Name

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Legal name

dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

Website

https://dpa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

News Agency Services

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

News Agencies & Wire Services (General & Specialized) (MPAJADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Relations & Press Office Services (MPAAADAI)

Keywords

• News agency services
• Multimedia content distribution
• Image licensing
• Financial news wire
• Press release distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotherbaum

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Wholesale News Distribution: B2B subscription-based news distribution to media companies, organizations, and corporations. Revenue generated from licensing fees for text, photos, graphics, audio, and video content distributed to customers including newspapers, TV/radio stations, online platforms, governments, and institutions.
2. dpa Group Subsidiary Services: Various subsidiaries generate revenue: dpa-infocom (data products, infographics), dpa Picture-Alliance (image licensing - 130+ million images), news aktuell (press release distribution), dpa-Rufa (audio/video production), dpa-AFX (financial news), and custom content services.
3. Content Licensing: Individual licensing of news content for use on websites, intranets, newsletters, and print publications. License prices range from 150-350 euros for fair use rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) is Germany's largest news agency and operates as a joint venture of German media companies, providing wholesale multimedia news services — text, photos, graphics, audio, and video — to newspapers, broadcasters, online platforms, governments, and corporations. The company distributes verified, independent news from over 50 German locations and 80+ international correspondent offices in seven languages, and supplements its core news wire with subsidiary offerings including image licensing (Picture-Alliance), PR distribution (news aktuell), financial news (dpa-AFX, AWP), and audio/video production (dpa-Rufa).

Product overview

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) is Germany's largest news agency and one of the world's leading independent news agencies, operating as a joint venture of German media. The company offers a diverse portfolio of products and services organized as a platform-plus-subsidiaries model. The core dpa news service provides verified news in text, photos, graphics, and video from over 50 German locations and 80+ international correspondent offices in seven languages. This core offering is supplemented by multiple wholly-owned subsidiaries: dpa-infocom (multimedia and data products, fact-checking, infographics), dpa-IT (technical infrastructure), news aktuell (PR distribution), dpa Picture-Alliance (image library with 130M+ images), dpa-Rufa (audio/video production), #UseTheNews (youth news literacy), and dpa-AFX (financial news). The group also holds stakes in AWP (Swiss financial news), mecom (warning systems), and Alliance News (UK financial news). Additional offerings include election coverage tools, training academy, live blogs, custom content services, and TV/podcast studio rental.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• dpa-infocom: Multimedia information services subsidiary specializing in data products, graphics, fact-checking, live tickers, and advisory content for digital markets
• news aktuell
• Picture Alliance
• dpa-Rufa
• #UseTheNews
• dpa-Akademie
• dpa-Video
• dpa-ID
• dpa-ElectionsLive
• dpa-Faktencheck
• NewZ Club
• Democracy News Alliance (DNA)

Products and services

• dpa German Press Agency Core News Service Germany's largest news agency core offering: verified, independent multimedia news in text, photos, graphics, audio, and video, delivered from 50+ German locations and 80+ international correspondent offices in German, English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Polish, and Russian. Sold on enterprise subscription to media companies, governments, and organizations.
• dpa Picture-Alliance Visual content marketplace offering over 130 million images, graphics, and illustrations from 300+ partner agencies, covering news, politics, sports, entertainment, art, history, nature, travel, and lifestyle. Licensed to media and enterprise customers.
• dpa-AFX Financial News Real-time financial and economic news service in German and English, delivered to banks, financial service providers, and media via platforms such as Bloomberg, Teletrader, and others; market leader on German-language finance portals.
• AWP Finanznachrichten Leading financial and economic news agency serving Switzerland and Liechtenstein, supplying the financial industry, media, and organizations with coverage of global economic developments and Swiss financial markets.
• news aktuell PR newswire and press release distribution service that helps organizations distribute stories to journalists, social media, news sites, and Google to maximize story performance.
• dpa-Rufa Audio/Video Production Audio and video production company supplying broadcast, TV, and online portals with flexibly tailored journalistic audio and video formats, with studios in Berlin.
• dpa-infocom Multimedia information services offering data products and graphics for digital markets, including liveticker, election data, fact-checking, infographics, and topic services.
• mecom Warning Systems Communication technology company operating the Modular Warning System (MoWaS) for the German federal government, enabling federal, state, county, and municipal authorities to send official warning messages through media, warning apps, and other channels.
• dpa-ElectionsLive Live election coverage ticker providing continuous updates on important elections in Europe and beyond.
• Liveticker / Liveblogs Real-time news tickers and live blogs covering breaking events such as heat waves, political protests, and international conflicts.
• dpa-faktencheck (Fact-Checking) Fact-checking service that examines claims and exposes disinformation, with an independent whitepaper analyzing 180 fact-checks on election disinformation in Germany and outlining prebunking approaches.
• dpa-Akademie Training Programs Training academy offering courses taught by dpa journalists covering AI, verification, and SEO/GEO, targeted at media and communications professionals.
• TV and Podcast Studio Rental Professional TV and podcast studio available for rent at dpa's Berlin location, offering production infrastructure for external clients.
• dpa Custom Content Custom content agency producing editorial and corporate-communication materials for clients, including infographics, presentations, and bespoke editorial content.
• Individual Infographics Custom infographic design services for corporate communications, including static, interactive, and animated graphics, as well as PowerPoint presentations, icons, magazines, and brochures.
• News for Kids Kid-friendly news service designed to reach children and explain how the world works in age-appropriate language.
• Democracy News Alliance (DNA)

Quantifiable outcome

• One of approximately 20 independent news agencies worldwide out of 120 total globally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Democracy News Alliance (DNA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2025Leading international news agencies including dpa launched the Democracy News Alliance (DNA), an information service designed for monitoring democratic processes worldwide. The service offers continuous reporting on democracy indicators such as election fairness and press freedom to aid decision-makers in NGOs, governments, and corporations.
• Political Tech SummitminorGTM or Marketing Partnerdpa became a partner of the Political Tech Summit, demonstrating involvement in the political technology ecosystem and thought leadership initiatives.
• DRIVE local e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRIVE local e.V. and Local_Vocal partnership forming a KI-Accelerator for local newspapers under the #UseTheNews initiative to develop AI solutions for local media.
• Hamburg Authority for Culture and MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiator of #UseTheNews project along with dpa. The initiative brings together media professionals, civil society, and science to research and promote news literacy among young people.
• Alliance NewsminorOthersdpa holds 11% participation in Alliance News, an international news agency focused on financial and business topics. Alliance News provides real-time news, comprehensive company reports, and market updates to banks, asset managers, and financial portals.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Reuters / Thomson Reuters: Reuters is one of the world's largest international news agencies, providing text, photo, video and data newswire services to media, financial, and corporate customers globally. It competes head-to-head with dpa in international news distribution, particularly in the German-language market and on financial news via dpa-AFX vs. Refinitiv/Bloomberg.
• Associated Press (AP): AP is a US-headquartered global news cooperative owned by member newspapers and broadcasters, structurally similar to dpa's cooperative model. AP supplies text, photo, video, and data wire services to media worldwide and is one of the ~20 truly independent news agencies referenced in dpa's positioning.
• Agence France-Presse (AFP): AFP is one of the three largest Western news agencies (alongside Reuters and AP) and a direct competitor to dpa, particularly across European and French/English-language coverage. AFP operates a similar nonprofit/cooperative structure and offers text, photo, video, and graphics services to media customers.
• PA Media (Press Association): PA Media is the UK's national news agency and a direct peer to dpa, supplying wire services, multimedia content, and data feeds to UK and Irish media customers. Its ownership structure (majority owned by PA Group, fed by national titles) and product mix (text, images, video, data) closely mirror dpa's model.
• Bloomberg News: Bloomberg is a direct competitor on the financial news and data wire side, where dpa's dpa-AFX subsidiary operates (delivered via Bloomberg and Teletrader). Both agencies supply real-time financial news, market data, and company reports to banks, asset managers, and financial portals.
• Getty Images: Getty Images is a leading global stock and editorial image agency and the primary commercial competitor to dpa's Picture-Alliance subsidiary (130M+ images from 300+ partner agencies). Both operate licensing marketplaces for editorial and commercial photography, graphics, and video.
• PR Newswire (Cision): PR Newswire is the global leader in press release distribution and a direct competitor to dpa's news aktuell subsidiary. Both serve corporate communications, PR agencies, and organizations distributing press releases to journalists, media, and search/news platforms.
• Kyodo News: Kyodo News is Japan's national news agency and one of the world's largest independent wire services, with a similar product portfolio (text, photo, video, data) and customer base (newspapers, broadcasters, digital publishers, governments). Kyodo sits alongside dpa in the small set of truly independent global agencies.
• Anadolu Agency: Anadolu Agency is a Turkish state-affiliated international news agency supplying multilingual wire services to media customers worldwide, competing with dpa across European and international coverage particularly on politics, conflict, and breaking news.

Emerging players

• Shutterstock Editorial: Shutterstock is a global content marketplace operator (images, video, music) with a growing editorial/news photography arm that overlaps with dpa's Picture-Alliance. While Shutterstock is more commercially focused, its editorial expansion intersects with Picture-Alliance's news and event photography licensing business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dpa_unternehmen
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@dpa
• Facebookfacebook.com/DeutschePresseAgenturGmbH
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutsche-presse-agentur
• Instagraminstagram.com/dpa
• TikToktiktok.com/@dpa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Deutsche Presse-Agentur