The Meta Foundation was established by Prof. Dr. Michael Schönemann in year 2000 and is currently operating from Dornbirn, Austria. Its purpose is to support education and groundbreaking scientific efforts.

One of the most important projects of the Meta Foundation is the Metalife Project. The objective of the Metalife Project is to create a computer supported model of life. This objective might be ambitious, but not impossible, especially taking into consideration the substantial scientific breakthroughs that mankind eye-witnessed in the recent past. For example, just 10 years ago, the human genome project was an extremely laborious venture to be conveyed worldwide. Nowadays, the human genome project is already completed and soon a 1000-dollar-genome will be offered.

The life science community worldwide generates permanently growing amount of new data and information. However, only a trifle part of life can be explained with the current status of world's knowledge. Over 99% of cellular processes remain undiscovered; the same is valid for complete organisms. Concurrently, there is an enormous increase in the availability of information. The Metalife Project is aiming to close the gap between information availability and knowledge generation.

Certainly, the Metalife Project can be implemented only if major actors in the life science community join force. The Meta Foundation has already received a very positive reaction by the most influential life science companies across the globe. All German life science companies complied with the idea and are already participating in the first phase. The cooperative network is bound to grow internationally, thanks to the unique nature of the project. The ongoing results of the Metalife Project are to be provided to the life science community free of charge. Due to the standard model and free access, scientists from all over the world can use this standardized knowledge base and publish their own findings. Thus, knowledge can be generated and integrated faster, and utilized better.

The Meta Foundation is convinced that a successful collaboration in the Metalife Project will ultimately lead to finding cure for almost all diseases and thus improve the length and quality of life. The basic financing for the project is being provided by the Meta Foundation. The funding is long-term planned and insures the completion of the Metalife Project. Additionally, various organizations confirmed their financial support. Furthermore, Microsoft and Intel support the project from the very beginning by providing high performance computers and system software.