PeerJ
PeerJ is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal publisher serving academic researchers in the biological and medical sciences, founded in 2012 and based in Corte Madera, California.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersCorte Madera, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What PeerJ does
PeerJ is a for-profit open access scientific journal publisher founded in 2012 and headquartered in Corte Madera, California. The company publishes peer-reviewed academic journals in the biological and medical sciences, distributing research free of charge to readers under an open access model that contrasts with traditional subscription-based academic publishing. Co-founders Jason Hoyt (CEO) and Peter Binfield (Publisher) lead a small team of 1-10 employees.
The company's core product is its open access peer-reviewed publishing platform, which addresses two structural problems in academic publishing: limited reader access to peer-reviewed research, and high barriers for authors to publish in established journals. The value proposition rests on combining peer review rigor with open distribution, intended to accelerate dissemination of scientific knowledge across the global research community.
The business model follows the standard open access publishing convention, under which the cost of peer review and publication is recovered from authors or their institutions through article processing charges (APCs), though no specific pricing data is publicly disclosed in available sources. The customer base is horizontal: individual academic researchers across scientific disciplines rather than concentrated enterprise accounts. Capitalization to date consists of a single disclosed seed round of $950,000 from O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures in June 2012.
PeerJ firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PeerJ
- Website
- https://peerj.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- PeerJ is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal publisher serving academic researchers in the biological and medical sciences, founded in 2012 and based in Corte Madera, California.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PeerJ industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Access Scholarly Publishing
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120), Other Publishers (51319), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Medical, Clinical & Biomedical Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAB), Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAC), STM Publishing (Science, Technical & Medical) (MPAJABAD)
Keywords
Where PeerJ is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Corte Madera
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
PeerJ business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
PeerJ product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PeerJ publishes peer-reviewed open access scientific journals covering research in the biological and medical sciences. The company provides an online publishing platform that enables researchers to submit manuscripts, undergo peer review, and disseminate accepted articles freely to the global research community.
Product overview
PeerJ is an open access journal publisher offering peer-reviewed academic journals trusted by researchers. Based on the available source data, no specific named products, modules, or sub-brand offerings are detailed beyond the core open access journal platform itself.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PeerJ Open Access Journals Peer-reviewed open access scientific journals in the biological and medical sciences, providing academic researchers with a trusted venue to publish and freely disseminate their research findings to the global scientific community.
Companies that use PeerJ
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
PeerJ technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
PeerJ partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves2 records
Expansion highlights2 records
PeerJ competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Elsevier: Elsevier is a dominant STM publisher with extensive life sciences and medical journal portfolios, including open access titles, representing a broad incumbent competitor to PeerJ.
- Wiley: Wiley publishes a wide range of life sciences and medical journals including open access options, making it a broad incumbent with overlapping subject coverage to PeerJ.
- Springer Nature: Springer Nature publishes both subscription and open access journals across the life and medical sciences, competing broadly with PeerJ for high-quality OA submissions and library consortia.
Direct peers
- Frontiers: Frontiers publishes a large portfolio of peer-reviewed open access journals in life sciences, medicine, and related fields, directly competing with PeerJ for the same author community.
- BioMed Central (BMC): BMC operates a large portfolio of peer-reviewed open access journals spanning biology and medicine, making it a direct competitor for OA submissions in PeerJ's core subject areas.
- MDPI: MDPI is a major open access publisher with extensive coverage of life sciences and medical journals, directly competing with PeerJ for author submissions and APC revenue.
- Hindawi: Hindawi operates a broad portfolio of peer-reviewed open access journals spanning life sciences and medicine, making it a comparable OA competitor in PeerJ's core subject areas.
- PLOS (Public Library of Science): PLOS is a nonprofit open access publisher with flagship journals in the biological and medical sciences, directly competing with PeerJ for the same researcher author pool and institutional readership.
- eLife: eLife is a nonprofit open access journal focused on life sciences and medicine, directly overlapping with PeerJ's subject scope and target researcher audience.
Emerging players
- F1000Research: F1000Research operates an open research publishing platform with post-publication peer review, offering a partially overlapping model and audience to PeerJ in the life and medical sciences.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
PeerJ social profiles
Digital presencePeerJ financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PeerJ leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
PeerJ funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PeerJ 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 PeerJ
What does PeerJ do?
PeerJ publishes peer-reviewed open access scientific journals covering research in the biological and medical sciences. The company provides an online publishing platform that enables researchers to submit manuscripts, undergo peer review, and disseminate accepted articles freely to the global research community.
Is PeerJ a public or private company?
PeerJ is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was PeerJ founded?
PeerJ was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is PeerJ based?
PeerJ is headquartered in Corte Madera, United States, in the North America region.
Who are PeerJ's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Elsevier, Wiley and Springer Nature. Direct peers are Frontiers, BioMed Central (BMC), MDPI, Hindawi, PLOS (Public Library of Science) and eLife. F1000Research is listed as an emerging player.
Does PeerJ have an API?
No public API is recorded for PeerJ.
What industry is PeerJ in?
PeerJ's product category is Open Access Scholarly Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAFAJ, Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs, with a secondary code of EDAGAFAB, Medical, Clinical & Biomedical Scholarly Publishing. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.