CivicScience
CivicScience is a Pittsburgh-based consumer intelligence platform that collects over one million daily survey responses from 165M+ U.S. consumer profiles to deliver real-time psychographic, intent, and brand-lift data to advertisers, publishers, and AI developers via subscriptions, advertising, and data licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersPittsburgh, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What CivicScience does
CivicScience is a Pittsburgh-based, privately held consumer intelligence company founded in 2008 as a Carnegie Mellon University incubator project and led by founder-CEO John Dick. It operates an always-on, AI-enabled survey platform that collects more than one million declared-attitude responses per day from a permissioned, unpaid U.S. panel of 165M+ consumer profiles, aggregating 6B+ survey responses and 13+ years of contiguous longitudinal history in its proprietary Cascabel syndicated database.
The company's product surface spans four core franchises: Consumer & Market Insights (subscription access to psychographic, intent, and trend data delivered via the InsightStore self-service platform and full-service reporting), Audience Activation & Measurement (data-driven advertising and brand-lift measurement across Display, Native, Online Video, and Connected TV), Publisher & Media Partnerships (in-content polling modules deployed across hundreds of publisher sites that trade first-party data and ad inventory for audience insights), and AI Solutions (real-human data supplied to AI developers as a calibration and validation layer to mitigate synthetic consensus and demographic bias). Specialized indices — the Economic Sentiment Index, Consumer Financial Health Index, and Well-Being Index — and the recently launched Poll of the Day newsletter extend the platform's reach.
Revenue is generated through enterprise subscriptions, data-driven advertising spend, AI data licensing, and publisher revenue-share arrangements, all sold on a quote-based, custom-contract basis with annual billing. Go-to-market relies on a direct enterprise sales motion targeting Fortune 500 advertisers (Target, Apple, Meta, McDonald's, Disney, Best Buy, Ally Financial, Hershey, Paramount), media agencies, AI platforms, and tier-1 publisher partners (Microsoft News, Vox Media, Sinclair, Nexstar, Univision, PMC). The company has raised roughly $20.8M in disclosed funding, most recently a $15M round from NPD Group in August 2021, and operates with a headcount of 11-50.
CivicScience firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CivicScience
- Legal name
- Civic Science
- Website
- https://civicscience.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CivicScience is a Pittsburgh-based consumer intelligence platform that collects over one million daily survey responses from 165M+ U.S. consumer profiles to deliver real-time psychographic, intent, and brand-lift data to advertisers, publishers, and AI developers via subscriptions, advertising, and data licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CivicScience industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consumer Insights & Market Research Software
- NAICS
- Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Advertising Agencies (54181), Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Audience Measurement & Media Research (Ratings, Attribution, Media Mix Insights) (MPAAALAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Attribution, Measurement, Analytics & Incrementality (BPAMALAF), Human Oversight, Review & Content Moderation Tooling (HDAAAMAH)
Keywords
Where CivicScience is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pittsburgh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CivicScience business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Data-Driven Advertising: Programmatic and managed advertising campaigns across Display, Native, Online Video (OLV), and Connected TV (CTV) powered by consumer insights. Revenue generated through media buying fees and performance-based pricing.
- Consumer & Market Insights: Subscription-based access to real-time psychographic and intent consumer insights. Self-service SaaS and AI tools, full-service collaborative reporting, and data export options (raw data files and APIs) for strategic decision-making.
- AI Data Enrichment & Validation: Real human data services to calibrate AI models, prevent synthetic consensus, and keep outputs grounded in reality. Partnerships with advanced platforms, agencies, and brands for Layer 1 data supply.
- Publisher & Media Partnerships: Deployment and management of in-content polling modules for publishers. Revenue share from incremental advertising demand from CivicScience premium advertising clients and AdEngage in-poll ad units.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise custom pricing based on scope and usage |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
CivicScience product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CivicScience operates an AI-enabled consumer insights platform that runs continuous real-time polling of a large U.S. consumer network, aggregates declared attitudes and intent into its proprietary Cascabel database, and monetizes the resulting intelligence through SaaS subscriptions to brands and agencies, syndicated data licensing, publisher survey-monetization partnerships, advertising activation and brand-lift measurement, and licensed AI training/validation data. Its core deliverable is decision-grade attitudinal and intent data, refreshed continuously, that customers can query, activate against audiences, or license to train and calibrate AI systems.
Product overview
CivicScience is a consumer trends data company operating a unified platform combining multiple products and services. The core offering is the Consumer & Market Insights Platform powered by the proprietary Cascabel Syndicated Database, which delivers always-on psychographic and intent data through AI-enabled survey technology. The platform includes Audience Activation & Measurement for data-driven advertising across digital and CTV channels, Publisher & Media Partnerships for in-content polling deployments, and AI Solutions providing real human data for AI training and validation. Additional modules include Data Export & API Access for platform integration, Self-Service SaaS & AI Tools for direct desktop access, and specialized indices including the Consumer Financial Health Index (CFHI), Economic Sentiment Index (ESI), and Well-Being Index (WBI). The company also offers The CivicScience Poll of the Day as a daily consumer polling product delivering real-time insights within 24 hours.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The CivicScience Poll of the Day: A daily polling initiative providing nationally representative consumer insights within 24 hours, covering topics like current events, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle.
- What We're Seeing (WWS)
Products and services
- Consumer & Market Insights Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- 80% improved ad performance reported by clients using CivicScience audience targeting versus industry benchmarks
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use CivicScience
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CivicScience technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature5 records
CivicScience partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Microsoft NewscorePublisher partnership deploying in-content polling modules. Microsoft News leverages CivicScience data for ad sales support, audience benchmarking, and first-party data enrichment to enhance editorial content personalization.
- Sinclair Broadcast GroupcoreBroadcast media partnership providing polling deployment across Sinclair's television station network. Partnership enables audience data collection and ad sales intelligence for the media company's digital properties.
- Vox MediacoreDigital media publisher partnership deploying CivicScience polling modules across Vox's editorial network of properties including Vox.com, SB Nation, and Curbed.
- Nexstar Media GroupcoreMajor television broadcasting company partnership providing access to local TV station audiences for polling data collection and advertising impact measurement.
- UnivisioncoreSpanish-language media partnership deploying polling modules across Univision's digital properties to reach Hispanic American audiences and provide first-party data for advertisers targeting this demographic.
- Penske Media Corporation (PMC)coreEntertainment and lifestyle media company partnership deploying polling across PMC properties including Variety, Rolling Stone, and WWD for audience insights and ad sales support.
- Ziff-DavisminorTechnology and lifestyle media publisher partnership providing polling deployment and audience data enrichment across Ziff Davis digital properties.
- The Arena GroupminorSports media company partnership (formerly Sports Illustrated) deploying polling modules for audience engagement and advertising measurement.
- US News & World ReportminorNews and consumer advice publisher partnership deploying polling for audience research and content personalization capabilities.
- PopSugarminorLifestyle media company partnership (part of Vox Media) deploying polling across its women's lifestyle and entertainment properties.
- SlateminorDigital news and culture magazine partnership deploying polling for editorial content engagement and audience understanding.
- QVCminorVideo retail and media company partnership providing consumer insights for product and shopping behavior analysis across QVC's broadcast and digital platforms.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CivicScience competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Quantilope: Automated consumer research platform offering brand tracking, ad testing, and concept testing via survey methodology. Competes with CivicScience in the consumer/market insights category, particularly for enterprise research teams seeking self-service and quant methodologies.
- YouGov: Global consumer research and polling firm offering survey-based audience insights, brand tracking, and panel-based data. Directly comparable to CivicScience in always-on consumer polling, panel scale, and syndicated insights delivered to brands and agencies.
- Attest: Consumer research platform offering brand tracking, market exploration, and audience profiling through global survey panels. Directly comparable to CivicScience's always-on consumer insights and brand measurement offerings, particularly for direct-to-consumer and growth-stage brands.
- Zappi: Consumer insights platform specializing in advertising and innovation research for brands, including concept testing, ad testing, and brand tracking. Comparable to CivicScience in delivering consumer intelligence to brand advertisers, with stronger emphasis on creative and innovation testing.
- Suzy: AI-powered consumer insights platform providing rapid survey-based research to brands and agencies. Directly comparable to CivicScience in delivering always-on consumer intelligence, though differentiated by Suzy's emphasis on speed-of-execution for on-demand research versus CivicScience's longitudinal attitudinal database.
- Toluna: Global consumer research panel and insights platform providing survey-based research, panel access, and analytics to brands and agencies. Overlaps with CivicScience in panel-based consumer polling, syndicated insights, and audience research for enterprise clients.
Broad incumbents
- Nielsen: Global audience measurement and consumer insights incumbent providing ratings, panel data, and analytics across TV, digital, and CTV. Overlaps with CivicScience in audience measurement, brand tracking, and advertising effectiveness, though at far broader scale and with established enterprise contracts.
- GfK: Global market research firm providing consumer intelligence, brand effectiveness, and industry-specific insights across CPG, retail, tech, and durables. Broadly overlaps with CivicScience in consumer insights and brand measurement, though GfK operates at greater scale and with deeper panel infrastructure.
- Comscore: Digital audience measurement and analytics provider offering cross-platform ratings, brand measurement, and advertising effectiveness. Comparable to CivicScience in audience measurement and CTV/digital advertising analytics, though positioned as a legacy measurement infrastructure provider.
Emerging players
- Prolific: Online participant recruitment and research platform providing high-quality survey respondents for academic and commercial research. Comparable as a participant-pool competitor for declared-data collection and as a supplier of human-in-the-loop data for AI training and validation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CivicScience social profiles
Digital presenceCivicScience financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CivicScience leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
CivicScience funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CivicScience M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CivicScience
What does CivicScience do?
CivicScience operates an AI-enabled consumer insights platform that runs continuous real-time polling of a large U.S. consumer network, aggregates declared attitudes and intent into its proprietary Cascabel database, and monetizes the resulting intelligence through SaaS subscriptions to brands and agencies, syndicated data licensing, publisher survey-monetization partnerships, advertising activation and brand-lift measurement, and licensed AI training/validation data. Its core deliverable is decision-grade attitudinal and intent data, refreshed continuously, that customers can query, activate against audiences, or license to train and calibrate AI systems.
Is CivicScience a public or private company?
CivicScience is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was CivicScience founded?
CivicScience was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CivicScience based?
CivicScience is headquartered in Pittsburgh, United States, in the North America region.
How does CivicScience make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Data-Driven Advertising is the primary driver. The others are consumer & Market Insights, AI Data Enrichment & Validation and publisher & Media Partnerships.
Who are CivicScience's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Quantilope, YouGov, Attest, Zappi, Suzy and Toluna. Broad incumbents are Nielsen, GfK and Comscore. Prolific is listed as an emerging player.
Does CivicScience have an API?
No public API is recorded for CivicScience.
What industry is CivicScience in?
CivicScience's product category is Consumer Insights & Market Research Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAALAM, Audience Measurement & Media Research (Ratings, Attribution, Media Mix Insights), with a secondary code of BPAMALAF, Attribution, Measurement, Analytics & Incrementality. Its NAICS code is 541910 and its SIC code is 7370.