What IFLScience does

IFLScience is a London-based, privately held science journalism media company founded in 2012 that publishes accessible science news and editorial content for a general consumer audience. Editorial is organized across seven primary verticals — Humans, Health & Medicine, Nature, Space & Physics, Technology, Culture & Society, and Features — with active publishing observed into 2026 across the site and a weekly email newsletter. The company is led by founder Elise Andrew as CEO and Johannes Van Zijl as Managing Director, with a reported team size of 11–50 employees, indicating a lean editorial and operations organization.

The product surface is anchored by the flagship website at iflscience.com and extends into a weekly newsletter, podcasts, videos, the premium Curious Magazine editorial, an archive product called The Vault, and eBooks. Distribution is intentionally horizontal, spanning Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and RSS alongside owned channels — a posture consistent with a consumer-facing publisher rather than a B2B or specialized vertical information business. Editorial differentiation is built around explicit fact-checking, correction, and transparency policies positioned as a counter to science misinformation.

The business model is consumer-direct and combines three revenue mechanics: advertising (display and social-driven), a paid membership/subscription tier launched in January 2025 that gates premium content such as Curious Magazine and The Vault, and merchandise. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with no institutional investors, parent entity, funding rounds, or M&A activity disclosed in the available data.

Name

IFLScience

Website

https://iflscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IFLScience is a London-based privately held science journalism publisher founded in 2012 that produces accessible science news across multiple verticals for general consumers via its website, newsletter, podcasts, videos, and a paid membership launched in January 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science Journalism / Digital Media Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Science, Technology & Gaming Magazines (MPAJAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Popular Science, Technology & Nature Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Science journalism
• Digital media
• News publishing
• Online content
• Consumer media

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IFLScience publishes accessible, fact-checked science journalism articles across multiple categories (Humans, Health & Medicine, Nature, Space & Physics, Technology, Culture & Society) on its website at iflscience.com. It sells a paid membership (launched January 2025) that unlocks premium content including Curious Magazine and The Vault, alongside a weekly newsletter, podcasts, videos, and eBooks.

Product overview

IFLScience operates as a science journalism platform delivering accessible science news and features to a global audience. The core offering is the IFLScience Website, a unified news platform covering seven primary content categories: Humans, Health & Medicine, Nature, Space & Physics, Technology, and Culture & Society. The platform has expanded into a multi-product ecosystem since launching its membership model in January 2025, now offering six supplementary products: the Newsletter (weekly email delivery), Curious Magazine (premium editorial), Podcasts (audio content), Videos (multimedia content), The Vault (curated archive), and eBooks (digital publications). The platform functions as a consumer-facing media service rather than a technical software product, with revenue derived from subscriptions, advertising, and merchandise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Curious Magazine: Premium magazine section featuring curated science content
• The Vault

Products and services

• IFLScience.com Science Journalism Platform A free, consumer-facing science news website publishing articles across Humans, Health & Medicine, Nature, Space & Physics, Technology, and Culture & Society for a global audience.
• IFLScience Membership Paid subscription product giving members access to premium editorial including Curious Magazine and The Vault archive.
• Curious Magazine Premium long-form science magazine offering curated in-depth features for paying subscribers.
• The Vault Curated archive of strange and intriguing science articles available to members.
• IFLScience Weekly Newsletter Weekly email newsletter delivering science coverage directly to subscribers' inboxes.
• IFLScience eBooks Digital ebook publications covering science topics, available for purchase or through subscription.
• IFLScience Podcasts Audio podcast series covering multiple science topics distributed via the IFLScience multimedia section.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• ScienceAlert: ScienceAlert is a direct peer: a digital-first science news outlet publishing accessible science stories across health, space, nature, and technology with strong social distribution. It targets the same consumer audience as IFLScience and competes for ad and subscription dollars.
• Futurism: Futurism is a direct peer: a digital media outlet covering science, technology, and the future with a strong social-first distribution strategy. It competes for the same science-curious readers and ad budgets as IFLScience.
• Phys.org: Phys.org is a direct peer: a science and technology news website publishing daily articles across physics, space, nature, medicine, and engineering for a global general audience. Its format and audience overlap closely with IFLScience's website.
• Live Science: Live Science is a direct peer: a digital science news publisher covering humans, nature, space, health, and technology for general consumers via a website and social channels, monetized through advertising and subscription. It competes with IFLScience for the same global science-curious audience.
• Inverse: Inverse is a direct peer: a digital science and culture publisher covering science, technology, and human-interest stories for a young, digitally native audience. It overlaps with IFLScience on science coverage and uses a similar ad-supported, multi-channel model.

Broad incumbents

• Popular Science: Popular Science is a broad incumbent: an established 150+ year-old science magazine that publishes both print and digital science journalism across consumer and enthusiast audiences. It is a broader, more institutionally backed competitor in the same space as IFLScience.
• Discover Magazine: Discover Magazine is a broad incumbent: a long-running consumer science magazine covering science, technology, space, and health. It overlaps with IFLScience in audience and subject matter, with a more magazine-rooted brand.
• Scientific American: Scientific American is a broad incumbent: a longstanding science publication covering research, technology, and health for a general but engaged audience. It overlaps with IFLScience's mission of making science accessible and competes for advertising and subscription revenue.
• New Scientist: New Scientist is a broad incumbent: an established weekly science magazine and website covering science news, features, and analysis with a more technical readership. It targets an audience adjacent to IFLScience's science enthusiasts and competes for premium subscription dollars.

Emerging players

• Space.com: Space.com is an emerging/adjacent peer: a digital-first publisher specializing in space and astronomy news with overlap to IFLScience's Space & Physics vertical. It competes for a slice of the same global science audience on a narrower topic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iflscience
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/IFLScienceOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/IFLScience
• Instagraminstagram.com/iflscience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iflscience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 IFLScience