The Copia Institute

What The Copia Institute does

The Copia Institute is a digital-native think tank founded in 2015 by Mike Masnick, also the founder of Techdirt, and headquartered in Redwood City, California. The organization produces two complementary lines of output: (1) a Research Library of original reports and whitepapers on internet policy, including the recurring Sky Is Rising series on entertainment industries, studies on intermediary liability and broadband competition (e.g., Unintended Consequences of Internet Regulation, Just A Click Away, Don't Shoot The Message Board), and (2) Copia Gaming, a portfolio of "serious games" — both browser-based (Trust & Safety Tycoon, Moderator Mayhem, Startup Trail, Trust & Safety: Armed Conflict) and live-event formats (Threatcast, FutureCast, Money City, Working Futures, HAL of Justice, Positive AI Economic Futures).

The underlying technology stack centers on interactive web-based gameplay (browser-hosted at dedicated URLs such as trustandsafety.fun and moderatedormayhem.engine.is) plus open-source playkits distributed under Creative Commons that organizations can self-facilitate. Many titles are co-developed with high-profile institutional partners including the United Nations Global Pulse, the World Economic Forum, the Atlantic Council, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Engine Advocacy, which both funds and validates the work.

The business model is grant- and partnership-driven rather than product-commercialization-driven: all games and reports are free to access, funding comes from philanthropic grants (William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Knight Foundation, Grant For The Web) and crowdfunding (e.g., Facts, Not Fear on encryption), with select bespoke facilitated workshops for institutional clients. Reach is amplified through Techdirt's blog and podcast distribution channel. Primary audiences are policymakers, technology companies' trust-and-safety teams, educators, advocacy organizations, and media covering technology policy; the client mix is diverse across nonprofit, governmental, and foundation counterparties.

Name

The Copia Institute

Legal name

The Copia Institute

Website

https://copia.is

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Copia Institute is a Redwood City-based, Techdirt-affiliated think tank founded in 2015 that produces free original research and a portfolio of serious games on internet policy, content moderation, AI, and elections for policymakers, tech companies, educators, and advocacy organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Education

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

akta.pro primary industry

Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking) (MPAJACAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Legal & Regulatory Publishing (Case Law, Statutes, Treatises) (MPAJACAA)

Keywords

• Internet policy research
• Serious games development
• Technology policy think tank
• Content moderation education
• Strategic foresight gaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Redwood City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research and Advisory Services: The Copia Institute produces original research and whitepapers on internet policy topics. As a think tank created by Techdirt, it likely operates through grants, sponsorships, and partnerships rather than direct product sales.
2. Crowdfunding Campaigns: Initiatives like 'Facts, Not Fear: The Truth About Encryption' use crowdfunding (via Beacon) to support specific reporting and education projects on policy topics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Copia Institute produces original research reports and whitepapers on internet policy, copyright, intermediary liability, broadband competition, and entertainment industries, and designs serious games (both browser-based and live event formats) that explore technology and policy intersections such as content moderation, trust & safety, AI, elections, and the future of work. All research and games are distributed for free through the copia.is website, open source playkits, and co-developed with partner organizations like UN Global Pulse, ICRC, Atlantic Council, and the World Economic Forum.

Product overview

The Copia Institute is a digital-native think tank created by Techdirt that produces original research and serious games exploring internet policy and technology. The organization operates two main offerings: the Research Library containing reports and whitepapers on topics like copyright, broadband competition, intermediary liability, and entertainment industries; and Copia Gaming, a suite of interactive browser-based and live event games that explore complex policy topics through gameplay, including Trust & Safety Tycoon, Moderator Mayhem, Threatcast, Money City, and Working Futures. Additional initiatives include the Statement of Innovation Principles project and the Open Source Policy Project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Copia Gaming: A division of The Copia Institute that creates serious games exploring the intersection of technology and policy, including browser games and live event games for educating about content moderation, AI, trust & safety, and elections.

Products and services

• Research Library

Quantifiable outcome

• Research reports on internet policy, business models, and innovation topics
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• United Nations Global PulsecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created FutureCast, a strategic foresight game tool that is available as an open source toolkit for exploring future scenarios. Partnership represents deep co-development collaboration on global policy applications.
• World Economic ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Positive AI Economic Futures workshop initiative, bringing together economists, technologists, and sci-fi authors through a series of games exploring AI's future impact.
• X-PrizecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-partner in Positive AI Economic Futures workshop exploring positive visions for the future of AI with 90 participants.
• Center for Human-compatible Artificial IntelligencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Positive AI Economic Futures workshop initiative exploring AI's impact on society and economy.
• Atlantic Council's Task Force for a Trustworthy Future WebcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation with Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab Democracy and Tech Initiative for Trust & Safety Tycoon game development, with support from William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.
• International Committee of the Red CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ICRC to create Trust & Safety: Armed Conflict, a game exploring social media trust & safety during armed conflicts.
• EnginemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated Moderator Mayhem (mobile content moderation game) and Startup Trail (tech startup policy game) in association with Engine advocacy organization.
• Mozilla FestivalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted Money City game at MozFest 2021, an annual festival focused on internet health and digital inclusion.
• CCIA Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished joint research including The Sky Is Rising 2024 and The Unintended Consequences of Internet Regulation reports.
• Center for a New American Security (CNAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project on facilitating better communication between Silicon Valley and Washington, producing The Rocky Relationship Between Washington & Silicon Valley report.
• Scout.aimajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Working Futures project exploring future of work, contributing to scenario planning and speculative fiction anthology.
• R StreetmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Working Futures project exploring future of work, contributing to scenario planning discussions.
• TechdirtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechdirt created The Copia Institute as its policy think tank arm. Techdirt provides primary distribution channel through its blog and podcast, with shared staff including Mike Masnick.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Engine: Internet-freedom advocacy nonprofit that co-developed Moderator Mayhem and Startup Trail with Copia. Comparable because it targets the same startup-policy and platform-governance audience, produces public-facing education, and operates with a similar lean advocacy-team model.
• Institute for the Future: A nonprofit futures research organization specializing in scenario planning, foresight games, and 10-year forecasts — directly overlapping Copia's FutureCast, Working Futures, and Hindsight products. Comparable because it sells foresight tools to institutions and uses interactive methods similar to Copia Gaming.
• Techdirt: The parent organization that created The Copia Institute; a long-running internet-policy blog and podcast run by Mike Masnick. Highly comparable because it shares staff, audience, and editorial mandate with Copia and serves as the institute's primary distribution channel.
• R Street Institute: A nonprofit, public-policy research organization that partnered on Copia's Working Futures scenario-planning project. Comparable as a similarly sized, tech-forward think tank producing open-source policy outputs and workshops.

Broad incumbents

• Atlantic Council: International affairs think tank whose Task Force for a Trustworthy Future Web co-created Trust & Safety Tycoon with Copia. Comparable because it commissions and co-publishes educational content on platform governance and trust & safety, but across a much wider policy portfolio.
• Brookings Institution: One of the largest U.S. think tanks, producing research across technology policy, AI governance, and digital regulation — all topics Copia covers. Comparable as a leading institutional voice on the same issues, but with a far larger staff and budget.
• New America: A public-policy think tank with active programs on internet governance, platform regulation, and the future of work — overlapping Copia's policy domains. Comparable because it produces open research and convenings, though as a much larger, more diversified institution.
• Center for a New American Security (CNAS): A national-security and technology-policy think tank that partnered with Copia on the Rocky Relationship Between Washington & Silicon Valley report. Comparable because it produces joint research on the same tech-policy intersection, but at significantly larger scale and broader scope.

Emerging players

• Lawfare: A media and policy publication covering national-security law, surveillance, and platform governance — closely adjacent to Copia's content-moderation, encryption, and Section 230 work. Comparable because it serves the same tech-policy professional audience, though with editorial rather than educational output.
• Filament Games: An educational and serious-games studio that builds interactive learning experiences for schools, museums, and corporate clients. Comparable because it shares Copia's serious-games production capability and domain expertise in translating complex topics into gameplay.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/copiainstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/copia-institute

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 The Copia Institute