammcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Swiss Frontex Files: a four-part investigative series on Swiss involvement with EU border agency Frontex, based on 1,000+ pages of documents obtained via FOI. Das Lamm serves as the publishing platform for WAV's investigative series.
• Amnesty International Security LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Technical collaboration on Intellexa/Predator spyware investigation. Amnesty Security Lab provided digital forensics for the Intellexa Leaks, an international investigation with Haaretz and Inside Story.
• Forensic Architecture Initiative Athens (FAIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Technical and investigative collaboration on Greek border pushbacks investigation, combining WAV's data journalism with FAIA's architectural and spatial analysis methodology.
• European Network of Corporate Observatories (ENCO)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025European network of corporate observatories that WAV collaborates with on cross-border corporate accountability research.
• FIND (Find NGO)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaboration on NeoSoft/Zurich surveillance technology export investigation, with WAV and WOZ evaluating hundreds of leaked documents.
• CORRECTIV.SchweizcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint initiative 'Tausend Milliarden Franken Verantwortung' demanding FOI access to all Swiss public pension fund investments. CORRECTIV jointly publishes pension fund investment data obtained through freedom of information requests, with WAV taking over sole responsibility from March 2026. Together they publish in local media across Swiss cantons.
• Heidi.newscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-publishing partner for investigations including Mitrelli (with WOZ), UBS/Palantir, Swiss-Elbit arms exports (with Beobachter), and UBS China dealings.
• Hauptstadt (Bern)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner for investigations on Bern cantonal pension funds (climate risks), canton of Bern external consulting expenditure (CHF 53 million in 2024), and related reporting.
• LobbywatchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Co-development and co-maintenance of 'Das Geld + die Politik' (moneyinpolitics.ch) transparency platform. Lobbywatch provides parliamentary interest disclosure data; WAV processes and visualizes Swiss political finance data.
• investigativ.chcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Co-development partner for moneyinpolitics.ch and ongoing investigative network collaborations. investigativ.ch (Recherche-Fonds der Gottlieb und Hans Vogt Stiftung) provides financial support to WAV research.
• opendata.chminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023Partner for moneyinpolitics.ch platform development and open data methodology for Swiss political finance transparency.
• Tsüri.chcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Long-standing partnership for Zurich-related investigations. Tsüri.ch co-publishes WAV's land registry analysis ('Wem gehört Zürich?'), pension fund research for Zurich, and related investigative stories.
• WOZ Die WochenzeitungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Long-standing partnership for investigative reporting, especially armaments reporting (WOZ-Rüstungsreport), Intellexa/Predator Files, and Swiss-Elbit arms export investigations. WOZ is a co-publisher of WAV's research findings and provides editorial platform.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• CORRECTIV: German nonprofit investigative newsroom funded by donations and foundations; runs cross-border investigations with civil society partners, structurally analogous to WAV's Genossenschaft and donation-funded model.
• Bellingcat: Open-source investigations collective known for OSINT methodology and cross-border impact, co-publishing with global outlets; comparable function to WAV's OSINT and FOI-driven investigations.
• ProPublica: U.S.-based nonprofit investigative newsroom producing high-impact accountability journalism from foundation funding; canonical reference model for a nonprofit investigative outlet.
• The Markup: Nonprofit newsroom focused on data-driven investigations of technology and corporate power; WAV's collaboration with Algorithm Watch CH occupies a comparable niche in Switzerland.
• Lighthouse Reports: European nonprofit investigative studio using data-driven and cross-border methods on migration, tech, and accountability; same hybrid journalism/civil-society model as WAV.
• Follow The Money: Dutch investigative journalism platform covering financial flows, corporate ownership, and public money; comparable data-journalism scope on corporate accountability topics.
• OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project): Global nonprofit investigative network coordinating cross-border investigations with local journalists; analogous to WAV's collaboration with Republik, WOZ, FAIA, and Amnesty Security Lab.
• International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ): Nonprofit investigative network coordinating global cross-border probes (Pandora Papers, etc.); WAV's cross-border Intellexa/Predator Files and Frontex work parallels ICIJ's collaborative model.

Broad incumbents

• WOZ Die Wochenzeitung: Swiss left-leaning weekly with a long-running investigative partnership with WAV including the Rüstungsreport and Intellexa/Predator Files co-publishing.
• Republik: Swiss reader-funded investigative magazine; co-publisher on Palantir, Samos, and Frontex investigations and jointly invested in litigation outcomes with WAV.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wav-recherchekollektiv
• Instagraminstagram.com/wav.kollektiv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about WAV Recherchekollektiv