Open Access Giant MDPI Reports Double Digit Growth and 500 Journal Milestone in 2025 Annual Review

MDPI AG releases 2025 Annual Report, highlighting 12% submission growth, 500 journal titles, and major investments in AI research integrity tools.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 30, 2026, 6:38 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from MDPI AG

Strategic Expansion of the Open Access Portfolio

The global transition toward open access publishing reached a new milestone in 2025 as MDPI expanded its journal offerings to 500 distinct titles. This growth was fueled by a surge in researcher interest, with the publisher receiving more than 669,000 manuscript submissions over the course of the year. Despite the high volume of interest, the organization maintained a rigorous selection process, recording a rejection rate of over 60%. Stefan Tochev, the CEO at MDPI, noted that the industry conversation is shifting from the necessity of open research to the sustainability and impact of the model.

Securing the Integrity of the Scientific Record

To address rising concerns regarding publication ethics, MDPI channeled substantial investment into its research integrity infrastructure during 2025. This included the appointment of Dr. Tim Tait-Jamieson as the head of publication ethics and the recruitment of specialized integrity experts. The publisher also entered a multi-year partnership with Proofig AI to enhance the screening of manuscripts for image manipulation and other ethical breaches. According to Dr. Tait-Jamieson, the goal of these technological and human safeguards is to provide editorial boards with the best possible data to ensure responsible decision making.

Scaling Global Workforce and Regional Presence

The operational capacity of the publisher grew by 26% last year, bringing the total global workforce to 8,350 employees across 22 international offices. This expansion was designed to provide localized support to the academic community, resulting in over 16,000 meetings with researchers worldwide. Alistair Freeland, the chief operating officer, stated that scaling at such a rapid pace required disciplined coordination to meet the quality expectations of the editorial community. This growth in personnel has allowed the company to onboard 2,000 new editorial board members and manage strategy sessions with over 10,000 guest editors.