What People Analytics does

People Analytics is a Toronto-based civic ventures studio founded in 2015 that builds and incubates a portfolio of survey research, data governance, and public opinion technology ventures, operating entirely remotely from Toronto with no physical presence in jurisdictions where research is conducted. The company is held under Farmanesh Holdings Corporation and explicitly requires each venture to be financially self-sustaining without grant dependence. Its most distinguishing feature is a Specific License from the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), first issued in September 2015 and most recently reissued in July 2025, authorizing lawful public opinion research in sanctioned countries including Iran.

The company's center of gravity is VoxDash, a cloud-based data governance and insight-sharing platform for survey research built on Google Cloud and Azure stacks. VoxDash is currently in alpha release with public beta slated for mid-2026 and is designed around FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles, multilingual support, fine-grained access controls, embargo scheduling, JSON-LD metadata, and DataCite DOI registration. Surrounding VoxDash are AI-enabled modules — AI-CATI for AI-assisted telephone interviewing, VoxVerify for anomaly detection in survey quality, Insightica for scholar discovery, Sample.Directory for survey sampling, and VoxFavor for credit-based data exchange — together with country-specific polling sub-brands (IranPoll, IraqPanel, PollingChina, TurkmenPoll, AfghanPoll) that apply a proprietary RDD Bypass methodology to gather probability-sample data in high-barrier contexts.

People Analytics generates revenue through professional services for structured public opinion research engagements with institutions, freemium and institutional subscriptions on VoxDash, proctored testing services through People Analytics Testing Corporation in Toronto, and credit-based marketplace transactions via VoxFavor. Pricing is quote-based for institutional research projects and undisclosed for testing services, while public datasets on VoxDash are free to deposit and free to use. The customer base spans multilateral institutions (United Nations, World Bank), academic institutions (Princeton, Rice, Cornell, University of Maryland), policy think tanks (RAND, International Crisis Group, Chicago Council on Global Affairs), government bodies (U.S. House Subcommittee on National Security, Library of Congress), and multinational corporations (Nestle, P&G, LG, Carlsberg).

Name

People Analytics

Legal name

People Analytics Inc.

Website

https://PeopleAnalytics.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

People Analytics is a Toronto-based civic ventures studio that builds survey research, data governance, and AI-enabled public opinion platforms under a parent OFAC license, serving academic institutions, multilateral bodies, think tanks, government agencies, and multinational corporations with methodologically transparent research from closed and fragile societies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Opinion Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Media & Audience Measurement Analytics (BPAHALAO), Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork) (MPAAALAD), Data Analytics & Business Intelligence Services (BPAHALAC)

Keywords

• Public opinion research
• Survey research services
• Polling methodology
• Data governance platform
• Civic data infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Survey Research Services: Primary revenue from providing structured, methodologically transparent public opinion research services to institutions in complex regulatory environments. Operates under OFAC Specific License enabling lawful research services in sanctioned countries. Research informs academic centers, policy institutions, and government bodies.
2. Data Governance Platform (VoxDash): Freemium model for VoxDash platform. Public datasets are free to deposit and free to use. Platform generates revenue through institutional subscriptions, enterprise access, and premium features for data governance and compliance management.
3. National Testing Services: Revenue from operating national-level proctored testing centers in Toronto serving public and private institutions requiring high integrity and data security standards for education, credentialing, and assessment.
4. VoxFavor Credits System: Internal credits-based currency within VoxDash Data Marketplace enabling data project access sharing. Includes Goodwill pool for students/scholars and traditional monetary transactions for expanded access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

People Analytics is a civic ventures studio that delivers structured, methodologically transparent public opinion research and data governance services to institutions working in complex regulatory and political environments. Its core offerings include fee-based public opinion surveys across Iran, Iraq, China, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan (operated remotely from Toronto under a U.S. Treasury OFAC Specific License), a cloud-based data governance and insight-sharing platform (VoxDash) for publishing and discovering polling data, AI-assisted survey quality validation (VoxVerify), an AI-CATI telephone fieldwork module, and national-level proctored testing services through its Toronto testing centers.

Product overview

People Analytics Civic Ventures Studio operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on civic data infrastructure and public opinion research. The core flagship platform is VoxDash, a cloud data governance and insight-sharing platform for survey research, which serves as the central hub with multiple specialized modules and sub-ventures. Supporting the platform are AI-powered modules including VoxDash AI-CATI (AI-assisted telephone fieldwork), Insightica (scholar discovery), VoxVerify (data quality validation), Sample.Directory (survey sampling), and Voxfavor (credit-based data marketplace). The portfolio also includes country-specific polling sub-brands—VoxNations (primary research methodology), IranPoll, IraqPanel, PollingChina, TurkmenPoll, and AfghanPoll—that provide field-validated public opinion research in challenging data environments. Additional ventures include People Analytics Testing Corporation (proctored testing centers) and The Exit Principle (citizenship rights initiative). All ventures are majority-owned by People Analytics Civic Ventures Studio under Farmanesh Holdings Corporation and operated remotely from Toronto.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VoxDash: A data governance and insight-sharing platform for survey research. Cloud platform for publishing, governing, and discovering polling data without exposing raw files.
• VoxNations
• IranPoll
• IraqPanel
• People Analytics Testing Corporation
• PollingChina
• TurkmenPoll
• AfghanPoll
• Insightica
• Sample.Directory
• VoxVerify
• VoxFavor
• The Exit Principle

Products and services

• VoxDash Cloud platform for publishing, governing, and discovering polling data without exposing raw files, with multilingual support, fine-grained access controls, embargo scheduling, permanent webpages with persistent VoxDash IDs, JSON-LD structured metadata, and integrated DataCite DOI registration for citation-grade persistence. Every public dataset is free to deposit and free to use under FAIR principles; institutional subscriptions add advanced governance features and multi-affiliation access management.
• VoxNations Field-validated public opinion research delivered remotely from Toronto for environments where reliable data is scarce, misrepresented, or politically fraught, using methodologies developed for high-barrier contexts such as China, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.
• IranPoll Structured, methodologically transparent public opinion research on Iran, conducted under U.S. Treasury OFAC Specific License and delivering findings used by academic institutions (including Princeton and Rice Universities) and policy organizations (including RAND Corporation and International Crisis Group).
• IraqPanel Largest online panel of Iraqis and Kurds providing survey reach across all major Iraqi provinces, supporting development planning, foreign policy, peacebuilding, and civic education.
• People Analytics Testing Corporation National-level proctored testing centers in Toronto serving public and private institutions with high integrity and data security standards for education, credentialing, and assessment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Market growth from USD 2.97 billion in 2024 to USD 10.56 billion by 2033 (15.4% CAGR) for Workplace Analytics Platform market

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Harvard UniversityminorOthersDr. Amir Farmanesh holds fellowship experience at Harvard University. Academic affiliation provides intellectual credibility and potential research collaboration opportunities.
• University of TorontominorOthersDr. Amir Farmanesh holds fellowship experience at University of Toronto. Primary operating location provides access to Canadian academic resources and talent pool.
• U.S. National Academies of SciencesminorOthersDr. Amir Farmanesh holds fellowship experience with the National Academies of Sciences. Provides institutional credibility and potential policy research collaboration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Global public opinion and analytics firm that awarded People Analytics its 2018 Quality Award. Comparable as a direct competitor in survey research and audience measurement globally, but operates at vastly larger scale and broader portfolio than People Analytics' high-barrier niche.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent research institution at the University of Chicago conducting large-scale survey research for government, academic, and nonprofit clients. Comparable in academic-grade methodology, institutional client base, and emphasis on methodological transparency.
• Morning Consult: Global decision intelligence company combining survey research with proprietary economic and brand-tracking data. Comparable as a survey-research and public-opinion-measurement competitor serving enterprise and policy clients, but with a much broader commercial portfolio.
• YouGov: International market research and data analytics firm with a large online panel and syndicated public opinion tracking. Comparable in survey-research methodology and audience-measurement services to enterprise and government clients, though broader in scope and panel-driven in delivery.
• Ipsos: Global market research and public opinion firm operating across 90+ markets. Comparable in survey research, audience measurement, and advisory services to enterprise, government, and multilateral clients, with substantially broader geographic and category coverage.

Direct peers

• Pew Research Center: Nonpartisan research organization producing public opinion polling on politics, media, and global attitudes. Comparable to People Analytics in serving academic, policy, and media clients with methodologically transparent survey research, though without People Analytics' OFAC-licensed sanctioned-country focus.
• Arab Barometer: Nonpartisan research network conducting public opinion surveys across the Arab world. Directly comparable to People Analytics' IraqPanel and VoxNations ventures, with overlapping methodologies, customer base (policy think tanks, multilateral institutions), and coverage of politically volatile regions.
• Zogby International: Survey research firm with deep expertise in Middle East public opinion polling. Comparable to People Analytics in delivering international polling to academic and policy clients, with overlapping geographic focus and institutional buyer segments.

Emerging players

• GeoPoll: Mobile survey platform specializing in data collection across emerging and conflict-affected markets in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Directly comparable to People Analytics' VoxNations and country-specific polling ventures in using mobile/RDD-based methods in high-barrier environments.
• RIWI: Technology-driven public opinion and risk intelligence firm using random domain intercept and passive data collection across 100+ countries. Comparable in delivering continuous public opinion signals from hard-to-reach populations, with overlapping enterprise and government client segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/peopleanalytic

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries14 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 People Analytics