ResearchGate announces $52m investment

ResearchGate, the professional network for scientists, has announced investments from Wellcome Trust, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Four Rivers Group with participation from Ashton Kutcher, Groupe Arnault, Xavier Niel, and existing investors Bill Gates, Tenaya Capital, Benchmark, and Founders Fund. ResearchGate received the $52-million investment in November 2015 but has only made the announcement now.

More than 12 million ResearchGate members already share half a million research updates daily and 2.5 million publications every month, including information traditionally not shared, such as code or negative results.

'On ResearchGate, for the first time in history, millions of scientists are speaking out and providing transparency into their current research. ResearchGate has become the place where scientific progress happens – and where everyone can learn about it,' said Ijad Madisch, co-founder and CEO of ResearchGate. 'We provide scientists with the platform for this fundamental shift and are excited to count Wellcome Trust, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Four Rivers Group among our investors and well-known supporters.'

The latest investment contributed to the launch of a new feature called Projects. Since its inception in March 2016, scientists have created more than half a million Projects, updating peers and the world about ongoing research, including scientific data.

'ResearchGate will become the hub for scientific data online,' added Madisch. 'Like other research results, scientific data will be included in researchers’ profiles, enabling collaboration and discovery. The latest investment is partially going into this effort to store and structure scientific data in ways that help scientists make progress today and in the future.'

Geoffrey Love, a senior member of the investment division at Wellcome Trust, the second-highest spending charitable foundation in the world said: 'ResearchGate is an innovative and widely-used platform, which connects researchers with their peers around the world. Through providing a space to share results and ideas, it is helping researchers to advance their research and develop applications that benefit society.'

'The way in which the scientific community innovates is rapidly evolving away from siloed experimentation and toward network-driven collaboration. With its member network of 12 million individuals, ResearchGate has clearly become the dominant player driving that transformation,' said Ian Friedman, Co-Head of Goldman Sachs Investment Partners Venture Capital & Growth Equity team.  “Partnering with a team leading the change in something as important as the way in which research is conducted is a rare opportunity and we’re excited to support ResearchGate in fulfilling their mission of accelerating the pace of scientific advancement.”

Since the November 2015 investment, ResearchGate has also successfully implemented an advertising model selling scientific advertising and recruiting solutions. These solutions connect those who sell scientific products and services to those who work with them.