N Square
N Square was a philanthropic collaborative founded in 2014 that built and supported a cross-sector network of approximately 100 fellows producing tools, games, VR, and media to reduce nuclear threats; it merged with Horizon 2045 effective January 1, 2024.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What N Square does
N Square was a collaborative innovation nonprofit founded in 2014 by five major foundations — Carnegie Corporation of New York, Ploughshares Fund, Skoll Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation — to inject cross-sector innovation into the nuclear threat reduction field. The organization built and operated the N Square Innovators Network, a deliberately diverse cohort-based program that grew to nearly 100 fellows across six cohorts, drawing together technologists, game designers, policy experts, diplomats, filmmakers, and other professionals who would not typically collaborate within the traditional nuclear security establishment. Programs were structured around fellowship cohorts, annual Innovation Summits, a DC Hub launched in 2019 at WeWork Chinatown in Washington, and crowdsourced open innovation challenges run on the InnoCentive (now Wazoku) platform.
The organization's core technical and content portfolio included the Horizon 2045 Foresight Radar (an interactive signals-of-change visualization co-developed with the Nuclear Threat Initiative and RISD's Center for Complexity), a unique nuclear system causal loop diagram, the Things That Go Boom podcast produced with Public Radio International (230,000+ downloads), the Nuclear Decisions game (with Playmatics, CISSM, and PRI), full-motion VR disarmament verification simulations (with Princeton Nuclear Futures Lab), and partner-hosted tools including NUKEMAP (149.8M+ detonation simulations) and Geo4Nonpro (crowdsourced satellite imagery analysis at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies). None of these are commercial products — all are funded by foundation grants and distributed for free through partners and the N Square website.
N Square's business model was purely philanthropic: grant funding from the founding collaborative of five foundations supported the Innovators Network, fellowship cohorts, the DC Hub, summits, and tool development. There were no subscription, licensing, or transaction revenue streams. The organization's served stakeholder groups included nuclear professionals and innovators (primary segment), the general public (reached through storytelling, games, VR, and podcasts), philanthropic funders and foundations (using N Square's network to inform grantmaking strategy), and international diplomats and security experts (engaged through VR verification exercises and crisis-response networks). Effective January 1, 2024, N Square merged with Horizon 2045 and ceased standalone operations; nsquare.org now redirects to horizon2045.org.
N Square firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- N Square
- Legal name
- N Square
- Website
- https://nsquare.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- N Square was a philanthropic collaborative founded in 2014 that built and supported a cross-sector network of approximately 100 fellows producing tools, games, VR, and media to reduce nuclear threats; it merged with Horizon 2045 effective January 1, 2024.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
N Square industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nuclear Nonproliferation Innovation Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Publishing Industries (513)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good) (BPAGALAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- STEM & Lab Simulation Media (Virtual Labs, AR/VR) (EDAGALAF), STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG), Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK)
Keywords
Where N Square is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
N Square business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Grant Funding: N Square is a nonprofit funded by a collaborative of major foundations. The founding funders include Carnegie Corporation of New York, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ploughshares Fund, Skoll Foundation, and Hewlett Foundation. Additional funders include the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Rhode Island School of Design's Center for Complexity. Funding supports the Innovators Network, fellowships, challenges, the DC Hub, and initiative development.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
N Square product offering
Product offeringCore offering
N Square is a philanthropic collaborative innovation organization that reduces nuclear threats by convening a cross-sector network of technologists, game designers, policy experts, diplomats, and filmmakers into structured fellowship cohorts. It runs open innovation challenges, builds foresight and systems-mapping tools, and produces immersive media (podcasts, VR simulations, interactive games) to expand the field of people working on nuclear security issues.
Product overview
N Square is a collaborative innovation initiative (not a technology product company) focused on reducing nuclear threats through convening, funding, and supporting a cross-sector network. Its portfolio includes: the N Square Innovators Network (core fellowship program), Horizon 2045 (foresight framework with interactive radar), Innovation Summits (annual cohort showcase), Systems Frameworks courses, the Nuclear Decisions game, Things That Go Boom podcast, VR verification tools from Princeton, and various crowdsourced InnoCentive challenges. The organization operates as a platform-plus-program approach, connecting diverse experts (technologists, game designers, policy experts, filmmakers) to prototype solutions. As of January 2024, N Square has merged with Horizon 2045.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- N Square Innovators Network A cross-sector network of nearly 100 fellows across six cohorts — technologists, game designers, policy experts, diplomats, and filmmakers — who tackle nuclear challenges in small, designer-facilitated teams and prototype novel solutions. Open to nuclear professionals and cross-disciplinary innovators.
- Horizon 2045 Foresight Initiative An initiative led with the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Rhode Island School of Design's Center for Complexity providing a framework and interactive radar tool for examining interconnected global threats, including nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies. Merged into N Square effective January 1, 2024.
- Innovation Summits Annual festival that celebrates each new cohort of innovation fellows and showcases emerging ideas, prototypes, and projects as a 'parade of prototypes' for the broader nuclear innovation community.
- N Square Forum A strategic advisory body comprising Innovators Network members and external thought partners that advises N Square on the future of global security and nuclear weapons.
- N Square DC Hub A physical collaboration space in Washington DC's Chinatown serving early-to-mid-career nuclear nonproliferation professionals with programs, events, and convenings for the network community.
- Nuclear Decisions Game An interactive simulation game that places users in the role of a military officer with five minutes to decide whether incoming missiles represent a real nuclear attack, built with Playmatics, CISSM, and PRI.
- Things That Go Boom Podcast A 'This American Life'-style podcast produced with Public Radio International that makes nuclear issues accessible to broad public audiences through storytelling about nuclear innovators and innovations.
- InnoCentive Nuclear Challenges Three crowdsourced innovation challenges run through InnoCentive (now Wazoku) with the Stimson Center and ICAN, engaging tens of thousands of solvers on nuclear security network design, civil society engagement, and dual-use technology safeguarding.
Quantifiable outcome
- 149.8 million nuclear detonation simulations conducted on NUKEMAP, with 15,000 daily page views — making nuclear risk viscerally tangible for mass audiences
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use N Square
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
N Square technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature9 records
N Square partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Horizon 2045 (Nuclear Threat Initiative and Rhode Island School of Design)coreHorizon 2045 is a project launched by N Square in partnership with the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Rhode Island School of Design's Center for Complexity. Effective January 1, 2024, N Square merged with Horizon 2045. The initiative builds an international team and an interactive tool (the Horizon 2045 Foresight Radar) for making sense of signals of change with potential to reshape human and planetary security, taking a holistic view of global threats including nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies.
- PlaymaticsminorPlaymatics, led by founder Nick Fortugno (an N Square fellow), co-designed and developed the Nuclear Decisions game — a high-stakes simulation that places users in the role of a military officer deciding whether incoming missiles represent a real nuclear attack within a five-minute window. The game was produced in partnership with CISSM, N Square, and PRI.
- Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)minorCISSM, led by Nancy Gallagher, co-developed the Nuclear Decisions game with Playmatics, N Square, and PRI. CISSM provided the policy expertise and simulation framework for the game's decision-making modules.
- Public Radio International (PRI)corePRI partnered with N Square and Laicie Heeley to produce and distribute the 'Things That Go Boom' podcast. PRI's CEO Alissa Miller sought to build network effects through collaboration with N Square. Kathy Merritt (VP Content Strategy) greenlit the pilot, with N Square, Ploughshares Fund, and others as funders. PRI promoted the podcast on air and used it as a springboard for broader nuclear issue coverage.
- Princeton Nuclear Futures Lab (Woodrow Wilson School)coreThe Princeton Nuclear Futures Lab, led by Alex Glaser and Tamara Patton, developed full-motion VR simulations for nuclear disarmament verification, funded by the MacArthur Foundation. N Square connected the team with Games for Change for public engagement extensions. The lab's work was demonstrated to UN diplomats in Geneva.
- Games for ChangecoreGames for Change partnered with the Princeton Nuclear Futures Lab and N Square to develop VR disarmament experiences and social impact games for broad public audiences. N Square facilitated the introduction between the Princeton team and G4C President Susanna Pollack. G4C hosts an annual festival where project announcements are made.
- InnoCentive (now Wazoku)coreInnoCentive (now Wazoku) partnered with N Square, the Stimson Center, and ICAN to run three open innovation challenges engaging tens of thousands of solvers on nuclear security problems, producing hundreds of novel solutions and directly informing the design of the N Square Innovators Network.
- Stimson CentercoreThe Stimson Center partnered with N Square and InnoCentive on three nuclear challenges, specifically contributing expertise to the third challenge on dual-use technology information sharing. Stimson Fellow Laicie Heeley became a prominent N Square fellow and podcast host.
- ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons)coreICAN partnered with N Square and InnoCentive on open innovation challenges. ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its work establishing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The partnership connected N Square's innovation agenda with ICAN's advocacy and normative framing.
- IDEOminorThe founding funders collaborative retained IDEO, a Bay Area design firm, to lead an innovation process exploring how to introduce innovation to the nuclear threat field. This engagement directly led to the creation of the N Square innovation collaborative.
- James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) / Middlebury InstitutecoreCNS at the Middlebury Institute is a key partner, providing subject matter expertise and hosting multiple N Square fellows. N Square connected OEF to CNS early on; CNS had been doing similar open-source satellite analysis work. Fellow Melissa Hanham works at CNS; CNS also launched Geo4Nonpro, a crowdsourced satellite imagery interpretation experiment.
- Stevens Institute of TechnologycoreAlex Wellerstein, creator of NUKEMAP and Reinventing Civil Defense, is a historian of nuclear weapons at Stevens Institute of Technology. Stevens hired Wellerstein (against the odds for a nontraditional academic) and supports his public-facing work, making it a key institutional partner in N Square's public education ecosystem.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
N Square competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI): NTI co-built Horizon 2045 with N Square and operates as a parallel policy-and-innovation nonprofit in nuclear and biosecurity. It is the closest peer in mission, operating model, and funder ecosystem.
- ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons): ICAN is a 100-country coalition and 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate that partnered with N Square on InnoCentive challenges. It works the same nuclear threat-reduction mission from a civil-society advocacy angle.
- Stimson Center: Stimson co-designed and ran the third InnoCentive nuclear challenge with N Square and hosts multiple N Square fellows. It is a comparable policy-research nonprofit working on nuclear and emerging-security issues.
- James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS): CNS at the Middlebury Institute built Geo4Nonpro and hosts N Square fellows. It is a leading research center in the same nonproliferation field with comparable analytical tooling (open-source satellite analysis).
- One Earth Future Foundation: One Earth Future funded N Square's Datayo project and built the SAFE Network; it operates as an adjacent 'new philanthropy' nonprofit focused on global security and nuclear risk reduction with similar risk-tolerant grantmaking.
Broad incumbents
- Ploughshares Fund: Ploughshares is a N Square founding funder and the largest dedicated nuclear-security philanthropic grantmaker, funding grantees across the field. It is a larger, more generalist incumbent relative to N Square's convening focus.
- Carnegie Corporation of New York: Carnegie is a N Square founding funder and a much larger philanthropic incumbent whose international peace and security program overlaps significantly with N Square's mission.
- Federation of American Scientists (FAS): FAS is a long-established science-and-security policy nonprofit working on nuclear risk and emerging technology. It is a broader incumbent with overlapping mission and policy audiences.
Emerging players
- Princeton Nuclear Futures Lab: A Princeton Woodrow Wilson School lab (Alex Glaser, Tamara Patton) that built the VR disarmament verification simulations deployed at the UN. It is a closely aligned academic counterpart with overlapping technology and policy work.
Others
- Atomic Heritage Foundation / Council on Foreign Relations: Both are adjacent policy institutions engaging nuclear experts and the public; CFR is a major foreign-policy think tank with comparable convening power and audiences, though not focused on field-innovation in the same way.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
N Square social profiles
Digital presenceN Square financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
N Square leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
N Square funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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N Square M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about N Square
What does N Square do?
N Square is a philanthropic collaborative innovation organization that reduces nuclear threats by convening a cross-sector network of technologists, game designers, policy experts, diplomats, and filmmakers into structured fellowship cohorts. It runs open innovation challenges, builds foresight and systems-mapping tools, and produces immersive media (podcasts, VR simulations, interactive games) to expand the field of people working on nuclear security issues.
Is N Square a public or private company?
N Square is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was N Square founded?
N Square was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is N Square based?
N Square is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does N Square make money?
One revenue line is on record: philanthropic Grant Funding.
Who are N Square's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), Stimson Center, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) and One Earth Future Foundation. Broad incumbents are Ploughshares Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York and Federation of American Scientists (FAS). Princeton Nuclear Futures Lab is listed as an emerging player. Atomic Heritage Foundation / Council on Foreign Relations is listed as an others.
Does N Square have an API?
No public API is recorded for N Square.
What industry is N Square in?
N Square's product category is Nuclear Nonproliferation Innovation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAK, Digital Inclusion & Civic Tech (Connectivity, GovTech for Social Good), with a secondary code of EDAGALAF, STEM & Lab Simulation Media (Virtual Labs, AR/VR). Its NAICS code is 54172.