ResearchGate

ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. It is the largest network for scientists, research professionals and affiliated people.

ResearchGate was founded in 2008 by virologist and computer scientist Ijad Madisch. It started in Boston, and moved to Berlin, Germany, shortly afterwards. In 2009, the company began a partnership with Seeding Labs in order to supply third-world countries with surplus lab equipment from the United States.

According to The New York Times, the website began with few features, then developed over time based on input from scientists. From 2009 to 2011, the site grew from 25,000 users to more than 1 million. In 2013, it closed Series C financing for $35M from investors including Bill Gates. The company grew from 12 employees in 2011 to 120 in 2014.

Features

The New York Times described the site as a mashup of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. One may "follow" a research interest, in addition to following individual users. It has a blogging feature for users to write short reviews on peer-reviewed articles. ResearchGate indexes self-published information on user profiles to suggest members to connect with those who have similar interests. When a user posts a question, it is fielded to scientists that have identified on their user profile that they have a relevant expertise. It also has private chat rooms where scientists can share data, edit shared documents, or discuss confidential topics.