The Data Institute

What The Data Institute does

The Data Institute is a German data and analytics consulting firm headquartered in Schildow (near Berlin), founded in 2020 as a corporate spin-off from FUNKE Mediengruppe. Its three Managing Partners — Michael Hauschild, Mike Kamysz, and Thomas Borlik — all transferred from the parent, and the firm operates under a "Consulting, Implementation, Transformation" three-pillar service model that covers Data Audit, Data Strategy, Tool Selection, Infrastructure Setup, Data Engineering, Activation, Reporting & BI, Organization Development, Data Governance, and Interim Mandates. The intended client base is DACH-region mid-market and enterprise buyers across primary verticals Media & Publishing and Retail & eCommerce, with secondary exposure to Finance and Logistics.

The firm does not build proprietary technology. Its delivery stack is composed entirely of third-party modern data platform components — Snowflake and BigQuery for data warehousing, dbt for transformations, plus selected ELT and BI tools — combined with partner-provided capabilities such as Tilores for identity resolution. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting and implementation engagements, evidenced by named case studies with MediaPrint, HAAS Mediengruppe, Freie Presse, Parfümerie Pieper, babymarkt.de, share, and COMCAVE.GROUP. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, but the case-study pattern indicates fixed-scope transformation and implementation projects rather than recurring managed-service revenue.

The legal entity is registered as "The Data Institute GmbH i.L." — "i.L." denoting "in Liquidation" — a material disclosure that signals the company is in formal wind-down proceedings. The imprint lists addressable geographies as Germany and Switzerland (CHE). Marketing channels include a newsletter, LinkedIn presence, webinars (including a co-marketed session with law firm YPOG), and meet-ups, indicating an outbound thought-leadership-led go-to-market approach.

Name

The Data Institute

Legal name

The Data Institute GmbH i.L.

Website

https://datainstitute.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Data Institute is a DACH-focused data and analytics consulting firm, founded in 2020 as a spin-off from FUNKE Mediengruppe, that delivers data strategy, implementation, and transformation services to mid-market and enterprise clients in media, publishing, retail, and eCommerce using third-party modern data stack tooling (Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Schildow

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Project-based and retainer consulting engagements covering data audit, data strategy, tool selection, ML & AI readiness, implementation (infrastructure setup, data engineering, data activation, reporting & BI), and transformation (organization development, process & culture development, data governance, interim mandates). Revenue is generated through professional services fees billed per engagement or time-and-materials.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Data Institute is a data consulting firm delivering project-based and retainer professional services across three pillars: Consulting (Data Audit, Data Strategy, Tool Comparison & Selection, ML & AI Readiness), Implementation (Infrastructure Setup, Data Engineering, Data Activation, Reporting & BI), and Transformation (Organisation Development, Process & Culture Development, Data Governance, Interim Mandates). Services are built around a holistic Organization, Culture, and Architecture framework and leverage modern cloud-native data stack technologies for client engagements. Revenue is generated through professional services fees billed per engagement or on a time-and-materials basis.

Product overview

The Data Institute is a data consulting firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of consulting, implementation, and transformation services. The offering is structured as a three-pillar framework (Consulting, Implementation, Transformation) that addresses Organization, Culture, and Architecture dimensions. Consulting services include Data Audit, Data Strategy, Tool Comparison & Selection, and ML & AI Readiness. Implementation services cover Infrastructure Setup, Data Engineering, Data Activation, and Reporting & Business Intelligence. Transformation services include Organization Development, Process & Culture Development, Data Governance, and Interim Mandates. The company follows a 'Data Strategy → Implementation → Transformation' methodology, emphasizing client enablement and sustainable data-driven organizational change.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Data Audit

Quantifiable outcome

• 24% improvement in unique person identification for MediaPrint through Tilores identity resolution integration
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TilorescoreTechnology or IntegrationTilores is a Berlin-based technology startup specializing in identity resolution and record linkage. The Data Institute partnered with Tilores on the MediaPrint project to implement duplicate detection and data deduplication across multiple source systems, enabling a 24% improvement in unique person identification. The partnership combines TDI's data consulting and implementation expertise with Tilores' identity resolution technology.
• YPOG (Tax, Legal, Audit)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYPOG is a German law and tax advisory firm. The Data Institute co-hosted a webinar with YPOG partner Dr. Benedikt Floeter on the topic of cloud data infrastructure in mid-market companies, covering both technical and legal aspects (data protection, DSGVO compliance, cloud contracts) of data platform implementations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Thoughtworks: Global technology consultancy with deep data and AI engineering practices. Overlaps with TDI on modern data stack delivery and data-driven transformation, with a much larger international footprint.
• Trivadis (Accenture): Swiss-headquartered data and analytics consultancy (now part of Accenture) with strong DACH presence. Overlaps with TDI on data platform and engineering work but operates at much larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• Adesso SE: German-headquartered IT services firm with a sizable data and analytics consulting practice. Competes for similar DACH enterprise mandates, though typically from a broader IT-services rather than pure-play data positioning.
• Capgemini Invent: Global consulting arm of Capgemini focused on digital and data-driven transformation. Competes directly with TDI on enterprise data strategy and AI enablement, especially in the DACH market.
• IBM Consulting (Data & AI): Global consultancy with a deep data and AI practice tied to IBM's technology stack. Competes for enterprise data transformation mandates across DACH.
• Senacor Technologies: German technology consultancy specializing in data, digital, and platform engineering for large enterprises in DACH. Comparable in offering breadth and enterprise client focus.
• Deloitte Consulting (Data & Analytics): Global Big 4 consultancy with a sizable data transformation practice covering strategy, governance, and modern data stack implementation. Competes for the same enterprise transformation mandates as TDI, especially with larger DACH clients.

Direct peers

• Alexander Thamm GmbH: German data and AI consulting firm serving mid-to-large enterprises across DACH. Highly comparable in offering (data strategy, engineering, ML/AI) and regional focus, though typically larger in headcount.

Emerging players

• Databricks: Data and AI platform vendor with professional services and a large SI partner network. Relevant because its consulting partners directly compete with boutique data consultancies like TDI in the DACH market.
• Dataiku: Enterprise AI and data platform vendor with a growing services and implementation partner ecosystem. Comparable because customers using Dataiku often need the kind of consulting, governance, and data engineering work TDI provides.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-data-institute

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 The Data Institute