Kurzgesagt (, ;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "In a nutshell", "in short", or literally "shortly said"; ) is a German

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

and

design studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

founded by Philipp Dettmer. The studio is best known for its

YouTube channel YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San B ...

, which focuses on minimalistic animated educational content using a flat and 3D design style. It discusses

scientific Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

technological Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as ute ...

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

subjects. Narrated in English by Steve Taylor, videos on the channel are normally four to sixteen minutes. Many videos are also available through other language-specific channels, such as in German through the channel ''Dinge Erklärt – Kurzgesagt'', and in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

through ''En Pocas Palabras – Kurzgesagt''. Some of their videos are also available in French,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (; ; also known as pt-BR) is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of Portuguese language native to Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the 203 million inhabitants of Brazil and widely across the Brazilian diaspora ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

. As of May 2025, with over 24 million subscribers and over 280 videos (including shorts), the studio's original English language channel was the world's 224th most subscribed channel.

History

The Kurzgesagt YouTube channel was created on 10 July 2013 (with their first video coming out on 12 July 2013), shortly after the founder, Philipp Dettmer, graduated from

Munich University of Applied Sciences The Munich University of Applied Sciences (HM) () is the largest university of applied sciences in Bavaria with about 17,800 students. The Munich University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1971 by the amalgamation of seven colleges of technol ...

. The first video, which explained

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

, was published two days later with the voice of Steve Taylor, who has remained the channel's commentator. In ten years the channel evolved from a passion project worked on during Dettmer's free time to a design studio with about seventy on the team. In 2015, Kurzgesagt was commissioned to create a video on the end of disease by the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

. A video about the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, called ''The Coronavirus Explained & What You Should Do'' and released in March 2020, was posted on all three of their channels. It shared how the human body responds to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and how effective the measures are in evading

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...

. The English version has over 89 million views, making it the most viewed video on the channel. A study published in '' Visual Resources'' said that the video "is an example of an aesthetically compelling explanation of the biological processes of a Covid infection," and it "includes fantastical depictions that convey the message in a more comprehensible straightforward manner." Kurzgesagt has been the recipient of several awards. In 2019, Kurzgesagt became the first German channel to surpass 10 million subscribers on YouTube. In December 2020, fellow YouTuber

Marques Brownlee Marques Keith Brownlee (; ; born December 3, 1993), also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber, influencer, and professional ultimate frisbee player, best known for his videos reviewing technology devices. , he has more tha ...

honoured Kurzgesagt, with his "Streamys Creator Honor" award in the

10th Streamy Awards The 10th Annual Streamy Awards was the tenth installment of the Streamy Awards honoring the best in American streaming television series and their creators. The ceremony was held on December 12, 2020, hosted by drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya ...

''Immune: A Journey Into The Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive''

In November 2021, Kurzgesagt announced the release of their first book, ''Immune: A Journey Into The Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive'', written by Philipp Dettmer, the channel's founder. A publication by the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations, a German think tank, recommended the book among others for books on the

, describing it as "full of stories of invasion, strategy, defeat, and noble self-sacrifice", in introducing the complex world of the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

. Daniel M. Davis, the Head of Life Sciences and Professor of

Immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, described it as "the feast we have been waiting for" due to the public interest in the mechanisms of the immune system, such as

antibodies An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses, including those that caus ...

T cell T cells (also known as T lymphocytes) are an important part of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on their cell ...

s, and

B cell B cells, also known as B lymphocytes, are a type of the lymphocyte subtype. They function in the humoral immunity component of the adaptive immune system. B cells produce antibody molecules which may be either secreted or inserted into the plasm ...

s, during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were "rarely discussed outside of research labs and scientific talks". In the book, the author acknowledges the feedback and help of a Dr. James Gurney, Professor Thomas Brocker, the director of the Munich Institute for Immunology, and Professor Maristela Martins de Camargo of the

University of São Paulo The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil. The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...

Sources of funding

In 2015, the channel received a US$570,000 grant from the

. Since September 2017, Kurzgesagt's German branch had been financially supported by the network

Funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

of ARD and

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

. Kurzgesagt's German branch announced their departure from Funk in January 2023. In March 2022, Kurzgesagt received €2.97 million in a grant via

Open Philanthropy Open Philanthropy is an American philanthropic advising and funding organization focused on cost-effective, high-impact giving. Its current CEO is Alexander Berger. As of June 2025, Open Philanthropy has directed more than $4 billion in gran ...

, which the channel said was being used for translating their videos into various languages, and for funding the creation of content for

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. The channel has received a smaller grant from the

John Templeton Foundation The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a Philanthropy, philanthropic organization founded by John Templeton in 1987. Templeton became wealthy as a Contrarian investing, contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in relig ...

. In a January 2023 statement, Kurzgesagt stated that 65% of their income from 2020 to 2022 came from viewers via the sale of merchandise from their shop, such as mugs,

posters A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. ...

and

toys A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

via

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...

, and

Google AdSense Google AdSense is a program run by Google through which website publishers in the Google Display Network, Google Network of content sites serve text, images, video, or interactive media advertisements that are targeted advertising, targeted t ...

revenue, with commercial or institutional

sponsorships Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

and

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

accounting for only 24% of income. The statement said that the channel treats all data sceptically, that their sources for statements are always given, and that all research work is done in-house, with no editorial influence from sponsors or donors—a condition they say is included in every deal they have signed. Kurzgesagt made this statement in response to a December 2022 video which accused them of having been "basically bought off by billionaires".

Reliability of videos

While some commentators have praised Kurzgesagt's videos for their reliability and fact-checking, some of their earlier work received criticism. In 2016, the

Art Libraries Society of North America The Art Libraries Society of North America (also known as ARLIS/NA) is an organization of approximately 1,000 art librarians, library students and visual resource professionals. The ARLIS/NA was founded in 1972. Activities ARLIS/NA organizes act ...

criticised the studio's occasional lack of credible sources and professional consultation, and use of emotive language. In 2019, Kurzgesagt released a video saying that while they now had all their arguments fact-checked by experts, they had not always done so in the past. They added they were removing two of their videos uploaded in 2015 that did not meet their current standards, namely ''The European Refugee Crisis and Syria'' and ''Addiction''. A collaboration between Kurzgesagt and journalist

Johann Hari Johann Eduard Hari (born 21 January 1979) is a British writer and journalist. Until 2011, Hari wrote for ''The Independent'', among other outlets, before resigning after admitting to plagiarism and fabrications dating from 2001 to 2011. Since t ...

, ''Addiction'' came to be one of the most popular on their channel at the time, despite also being one of their most criticised. The video was accused of misleadingly summarising the conclusions of the contentious Rat Park experiments. Kurzgesagt acknowledged they had presented one argument as fact, and had not considered other theories on the matter. In July 2024, Kurzgesagt released a video entitled ''We Need to Rethink Exercise - The Workout Paradox'', which was criticised by viewers who considered it too simplified. Kurzgesagt subsequently consulted with more experts in the field and released an updated version of the video that September to address these concerns.

Tubefilter Tubefilter, Inc. is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California, that operates media businesses focusing on the online entertainment industry. It publishes Tubefilter News, a blog targeted at the fans, creators, producers, influenc ...

rated the updated version as one of the top videos released on YouTube that week.

''Star Birds''

In June 2024, the studio announced they had partnered with Toukana Interactive, the creators of ''

Dorfromantik ''Dorfromantik'' is a 2022 strategy puzzle video game developed and published by Toukana Interactive. In it, the player places a series of hexagonal tiles containing elements of a pastoral environment to create a landscape. They earn points an ...

'', to create a video game called ''Star Birds'' that will be centred around

asteroid mining Asteroid mining is the hypothetical extractivism, extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification ...

. It will be released in 2025.

References

External links

*
Youtube Page
* {{cite web , url= https://presse.funk.net/format/dinge-erklaert-kurzgesagt/ , title= Dinge Erklaert Kurzgesagt , language= de , trans-title= Brief Explanations of Things , date= Jan 22, 2018 , publisher=