Rhizome

What Rhizome does

Rhizome Communications Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1996 in New York City, operating as an international hub for new media art and the preservation of born-digital culture. The organization serves digital artists, collecting institutions, and the broader arts-and-culture community by providing commissions, exhibitions, scholarship, digital preservation, microgrants, and a curated online archive of more than 2,200 born-digital artworks. Since 2003, Rhizome has been an affiliate in residence at the New Museum of Contemporary Art at 235 Bowery, and since 2014 an anchor tenant of NEW INC, the first museum-led incubator.

The organization's core technology stack centers on digital preservation and archiving infrastructure. ArtBase, established in 1999, is a long-running archive of net art, software, websites, and games supported by emulators for legacy system access. Conifer (formerly Webrecorder.io, launched 2016 and renamed in 2020) is Rhizome's open-source web archiving service for capturing, organizing, and replaying websites. video.rhizome.org is a self-hosted PeerTube instance used for institutional archive and program documentation. The Climate Impact Portal measures digital emissions across cloud infrastructure using Cloud Carbon Footprint, and a Solar Protocol node in Los Angeles explores lower-impact connectivity. The flagship Seven on Seven (7x7) program, founded in 2010, annually pairs artists with technology luminaries for day-long collaborations.

Rhizome's revenue model is grant- and contribution-driven, characteristic of a US nonprofit, with no charge for core programs. Recurring individual membership is offered at $25 (basic) and $1,000 (Rhizome Council) tiers, alongside one-time donations accepted via credit card and crypto, and individual major gifts. Major funders include the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Teiger Foundation, Anthropic, Google Arts & Culture, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, and ONX Onassis. Corporate and institutional partnerships — most prominently with Hyundai Motor since 2024 and the New Museum since 2003 — provide additional revenue and distribution reach. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, anchored by the 7x7 conference, Discord community, annual Microgrants, online exhibitions co-presented with the New Museum, and a peer-produced Rhizome Raw / Rare podcast.

Name

Rhizome

Legal name

Rhizome Communications Inc.

Website

https://rhizome.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rhizome is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1996 in New York that preserves and presents born-digital art through commissions, exhibitions, the ArtBase archive of 2,200+ works, the Seven on Seven conference, web-archiving tools, and grants for digital artists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Arts Preservation

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (712110)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Service/Support Organizations (Networks, Advocacy, Capacity Building) (BPAGAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ), Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Digital art preservation
• Born-digital art
• New media arts
• Web archiving services
• Arts nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Rhizome is a 501(c)(3) organization relying on grants and partnerships from foundations, corporations, and public agencies. Major funders include The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Teiger Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Anthropic, Google Arts & Culture, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, ONX Onassis.
2. Individual Membership: Membership program starting at $25, with Rhizome Council membership at $1,000. Provides recurring revenue from individual supporters.
3. Donations: Credit card and crypto donations accepted. Major gift inquiries directed to Executive Director.
4. Individual Major Gifts: Named supporters include Greg & Yukari Pass and Rafaël Rozendaal as significant individual donors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Rhizome is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that champions born-digital art and culture through commissions, exhibitions, scholarship, and digital preservation. It maintains ArtBase (an archive of over 2,200 born-digital artworks dating back to 1999), operates Conifer (an open-source web archiving service launched 2016 as Webrecorder.io and renamed 2020), and runs Seven on Seven (7x7), an annual program pairing artists with tech luminaries for collaborative commissions since 2010. The organization also offers the Climate Impact Portal for measuring digital emissions, Preservation Services for collecting institutions, First Look online exhibitions co-presented with the New Museum, the Net Art Anthology (a 100-work retrospective), and annual Microgrants to support digital artists.

Product overview

Rhizome is an international hub for new media art and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization championing born-digital art and culture since 1996. Based at the New Museum in New York City, Rhizome offers a portfolio of interconnected digital art programs and platforms: the ArtBase archive (2,200+ born-digital artworks), Net Art Anthology (100-work retrospective), Conifer web archiving service, video.rhizome.org (PeerTube-based video platform), the annual Seven on Seven (7x7) artist-tech collaboration program, First Look online exhibition series, Climate Impact Portal for digital emissions tracking, annual Microgrants, Preservation Services for institutions, and the Rhizome Raw/Rare podcast. The organization also hosts a Solar Protocol node as part of its climate impact work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ArtBase: An archive with over 2,200 born-digital artworks dating back to the 1980s, primarily hosting works of net art and software.
• Conifer
• Net Art Anthology
• World on a Wire
• Seven on Seven (7x7)
• Climate Impact Portal
• NEW INC

Products and services

• ArtBase Archive of more than 2,200 born-digital artworks dating back to the 1980s, primarily hosting works of net art, software, websites, and games, with emulators used for legacy system access.
• Conifer Open-source web archiving service that enables users to capture, organize, and replay websites, originally launched as Webrecorder.io and renamed Conifer in 2020.
• video.rhizome.org Self-hosted video platform driven by PeerTube (fediverse, peer-to-peer alternative to commercial video hosting), used for supporting access to artworks and as an institutional archive.
• Seven on Seven (7x7) Annual program founded in 2010 that pairs artists with tech luminaries for deep conversation and day-long collaboration to create new commissions; has produced the first NFT as part of a 2014 collaboration.
• Climate Impact Portal Platform measuring and understanding digital emissions for the arts and culture sector, with tools, references, and examples for tracking CO2 emissions across cloud infrastructure using the Cloud Carbon Footprint tool.
• Net Art Anthology Initiative to retell the history of net art through 100 works, presented as an online exhibition, gallery exhibition, and book.
• First Look Ongoing series of online artworks co-presented with the New Museum of Contemporary Art, showcasing new commissioned works.
• Preservation Services Digital preservation services offered to collecting institutions, community organizations, and artist studios to support ongoing access to born-digital culture, leveraging Rhizome's tools including Conifer and ArtBase methodology.
• Solar Protocol Node Rhizome's node on the Solar Protocol network, a web platform hosted across solar-powered servers in different locations around the world; Rhizome's node is hosted at a community space in Los Angeles.

Quantifiable outcome

• First NFT minted as part of 7x7 2014 collaboration between Kevin McCoy and Anil Dash (Guinness World Record)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• NEW INCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014NEW INC is the first museum-led incubator founded by the New Museum in 2014. Rhizome is an anchor tenant, collaborating on innovation at the intersection of art and technology.
• New Museum of Contemporary ArtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Rhizome has been an affiliate in residence at the New Museum since 2003. Together they explore the future of contemporary art and technology. Rhizome co-presents programs including the First Look online exhibition series and Seven on Seven conference.
• Hyundai MotorflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2024 for World on a Wire exhibition showcasing leading digital art globally.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI): NYC nonprofit founded in 1971 that distributes, preserves, and contextualizes media art. Directly comparable to Rhizome in its focus on preserving and providing access to time-based and born-digital artworks.
• Eyebeam: NYC-based nonprofit founded in 1998 that supports artists working at the intersection of art and technology, with residencies, commissions, and public programs. Most direct comparable to Rhizome in mission, geography, and organizational structure.
• Creative Time: NYC-based nonprofit that commissions public art projects and develops programming with contemporary artists. Comparable as a peer-sized arts nonprofit in NYC working with artists on commissions and public-facing programs.
• Internet Archive: Nonprofit digital library archiving web pages, software, and cultural artifacts since 1996. Directly comparable to Rhizome in digital-preservation mission and open-source tooling approach (overlaps with Conifer).
• The Kitchen: NYC nonprofit founded in 1971 supporting emerging artists across disciplines including video, performance, and new media. Comparable peer-sized NYC arts nonprofit with overlapping artist-support mission.

Broad incumbents

• Dia Art Foundation: NYC-based contemporary art foundation supporting large-scale and often technologically ambitious projects since 1974. Comparable as a peer foundation supporting experimental contemporary art including time-based and digital work.
• Whitney Museum of American Art: Major NYC museum with a significant collection of digital and new media art, including works by net artists. Comparable as a larger institutional collector and presenter that engages with born-digital art similar to Rhizome's preservation focus.
• Walker Art Center: Minneapolis contemporary art museum with a long-running new media art program, including the Walker Art Center's longstanding support for digital and internet-based art. Comparable as an established museum with significant new-media programming.
• New Museum of Contemporary Art: Founded in 1977 NYC contemporary art museum that has hosted Rhizome since 2003 and co-presents programs including First Look and 7x7. Comparable as a larger institutional peer that Rhizome both partners with and operates within.

Emerging players

• bitforms gallery: NYC gallery founded in 2001 representing artists working with new media, software, and digital art. Comparable as a niche specialist commercial entity operating in the same new-media art category, though for-profit rather than nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/rhizomedotorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/rhizomedotorg
• Xx.com/rhizome
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rhizomedotorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Rhizome