Riot
Element (formerly Riot) is a UK-based secure communications platform built on the Matrix open standard, offering end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration for governments, defence organisations, and enterprises seeking digital sovereignty alternatives to Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Riot does
Element (formerly Riot, riot.im) is a UK-incorporated private company (Element Creations Ltd) founded in 2014 that builds secure communications software on the Matrix open standard. The company created the Matrix protocol in 2014 and now stewards it through the independent Matrix.org Foundation; Matrix is a decentralised, vendor-agnostic federation protocol for real-time messaging, voice, and video, analogous to SMTP for email. Element's product portfolio consists of the Element messaging client (consumer and professional use), Element Pro (professional tier with enhanced features), Element Server Suite / Synapse Pro (professionalised server software for sovereign large-scale deployments), and Element X (next-generation client). Technical differentiators include end-to-end encryption, decentralised federation across homeservers, support for air-gapped and isolated networks, mesh and satellite connectivity, and a zero-trust architecture with no central point of failure.
The company serves three primary segments: government and public-sector organisations (including military and defence), large enterprises seeking alternatives to vendor-locked productivity suites such as Microsoft Teams, and individual/consumer users adopting Element as a WhatsApp or Signal replacement. Named customers span HM Government, UNICC, Dinum, Bundeswehr, BWI, NATO, Gematik, Dataport, US Space Force, US Marine Corps, US Navy, Försäkringskassan, Hexagon, and the Fedora Project. Revenue is generated primarily through recurring subscriptions for Element Pro and Element Server Suite, enterprise support and SLAs, and a freemium self-hosted tier; enterprise pricing is quote-based. The go-to-market combines enterprise field sales (for government and defence deployments), a self-serve product-led motion (free Element app downloads), and community-led growth via the Matrix open-source ecosystem, supplemented by an implementation partner channel that includes IBM, Bechtle, BearingPoint, Adesso, Nordeck, Adfinis, and Materna.
Element is positioned around European digital sovereignty, with documented endorsements from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Bundesministerium für Digitales und Staatsmodernisierung, and holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022, Cyber Essentials Plus, OpenChain ISO/IEC 5230, and Digital Public Goods recognition. The company operates with 51–100 employees, has no parent company or public listing, and reports 200M+ users and 100K+ deployments across the broader Matrix ecosystem.
Riot firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Riot
- Legal name
- Element Creations Ltd
- Website
- https://riot.im
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Element (formerly Riot) is a UK-based secure communications platform built on the Matrix open standard, offering end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration for governments, defence organisations, and enterprises seeking digital sovereignty alternatives to Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Riot industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Secure Messaging and Collaboration Software
- NAICS
- Security Systems Services (56162), Investigation and Security Services (5616)
- SIC
- Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Network Security Managed Services (Firewall/IDS/IPS/SASE) (BPAEADAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Security Systems Monitoring & Dispatch (SOC/Remote Guarding) (IMAIAEAF)
Keywords
Where Riot is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Riot business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Element Pro Subscription: Premium messaging application subscription for professional/enterprise use with enhanced features beyond the free tier.
- Element Server Suite: Professional server software for hosting Matrix-based solutions at scale. Includes Synapse Pro and support SLAs for enterprise deployments.
- Enterprise Support and SLAs: Professional support services and service level agreements for government and enterprise customers requiring dedicated assistance.
- Self-Hosted Free Tier: Free Element app and open source Matrix server options for organisations that want to self-host without purchasing professional tiers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free Element app for individual users |
| Subscription | Annual | Element Pro for professional users |
| Subscription | Annual | Element Server Suite for enterprise deployments |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Riot product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Riot provides an open, secure, and interoperable communication platform for work and home, built on the Matrix open standard. The company offers the Element messaging client with end-to-end encrypted messaging and voice/video calls, the Element Pro professional tier, and Element Server Suite for sovereign self-hosted deployments by governments, militaries, and enterprises.
Product overview
Element offers a platform-plus-modules product architecture built on the Matrix open standard for secure, sovereign communications. The core product portfolio includes Element (the primary messaging and collaboration app), Element Pro (professional tier), Element Server Suite (enterprise server deployment), and Element X (next-generation client). The Matrix Standard serves as the foundational open protocol enabling interoperability and federation. The platform is positioned as an alternative to vendor-locked solutions like Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp, targeting government and public sector organisations requiring digital sovereignty.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Element Pro: Professional application for secure workplace collaboration
- Element Server Suite
- Matrix
- Synapse Pro
Products and services
- Element (Riot) Messaging Application Primary secure messaging and collaboration client built on the Matrix open standard, offering end-to-end encrypted messaging, voice and video calls, and real-time communication with cross-organisational federation for individuals and teams.
- Element Pro Professional tier of the Element messaging application offering enhanced features and capabilities for professional and enterprise users, sold as an annual subscription.
- Element Server Suite (ESS) Professionalised Matrix-based server solution that organisations can host to deploy sovereign, interoperable, and secure real-time communications at scale, including Synapse Pro and support SLAs for enterprise deployments.
- Element X Next-generation Element client application with improved performance and user experience, representing an evolution of the core Element messaging platform.
- Matrix Standard (Matrix Open Standard) Open standard for secure and sovereign real-time communication created in 2014, enabling decentralised, vendor-agnostic federation across different Matrix server implementations and supported by an open ecosystem of vendors and developers.
- Enterprise Support and SLAs Professional support services and service-level agreements for government and enterprise customers requiring dedicated assistance, packaged with Element Server Suite and Element Pro subscriptions.
Quantifiable outcome
- 77% of IT leaders say their organisation struggles to maintain privacy and control of data shared via communications technologies (Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Element)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Riot
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Riot technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Riot partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- AdessocoreTechnology integrator and IT services provider offering Element implementation and deployment services for enterprise customers in German-speaking regions.
- BechtlecoreEuropean IT system house and technology integrator providing Element deployment and integration services.
- IBMcoreGlobal technology giant providing enterprise integration and implementation services for Element deployments.
- NordeckcoreTechnology partner specialising in Matrix-based solutions and Element implementation.
- BearingPointcoreManagement and technology consulting firm offering Element deployment consulting services.
- DL TelekomminorTelecommunications provider offering Element distribution and services in German market.
- ZendisminorDigital services provider reselling and distributing Element solutions.
- AdfinisminorOpen source technology integrator providing Element implementation and support services.
- MaternaminorIT services company offering Element deployment and integration services.
- RaytheonminorDefence and aerospace company exploring secure communications solutions based on Element and Matrix.
- Open Source Business AllianceminorGerman association promoting open source software; Element featured as advocate for digital sovereignty through open source.
- Matrix.org FoundationcoreFoundation governing the Matrix open standard created by Element in 2014. Element leads the development and stewardship of the protocol.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Riot competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wire: Wire offers end-to-end encrypted messaging, voice, video and collaboration for enterprises and governments, and is one of Element's closest direct competitors in the secure enterprise and sovereign communications category.
- Rocket.Chat: Rocket.Chat is an open-source team chat platform with a Matrix federation bridge, self-hosted and air-gapped deployment options, and a focus on defence, government and regulated industries — directly competing with Element's secure, sovereign collaboration proposition.
- Signal: Signal is the leading end-to-end encrypted consumer messaging app and competes with Element's free Element messenger for privacy-conscious individual users; it is also increasingly adopted by governments and defence teams as a secure communications layer.
- Wickr (Amazon Web Services): AWS Wickr is an end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration service targeting government, defence and enterprise users, and is a direct competitor in the secure sovereign communications category that Element addresses with Matrix-based offerings.
- Mattermost: Mattermost provides self-hosted, open-source collaboration and messaging aimed at defence, government and highly regulated enterprises, with air-gapped and sovereign deployment options that compete directly with Element Server Suite and Element Pro.
- Threema: Threema is a Swiss end-to-end encrypted messenger with business and government editions (Threema Work, Threema Education), competing head-to-head with Element for European sovereignty-driven buyers in DACH and EU public sector.
Broad incumbents
- Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams is the dominant enterprise collaboration suite and the primary incumbent that Element explicitly positions against; it competes across the same enterprise messaging and meeting use cases, but as part of a much broader productivity portfolio.
- Cisco Webex: Cisco Webex is a large incumbent enterprise messaging, meeting and collaboration platform with end-to-end encryption options and FedRAMP-authorised offerings, competing with Element for enterprise and government collaboration budgets.
- Slack (Salesforce): Slack, now part of Salesforce, is a leading enterprise team messaging platform with Slack Enterprise Grid and Slack Connect for cross-organisation collaboration, competing with Element for enterprise chat and inter-organisation communications.
Emerging players
- Keybase (Zoom): Keybase, acquired by Zoom, offers end-to-end encrypted messaging and file sharing and now underpins Zoom's secure communications roadmap, intersecting with Element's secure collaboration positioning particularly in enterprise and developer communities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Riot social profiles
Digital presenceRiot compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Riot financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Riot leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Riot funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Riot 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 Riot
What does Riot do?
Riot provides an open, secure, and interoperable communication platform for work and home, built on the Matrix open standard. The company offers the Element messaging client with end-to-end encrypted messaging and voice/video calls, the Element Pro professional tier, and Element Server Suite for sovereign self-hosted deployments by governments, militaries, and enterprises.
Is Riot a public or private company?
Riot is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Riot founded?
Riot was founded in 2014. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Riot based?
Riot is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Riot make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Element Pro Subscription is the primary driver. The others are element Server Suite, enterprise Support and SLAs and self-Hosted Free Tier.
Who are Riot's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wire, Rocket.Chat, Signal, Wickr (Amazon Web Services), Mattermost and Threema. Broad incumbents are Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex and Slack (Salesforce). Keybase (Zoom) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Riot have an API?
No public API is recorded for Riot.
What industry is Riot in?
Riot's product category is Secure Messaging and Collaboration Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEADAG, Network Security Managed Services (Firewall/IDS/IPS/SASE), with a secondary code of IMAIAEAF, Security Systems Monitoring & Dispatch (SOC/Remote Guarding). Its NAICS code is 56162 and its SIC code is 7381.