PLAZI GMBH

Their core work

Plazi specializes in extracting, structuring, and openly publishing biodiversity data trapped in scientific literature. They develop methods and tools to convert taxonomic treatments from publications into machine-readable, linked open data — making decades of biodiversity knowledge findable and reusable. As a Swiss SME, they sit at the intersection of publishing, informatics, and natural history collections, enabling researchers and institutions to unlock data that would otherwise remain buried in PDFs and print journals.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Plazi's H2020 trajectory shows a clear progression from contributing to training and biosystematics (BIG4, 2015-2018) toward increasingly ambitious data infrastructure projects. Their recent work on BiCIKL (2021-2024) — their largest funded project at EUR 455K — positions them firmly in the biodiversity knowledge graph and open science space. The shift suggests they have moved from supporting taxonomic research toward building the connective tissue between biodiversity data sources.

Plazi is moving toward becoming a key infrastructure provider for FAIR biodiversity data, connecting literature, collections, and genomic databases into interoperable knowledge systems.

How they like to work

Plazi consistently joins projects as a participant or partner rather than leading consortia, which fits their profile as a specialized SME contributing domain-specific expertise. With 40 unique partners across 19 countries from just 3 projects, they operate within large, well-connected European research infrastructures. This indicates they are a trusted specialist that major consortia actively recruit for their niche competence in biodiversity data.

Despite only three projects, Plazi has built a remarkably broad network of 40 partners across 19 countries — a sign they participate in large research infrastructure consortia involving natural history museums, universities, and data platforms across Europe and beyond.

What sets them apart

Plazi occupies a rare niche: they are one of very few organizations globally focused specifically on liberating taxonomic data from scientific literature and converting it to open, linked data. For any consortium dealing with biodiversity informatics, FAIR publishing, or natural history digitisation, Plazi brings irreplaceable domain expertise. Their non-profit mission housed in a commercial SME structure makes them an agile, mission-driven partner with deep community trust.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BiCIKL
  Largest funding (EUR 455K) and most ambitious scope — building an integrated biodiversity knowledge library linking literature, specimens, genomics, and taxon names.
• ICEDIG
  Addressed a massive infrastructure challenge: consolidating and scaling the digitisation of Europe's natural heritage collections.