CSET

What CSET does

CSET (Center for Security and Emerging Technology) is a nonpartisan policy research organization housed within Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, founded in 2019 in Washington, D.C. Its core function is producing data-driven analysis on the security implications of emerging technologies—principally artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and biotechnology—for U.S. and allied government decision-makers, congressional staff, the academic community, and the press.

Its technical product surface is the Emerging Technology Observatory (ETO) public platform, launched October 2022, which hosts a portfolio of analytical tools: the Map of Science (over 91,000 algorithmically generated research clusters across hundreds of millions of scholarly publications), the Country Activity Tracker (comparative AI research, patents, and investment metrics across countries), the Supply Chain Explorer (semiconductor supply-chain entity map), ETO ORCA (open-source software usage and community activity tracking), ETO Scout (Chinese-language S&T source discovery), and PATHWISE (U.S. emerging-technology talent tracking). These tools are complemented by formal research reports, policy briefs, data snapshots, congressional testimony, and the monthly policy.ai newsletter. Senior staff hold appointments at Georgetown, Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, Stanford CISAC/HAI, and former roles at the Carnegie Endowment and federal agencies.

CSET's revenue model is institutional rather than commercial: funding flows from Georgetown University resources, sponsored research grants (including a Foundational Research Grants program that supports external researchers), and foundation sponsorship (e.g., NobleReach Foundation's Spring Symposium). All publications and data tools are provided at no charge to the public. Customer segments are horizontal by design—policymakers, legislative staff, academics, and journalists—with no disclosed enterprise customers and no commercial pricing model.

Name

CSET

Legal name

Center for Security and Emerging Technology

Website

https://cset.georgetown.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CSET is a nonpartisan policy research organization within Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service that produces data-driven analysis on the security implications of AI, advanced computing, and biotechnology for U.S. and allied government decision-makers, delivering reports, congressional testimony, and the Emerging Technology Observatory data platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. University Funding: As a policy research organization within Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, CSET receives institutional funding from Georgetown University
2. Foundational Research Grants: CSET runs a Foundational Research Grants program to support research on security and emerging technologies

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CSET is a policy research organization that produces data-driven analysis on the security implications of emerging technologies—primarily AI, advanced computing, and biotechnology—for government decision-makers. Its deliverables include published research reports, policy briefs, data snapshots, expert commentary, congressional testimony, and the Emerging Technology Observatory (ETO) data platform with interactive analytical tools such as Map of Science, Country Activity Tracker, Supply Chain Explorer, ETO Scout, ETO ORCA, and PATHWISE.

Product overview

CSET (Center for Security and Emerging Technology) is a policy research organization within Georgetown University that produces data-driven analysis on emerging technologies and security implications. Rather than a commercial product company, CSET offers research publications and data tools. Its primary data platform is the Emerging Technology Observatory (ETO), which hosts multiple analytical tools including Map of Science for research literature clustering, Country Activity Tracker (CAT) for AI ecosystem metrics, Supply Chain Explorer for semiconductor analysis, ETO Scout for Chinese-language S&T sources, and ORCA for open-source software tracking. ETO is complemented by PATHWISE for emerging technology talent tracking. CSET also publishes written products including reports, policy briefs, data snapshots, and the policy.ai newsletter. These tools and publications provide nonpartisan analysis to the policy community on AI, advanced computing, and biotechnology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Emerging Technology Observatory (ETO): A public platform providing high-quality, actionable data resources on the global emerging technology landscape, including Map of Science, Country Activity Tracker, Supply Chain Explorer, ETO Scout, and ETO Research Almanac

Products and services

• Emerging Technology Observatory (ETO)
• Map of Science
• Country Activity Tracker (CAT)

Quantifiable outcome

• Analysis of over 9,000 unclassified RFPs from China's People's Liberation Army revealing military AI priorities
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Center for a New American Security (CNAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSET and CNAS co-authored a series of publications on controlling access to advanced computing via cloud computing, outlining policy options for U.S. government to restrict Chinese access to cloud computing services in support of military, security, or intelligence end uses. The partnership produced Part I and Part II of this series with joint analysis.
• NobleReach FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNobleReach Foundation sponsors CSET's Spring Symposium on building the AI and emerging technology workforce, including discussions featuring Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester and industry experts.
• Jobs for the FutureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on PATHWISE project to deliver research on talent trends in the U.S., including talent development pipelines for AI, cybersecurity, and other emerging technologies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RAND Corporation: Largest U.S. policy research nonprofit with deep defense/national-security and emerging-technology work; comparable operating model (nonprofit research organization), similar outputs (data-driven reports and analytic tools), and overlapping client base (DoD, intelligence community, Congress).
• Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF): Nonpartisan technology-policy think tank focused on innovation, AI, and competitiveness. Provides data-driven reports on AI policy, semiconductor industrial strategy, and global R&D — overlapping CSET's Compete, Supply Chains, and Assessment workstreams.
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Foreign-policy research institution with a strong technology and AI policy portfolio; comparable nonprofit model, expert-fellow staffing approach, and policy-brief output. Several CSET researchers (e.g., Feldgoise) came through Carnegie's Gaither Junior Fellow program.
• Center for a New American Security (CNAS): Bipartisan national-security think tank that co-authors with CSET on emerging-technology and export-control policy; similar mission around technology competition, comparable analyst-driven publication model, and shared congressional/National-Security-Council audiences.
• Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI): University-affiliated AI policy research center producing data-driven reports on AI governance, workforce, and ethics; comparable academic-policy hybrid model and similar AI-policy publication cadence, making it the closest higher-education peer to CSET.
• Atlantic Council GeoTech Center: Atlantic Council program covering technology policy, supply-chain security, and global AI competition; comparable policy-research outputs, congressional engagement, and analytical style — making it a direct peer on technology competition policy.

Emerging players

• Govini: Data-analytics platform serving the U.S. defense and national-security community with proprietary datasets; comparable government-facing analytical capabilities and data-as-a-product approach, though commercial rather than nonprofit and focused on defense acquisition rather than AI policy.
• AI Now Institute: University-affiliated research institute producing data and policy analysis on AI governance and accountability; comparable academic-policy hybrid and report-driven model, with overlapping audience of AI-policy researchers and regulators.

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution: Large, established Washington think tank producing data-driven policy research across technology, economics, and foreign policy. Operates at much greater scale than CSET but overlaps directly in AI and emerging-tech policy analysis for senior U.S. decision-makers.
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Major bipartisan policy organization with substantial work on technology competition, semiconductors, and emerging-technology security. Direct overlap with CSET's national-security-tech mandate and similar congressional engagement model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/csetgeorgetown
• GitHubgithub.com/georgetown-cset
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCC0d3h9rVlfBouk0WoKE1FQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/georgetown-cset

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 CSET