What News Deeply does

News Deeply is a New York-based private media company founded in 2012 that builds topic-driven digital communities pairing long-form journalism with expert commentary, executive summaries, webinars, and stakeholder convening around specific global issues. Between 2012 and 2017 the company launched eight specialized editorial verticals — Refugees Deeply, Women's Advancement Deeply, Peacebuilding Deeply, Malnutrition Deeply, Oceans Deeply, Water Deeply, Arctic Deeply, and Syria Deeply — each operating as a standalone publication under the deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org domain with RSS feeds, social channels, and email newsletters, following the earlier launch of Ebola Deeply. The underlying product architecture is a portfolio of topic-specific websites with editorial articles, community discussion features, and audio content, rather than a unified SaaS platform or API-accessible product.

The company's business model is grant- and sponsorship-driven rather than primarily transactional. Foundation partners (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Water Funder Initiative, Guggenheim Partners) and corporate partners (Mastercard, Unilever, GSK, HSBC, Airbnb, Datto, Caterpillar) fund topic-specific coverage and convening initiatives, with the company describing these as recurring partnerships. Secondary revenue streams include content licensing and republishing governed by explicit copyright and terms-of-service policies, plus user-facing subscriptions and one-time payments whose pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company serves humanitarian and development professionals, major NGOs, and corporations seeking credible platforms to reach engaged audiences on specific global topics.

Between September 2017 and April 2019 News Deeply paused regular publication of all eight editorial verticals while continuing to produce events and special projects; the main News Deeply brand and its archived content remain operational, with the company stating it is "exploring future directions for on-site journalism." Total disclosed equity funding across documented rounds is approximately $5.5 million, raised in 2015 ($2.4M) and 2017 ($3.1M), and the organization operates with a small team of 11-50 employees headquartered at 1204 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York.

Name

News Deeply

Legal name

News Deeply, Inc.

Website

https://deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

News Deeply is a New York-based digital media company founded in 2012 that builds topic-driven community platforms pairing journalism with expert convening on global humanitarian and environmental issues, serving foundations, NGOs, and corporate partners through sponsored coverage and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Journalism and Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Community-Integrated Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF), Publishing Networks & Multi-Author Publications (MPACAIAG), Syndication & RSS/Feed Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAF)

Keywords

• Digital journalism platforms
• Topic-driven communities
• Humanitarian media
• Specialized news verticals
• Stakeholder engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Corporate Partnerships: News Deeply partners with leading foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation) and corporations (Mastercard, Unilever, GSK, HSBC, Airbnb) to fund their digital journalism platforms and community-building initiatives.
2. Content Licensing and Republishing: The company offers content licensing and republishing services, with explicit copyright and terms of service policies governing content use.
3. Subscription and One-Time Payments: News Deeply Terms of Service mentions both one-time payments and subscriptions for use of services, including features like reading long-form articles and participating in webinars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

News Deeply designs and operates topic-driven digital community platforms that deliver in-depth, specialized journalism on global humanitarian, environmental, and policy issues. The company builds single-topic vertical platforms (such as Refugees Deeply, Women's Advancement Deeply, Peacebuilding Deeply, Malnutrition Deeply, Oceans Deeply, Water Deeply, Arctic Deeply, and Syria Deeply) that combine editorial articles, expert analyses, executive summaries, audio content, and community engagement features for professionals and decision-makers. Revenue is generated primarily through foundation and corporate partnerships that fund community design, sponsored content, and tailor-made digital convening strategies.

Product overview

News Deeply operates a network of topic-driven digital communities focused on global humanitarian and environmental issues. The company publishes multiple specialized news platforms (Refugees Deeply, Women's Advancement Deeply, Peacebuilding Deeply, Malnutrition Deeply, Oceans Deeply, Water Deeply, Arctic Deeply, and Syria Deeply), each providing in-depth coverage, expert commentary, community discussions, executive summaries, and Deeply Talks audio content around specific topic areas. The platforms offer editorial articles, expert analyses, and community engagement features. The company has partnered with foundations and corporations including Mastercard, Unilever, GSK, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Ford Foundation to produce sponsored content while maintaining editorial independence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Refugees Deeply: In-depth coverage of the global refugee crisis.
• Women's Advancement Deeply
• Peacebuilding Deeply
• Malnutrition Deeply
• Oceans Deeply
• Water Deeply
• Arctic Deeply
• Syria Deeply

Products and services

• Refugees Deeply In-depth digital community platform covering the global refugee crisis, providing noise-free, trustworthy reporting on migration issues, refugee integration, laws and policy, and humanitarian crises for policy makers, practitioners, donors, and engaged readers.
• Women's Advancement Deeply Digital community platform providing news coverage and community engagement focused on women's economic advancement, covering topics including entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, asset rights, and gender lens investing.
• Peacebuilding Deeply Digital community platform providing news coverage and community engagement focused on global peace and security, addressing conflict prevention, transitional justice, and peace processes worldwide.
• Malnutrition Deeply Digital community platform providing coverage focused on malnutrition causes and potential solutions, addressing topics including stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiency, and maternal and child health.
• Oceans Deeply Digital community platform providing in-depth coverage of ocean health, including climate change impacts, coral reefs, fisheries, plastic pollution, and marine biodiversity.
• Water Deeply Digital community platform providing American West water news and water policy coverage, addressing agriculture, climate, toxic taps, and water management in California and the Western United States.
• Arctic Deeply Digital community platform providing in-depth coverage of the changing Arctic, including climate, geopolitics, shipping, fisheries, and indigenous communities.
• Syria Deeply Digital community platform providing in-depth coverage of the ongoing war in Syria, addressing displacement, civil society, diplomacy, human rights, and the war economy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple award-winning community platforms
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• MastercardmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting News Deeply's digital journalism platforms and community-building efforts.
• UnilevermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting News Deeply's journalism on global issues and sustainability topics.
• GSKmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting News Deeply's health-related journalism and content initiatives.
• HSBCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting News Deeply's financial and economic coverage across global topics.
• AirbnbmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting News Deeply's journalism on displacement and community topics.
• Oxfam InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNGO partner collaborating with News Deeply on humanitarian coverage and policy advocacy.
• KivaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrofinance organization partner supporting News Deeply's coverage of economic advancement topics.
• CeresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability organization partner supporting News Deeply's environmental and water coverage through the Connect the Drops campaign.
• ONEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal anti-poverty organization partner supporting News Deeply's coverage of humanitarian issues.
• DattominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology company partner supporting News Deeply's digital infrastructure and journalism platforms.
• CaterpillarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial company partner supporting News Deeply's coverage of development and economic topics, including through the Caterpillar Foundation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• PassBlue: Independent nonprofit news site covering the United Nations and global peace/security. Comparable in targeting policy practitioners with topic-specific in-depth coverage and foundation-supported editorial model.
• Just Security: Online forum and publication on national security, law, and conflict. Comparable in serving a policy-expert audience with curated, topic-focused analysis and foundation-supported editorial mission.

Direct peers

• Devex: Media platform and intelligence service for the global development and humanitarian aid community. Comparable in serving NGO, foundation, and policy professionals with curated, topic-focused journalism and community features.
• Mongabay: Nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform with global coverage and foundation funding. Comparable in topic-vertical structure (e.g., Oceans Deeply), foundation-driven model, and practitioner/expert audience.
• IRIN (now The New Humanitarian's former brand): UN-affiliated humanitarian news service that pivoted to independent nonprofit (now under The New Humanitarian banner). Direct comparable as a legacy topic-driven humanitarian news outlet serving practitioners.
• The New Humanitarian: Independent nonprofit newsroom covering humanitarian crises globally. Deeply direct peer in topic (refugees, humanitarian response) and audience (practitioners, policymakers); notably, News Deeply's own vertical sites now appear under deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org, indicating a structural relationship.
• The Conversation: Nonprofit news platform that publishes expert-authored articles across topics via academic and professional contributors. Comparable in topic-driven multi-vertical structure and foundation/corporate funding model, though oriented more toward academic contributors than humanitarian practitioners.
• Circle of Blue: Nonprofit journalism outlet focused on global water resource crises and policy. Highly comparable to News Deeply's Water Deeply vertical in topic, foundation funding, and policy-practitioner audience.

Broad incumbents

• ProPublica: Large, well-funded nonprofit investigative newsroom. Comparable operating model (foundation-funded, editorially independent journalism targeting impact audiences), but with vastly greater scale and a broader topic mandate rather than vertical specialization.
• Foreign Policy: Established magazine and digital publication covering global affairs, conflict, and policy. Overlaps with News Deeply's humanitarian and peacebuilding verticals but operates as a much larger incumbent across the broader global affairs space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/newsdeeply
• Facebookfacebook.com/newsdeeply
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/news-deeply

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors13 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about News Deeply