Element is the commercial entity behind the open-source Matrix decentralised messaging-and-collaboration protocol, a Slack / Microsoft Teams / WhatsApp / Signal alternative engineered specifically for digital sovereignty and federation. The protocol was created in 2014 by Matthew Hodgson (CEO/CTO) and Amandine Le Pape (COO) while they were working at Amdocs; the commercial entity New Vector Ltd was spun out in 2017, rebranded to Element in 2020, and renamed Element Creations Limited in 2025. The Matrix protocol itself is custodied by the independent Matrix.org Foundation (established 2018), separate from Element the company, which gives the protocol the same kind of structural independence that the Linux Foundation provides for Linux.
Element's procurement-grade positioning is unmatched in the EU-sovereignty conversation. The German Bundeswehr's BwMessenger (the official secure messenger used daily by the entirety of Germany's Armed Forces) is a fork of Element built by BWI GmbH (Bundeswehr's IT supplier) and Element together; BwMessenger is described in Bundeswehr / BWI communications as "the cornerstone of the Bundeswehr's communication infrastructure". The French government's Tchap and Visio (the chat and video-conferencing components of La Suite numérique, the French government workspace suite) are both built on Matrix. Other reference customers include NATO, UN, HM Government, US Space Force, US Marines, and Swedish agencies. Certifications: ISO/IEC 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials Plus, OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230 (open-source supply-chain compliance).
Deployment is sovereign-friendly by design. Element Server Suite is sold as software that customers run on their own infrastructure, including air-gapped deployments for defence and government use, and the Matrix protocol itself is fully open source (Apache 2.0). Element's regional structure includes Element Software GmbH (Germany) and Element Software SARL (France) for EU-customer contracting, alongside the UK parent (Element Creations Ltd) and a US subsidiary (Element Software Inc). Element Cloud is the managed SaaS option. Investors include Automattic, Notion, First Minute Capital, Status, Protocol Labs, and Metaplanet. Best fit: governments, defence ministries, regulated industries, and any organisation that wants federated cross-organisation communication on a sovereign-deployable open-source protocol. The UK post-Brexit jurisdiction (other ownership tier) is the only nuance for the strictest procurement criteria. The German + French subsidiaries are available for buyers who need an EU-incorporated counterparty.