The Idiap Research Institute is recognized by the Swiss Confederation as an institute of national importance.

Idiap is an independent, nonprofit research institute. It was founded in 1991 by the Town of Martigny, the State of Valais, the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the University of Geneva (UNIGE), and Swisscom, with the support of the Dalle Molle Foundation. Inspired by Angelo Dalle Molle visionary approach, the institute’s vision is to promote quality of life through scientific progress in artificial intelligence (AI). Therefore our tagline: "Artificial Intelligence for Society".