What Noosphere does

Noosphere is a mobile-first, subscription-based news platform founded by Jane Ferguson, an award-winning former war correspondent with 15 years of field reporting experience across the Middle East, Africa, and other conflict zones. The company is headquartered at 85 Broad Street in New York and is incorporated in Delaware as Noosphere Inc. Its product is a single iOS application (with Google Play indicated as coming soon) that enables direct, two-way communication between journalists and their audiences through personal videos and text messaging. Subscribers follow individual reporters rather than news organizations, and the platform shares a portion of subscription revenue with the journalists whose content they consume, structurally disintermediating traditional media outlets.

The company's underlying technology combines a mobile application, Mux-hosted video delivery, and a subscription/routing layer that supports per-journalist following and a revenue-share mechanism. Its core differentiator is a roster of roughly 25 named, credentialed journalists — including mainstream US political figures such as Chris Cillizza and Chuck Todd, BBC alumna Laura Trevelyan, and award-winning correspondents such as Shrouq Aila (a CPJ Press Freedom Award recipient) — rather than technology sophistication. Distribution is intentionally mobile-only, with a first-month-free trial to drive consumer acquisition, and the Terms of Service restrict service to US residents.

Noosphere operates two revenue streams: a consumer subscription business with monthly and annual billing, and a B2B technology licensing line that debuted with a multiyear agreement with British broadcaster Sky News in April 2026 for its defense and security experts. The company has indicated active discussions with additional US news organizations for similar licensing deals. No institutional funding rounds, revenue figures, or headcount data are publicly disclosed, and the business appears to operate as a privately held, founder-controlled startup with no parent company or subsidiaries.

Name

Noosphere

Legal name

Noosphere Inc.

Website

https://noosphere.app

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Noosphere is a mobile-first, subscription-based news platform founded by war correspondent Jane Ferguson that lets consumers follow individual journalists directly via two-way personal video and text, sharing subscription revenue with reporters and licensing the underlying technology to enterprise newsrooms such as Sky News.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Digital News Platform

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Mobile news app
• Journalist subscriptions
• Digital news platform
• News technology licensing
• Direct journalist access

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consumer Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription fees from consumers who subscribe to follow specific journalists. Consumers who subscribe to follow specific journalists receive a share of subscription revenue.
2. Technology Licensing: Multiyear licensing agreements with news organizations like Sky News to deploy the app-based technology enabling direct two-way communication between journalists and audiences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Noosphere operates a mobile-only news application that enables direct, two-way communication between award-winning journalists and their audiences through personal videos and text messages. Subscribers pay monthly or annual fees to follow individual journalists, who share in the subscription revenue. The company also licenses its proprietary journalist-audience communication technology to enterprise news organizations on multiyear agreements.

Product overview

Noosphere operates as a single mobile application platform that provides direct access to award-winning journalists. The Noosphere app enables subscribers to follow specific journalists, receiving exclusive content through personal videos and text messaging. The company generates revenue through a subscription model where subscribers pay to follow individual journalists, who in turn share a portion of subscription revenue. The platform serves as a disintermediated news distribution channel connecting journalists directly with audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Noosphere Mobile App A consumer mobile application that allows individual subscribers to follow specific award-winning journalists and receive direct personal videos and text messages; subscribers pay monthly or annual fees and followed journalists share in the subscription revenue.
• Noosphere Journalist-Audience Communication Technology (Enterprise Licensing) Enterprise license of Noosphere's proprietary mobile platform that enables news organizations to provide their journalists and experts with direct two-way communication channels to their audiences via personal videos and text messaging.

Quantifiable outcome

• Subscriptions often double after creators sign with major platforms

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sky NewscoreTechnology or Integration · 10 April 2026Multiyear licensing agreement with British broadcaster Sky News to deploy Noosphere's app-based technology enabling direct two-way communication between journalists and their audiences through personal videos and text messaging. Sky News announced it would begin experimenting with the technology for its defense and security experts.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Substack: Subscription-based newsletter platform enabling writers and journalists to monetize audiences directly. Closest direct competitor to Noosphere's consumer subscription model, though Substack is email-first and web-first while Noosphere is mobile-first video/text.
• Puck News: Subscription-based journalism platform featuring marquee reporters producing insider news across politics, media, and business. Comparable paywalled, journalist-led model targeting high-value news consumers.
• The Information: Premium subscription news outlet founded by a former journalist, focused on tech and business reporting. Comparable high-priced subscription model serving dedicated, paying news audiences.
• Beehiiv: Newsletter and creator publishing platform with built-in monetization, audience analytics, and subscription tooling. Competes for the same creator-journalist audience seeking direct subscriber relationships.
• Ghost: Open-source publishing platform powering subscription newsletters and independent publications. Directly comparable infrastructure play for journalists monetizing audiences without intermediary news organizations.

Broad incumbents

• Patreon: Largest creator subscription platform, broadly used by journalists and writers among other creator types. Comparable recurring-revenue, audience-funded model, though Patreon serves creators beyond journalism.
• Medium: Large-scale online publishing platform with paid membership program (Medium Partner Program). Overlaps in offering independent writers a monetization layer atop published content.
• The New York Times: Established subscription news leader with multi-million-subscriber digital base. Represents the dominant incumbent that Noosphere's disintermediation thesis explicitly positions against.
• X (Twitter): Major platform where journalists cultivate direct audiences and increasingly monetize via subscriptions and creator payouts. Functions as both a substitute distribution channel and a complementary audience-acquisition channel for Noosphere journalists.

Others

• Sky News: British broadcaster and Noosphere's first disclosed licensing partner. Not a competitor but a strategic counterpart demonstrating how legacy newsrooms can adopt Noosphere's two-way communication technology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Noosphere