Physics World

What Physics World does

Physics World is a print and digital science magazine and media platform operated by IOP Publishing Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UK-based Institute of Physics (IOP), a registered charity. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Bristol, the platform serves the global physics and scientific community through a portfolio of online, digital, and print information services covering 13 scientific topics including astronomy, quantum physics, condensed matter, biophysics, medical physics, materials science, and nuclear/particle physics. The platform maintains more than 20 years of archived editorial content and distributes via website, newsletters, two podcast series (Physics World Weekly and Physics World Stories), YouTube, and RSS, while serving a diverse audience of physics researchers, students, early-career scientists, science communicators, and physics enthusiasts.

The core product is a freemium content model: free registration grants access to online articles, newsletters, and limited content, while IOP members receive full digital access to the monthly Physics World magazine. The platform sits on a standard digital publishing and content management stack, with no proprietary AI, API, or mobile application offerings documented. Product portfolio also includes Physics World Jobs (a careers marketplace for physics/engineering talent), Physics World Live (an international events calendar), Physics World Webinars, Physics World Quantum Briefing (a free digital issue on quantum science), and an annual Physics World Careers guide.

The business model combines IOP membership subscription value, advertising and sponsorship (including sponsored content, webinars, and events), and job board classified advertising. Named advertising customers include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a minor sponsored content partnership with the UTC Quantum Center. The platform is supported by a small editorial and operations team (11-50 employees) and is governed by IOP Publishing Ltd, with no external funding, no M&A activity, and no leadership changes disclosed in the source material. As a nonprofit-affiliated publishing operation, growth is reinvested into IOP's mission rather than distributed to external shareholders.

Name

Physics World

Legal name

IOP Publishing Ltd

Website

https://physicsworld.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Physics World is a science media platform published by IOP Publishing, serving the global physics community with news, features, podcasts, a monthly magazine, and a careers marketplace across 13 scientific disciplines. It operates on a freemium model with premium access for IOP members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science News Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAJAEAL

Science, Technology & Gaming Magazines

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Magazine Publishing (Consumer & B2B/Trade Magazines)

SECONDARYEDAGAGAG

Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols)

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Professional & Technical Reference Publishing

Keywords

• Physics journalism
• Science news publishing
• Research news coverage
• Physics careers platform
• Scientific podcast media

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription/Membership Revenue: IOP members receive full access to digital issues of the monthly Physics World magazine as a membership benefit. Non-members receive free registration with limited access to online content.
2. Advertising and Sponsorship: The platform displays sponsored content, featured webinars, and featured events from partners. Job board advertising through physicsworldjobs.com.
3. Job Board Services: Physics World Jobs offers career opportunities for jobseekers with physics or engineering backgrounds, with featured employers and job listings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Physics World is a print and digital science media platform that publishes daily news, research updates, features, opinion pieces, and analysis covering 13 scientific disciplines for the global physics and scientific community. The portfolio is built around the monthly Physics World Magazine (digital access for IOP members) and extends to two podcast series (Physics World Weekly and Physics World Stories), interactive puzzles, webinars, an events calendar, and the Physics World Jobs careers hub. Free online registration unlocks more than 20 years of archived articles, with full magazine access tied to IOP membership.

Product overview

Physics World is a science news and information platform operated by IOP Publishing, offering a unified portfolio of online, digital, and print information services for the global scientific community. The core offering consists of the Physics World website delivering daily news, research updates, features, opinions, and analysis across 13 scientific topics including astronomy, quantum physics, condensed matter, and medical physics. The portfolio includes the monthly Physics World Magazine (available as digital issues), two podcast series (Physics World Weekly and Physics World Stories), an interactive puzzles section, an events calendar, a physics careers hub (Physics World Jobs), and webinars. All content is accessible to registered users who can customize their newsletters and access more than 20 years of online archive.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Physics World Weekly: Podcast series that looks at the latest events and headlines in physics, featuring short interviews with scientists and journalists.
• Physics World Stories
• Physics World Jobs
• Physics World Live
• Physics World Quantum Briefing
• Physics World Careers

Products and services

• Physics World Magazine Monthly magazine covering breakthroughs and innovations across 13 scientific topics, available as digital issues to IOP members and as a print magazine to subscribers.
• Physics World Weekly Podcast Weekly podcast series examining the latest events and headlines in physics, featuring short interviews with scientists and journalists.
• Physics World Stories Podcast In-depth podcast series taking a more detailed look at specific topics in physics and science.
• Physics World Jobs Career hub offering job listings and employer profiles for individuals with backgrounds in physics or engineering, including featured employers such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
• Physics World Events Events calendar listing international conferences, symposia and exhibitions for scientists across academic research and industry.
• Physics World Webinars Online presentations featuring expert speakers explaining novel tools and applications in physics and related fields.
• Physics World Interactive Puzzles Collection of interactive puzzles including cryptic crosswords, slide puzzles, word puzzles, and quizzes related to physics topics.
• Physics World Quantum Briefing Free digital issue focusing on quantum science and technology topics.
• Physics World Careers Guide Annual careers guide showcasing job options for physicists, available as a free 96-page digital guide.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Institute of Physics (IOP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhysics World is a key part of IOP Publishing's mission to communicate world-class research and innovation to the widest possible audience. The website forms part of the Physics World portfolio, a collection of online, digital and print information services for the global scientific community.
• IOP PublishingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhysics World is published by IOP Publishing Ltd. The organization provides the publishing infrastructure, editorial resources, and institutional backing for Physics World.
• Physics World JobscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPhysics World Jobs offers career opportunities for jobseekers with physics or engineering backgrounds. Featured employers include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and other physics-related organizations.
• UTC Quantum CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTC Quantum Center sponsored content published on Physics World regarding quantum science and technology research at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Ars Technica: Ars Technica is a technology and science news publication covering physics-adjacent topics including computing, engineering, and space. It competes for the tech-savvy reader and digital advertising inventory that overlaps with Physics World's audience, particularly in multimedia and digital formats.

Direct peers

• Symmetry Magazine: Symmetry Magazine is a joint publication of Fermilab and SLAC covering particle physics and related fields. It targets the same physics-research audience as Physics World and operates under a similar society/laboratory-supported publishing model, making it a direct comparable in the physics-media category.
• Quanta Magazine: Quanta Magazine is an editorially independent online publication funded by the Simons Foundation that covers breakthroughs in physics, mathematics, and the life sciences. It is a direct competitor for high-quality physics journalism aimed at technically literate readers and competes for the same audience of physics researchers and enthusiasts.
• New Scientist: New Scientist is a popular science magazine and digital publication covering the latest scientific developments, including physics, for a broad audience of professionals and enthusiasts. It competes directly with Physics World for science-interested readers, advertising, and subscriber mindshare in the popular-science media category.
• Physics Today (AIP Publishing): Physics Today is the flagship magazine of the American Institute of Physics (AIP), covering physics research, policy, and community news. It is the closest direct competitor to Physics World, serving an overlapping audience of professional physicists with a print magazine and digital platform supported by an analogous professional-physics-society publishing model.
• APS News / Physics (American Physical Society): The American Physical Society publishes APS News and the journal Physics as member-benefit publications covering physics research, policy, and community news. Like Physics World within the IOP ecosystem, these publications serve society members and compete for the same institutional physics audience globally.

Broad incumbents

• Nature (Springer Nature): Nature is the flagship multi-discipline science journal brand of Springer Nature, publishing research, news, and commentary across all scientific fields including physics. It is the dominant brand in scientific publishing and competes for the same physics researchers, science journalists, and institutional advertisers that Physics World targets.
• Scientific American: Scientific American is one of the oldest and most recognized popular science magazines, covering physics, technology, and broader scientific topics for a general audience. It competes with Physics World for science enthusiasts, advertisers, and podcast/video audiences at the broader end of the science media spectrum.
• Wired: Wired is a major science-and-technology media brand covering emerging technology, including physics-driven innovations. It competes with Physics World for the broad science-curious reader and for advertising and sponsorship from technology companies that Physics World also courts.

Others

• IOPscience: IOPscience is the scholarly publishing platform of IOP Publishing — Physics World's parent — hosting peer-reviewed physics journals. While it targets researchers seeking primary literature rather than news, it represents the same brand family and overlapping audience and benefits from cross-promotion with Physics World.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PhysicsWorld
• YouTubeyoutube.com/PhysicsWorldTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/physicsworld
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/physics-world

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Physics World