Digital Science takes stake in Peerwith

Technology software company Digital Science has invested in Peerwith –  a marketplace for author services, matching academics seeking support for their work with experts who can provide services to increase the impact of their work.

Peerwith has some 800 staff who provide services including editing, translation, illustration and consultancy – as well as helping to build a visible profile through ratings and recommendations.

Amsterdam-based Peerwith has also formed partnerships with leading publishers and societies, offering a white-labelled platform. Current partnerships include Brill, the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) and Emerald Publishing.

Digital Science’s investment is aimed at enabling Peerwith to scale its activities, and to expand its reach to academic institutions to allow researchers and students to access its author services.

Joris van Rossum, Peerwith's co-founder and CEO, said: 'Academics often have difficulties finding highly skilled individuals in specific areas, regularly relying on intermediaries to connect them. Peerwith’s aim is to change these slow processes making it more affordable, transparent and efficient. With investment from Digital Science, we will be able to achieve our goal of becoming the number one marketplace for author services.'

Steve Scott, director of portfolio development at Digital Science will join the Peerwith supervisory board: 'The addition of Peerwith to our portfolio enables the support of more comprehensive solutions for authors and researchers. It is already integrated into the authoring tool provided by another of our portfolio companies, Overleaf and offers an exciting addition to our portfolio of author, publisher and institutional offerings.'