What Paul Ekman does

Paul Ekman Group LLC (PEG) is a privately-held California company founded in 2004 by Dr. Paul Ekman after his retirement from the University of California San Francisco, where he had served as professor from 1971 to 2004. The company translates five decades of foundational research on facial expressions, micro expressions, and deception detection into commercial training tools, educational resources, publications, and image archives. Its core intellectual property is the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), developed by Ekman and Wallace Friesen in 1978 and revised in 2003, which remains the only comprehensive, scientifically validated taxonomy for objectively measuring facial movements and underpins the company's Micro Expressions Training Tools (METT), FACS certification (100 hours of training plus a 20-hour exam), and the licensed Pictures of Facial Affect (POFA) photograph collection used in cross-cultural and neuropsychological research. Following Dr. Paul Ekman's passing in November 2025, his daughter Dr. Eve Ekman, a contemplative social scientist with a PhD and MSW, continues to direct the organization.

The product portfolio is unified around emotional awareness and deception detection and spans the Ekman Library annual subscription (unlimited access to all seven micro expression training tools), the Atlas of Emotions interactive tool (co-created with the Dalai Lama), Cultivating Emotional Balance (a secular training program), The Feelings Field Guide (an interactive emotion workbook), licensed photograph collections ($199-$399 per set), published books (Telling Lies, Emotions Revealed, Moving Toward Global Compassion), and free online quizzes. PEG operates primarily through product-led, direct-to-consumer e-commerce on paulekman.com, with workshops and training programs offered as a complementary enterprise channel for law enforcement, educators, clinicians, and business professionals. International reach was expanded in October 2025 with multilingual support for Italian, French, and German alongside English, and the company maintains a global brand presence via social media and content marketing while remaining a small, founder-family-owned operation with 1-10 employees and no disclosed external funding.

Name

Paul Ekman

Legal name

Paul Ekman Group LLC

Website

https://paulekman.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Paul Ekman Group is a privately-held company founded in 2004 that translates Dr. Paul Ekman's research on facial expressions and deception detection into online training tools (FACS, METT), publications, and image archives, selling directly to law enforcement, educators, healthcare professionals, and self-improvement consumers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Urmston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Online Training Tools: The company sells micro expression training tools and certification programs directly through its website. Training packages include the Ekman Library which provides unlimited access to all seven micro expression training tools for one year. Individual tools and bundled packages are available for purchase.
2. Books and Publications: Paul Ekman has authored and co-authored numerous books on emotions, facial expressions, and deception detection. Books include Telling Lies, Emotions Revealed, Moving Towards Global Compassion, and others sold through major retailers and the company website.
3. Photographs and Image Licensing: Licensed emotion and facial expression photographs are sold for academic research and personal use. Sets include Pictures of Facial Affect (POFA), Emotions Revealed photos, Duchenne/Non-Duchenne smile photos, and New Guinea emotion photo sets. Commercial licensing is available for additional fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Paul Ekman Group offers science-based online training tools and resources for understanding facial expressions, micro expressions, and deception detection. Core offerings include the Micro Expressions Training Tools suite (a set of seven training programs), the Ekman Library annual subscription, the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) certification program, the Atlas of Emotions interactive tool, the Cultivating Emotional Balance training program, and The Feelings Field Guide. The company also sells licensed photograph collections for research and books authored by Dr. Paul Ekman on emotions and deception.

Product overview

Paul Ekman Group offers a suite of science-based training tools and resources for understanding facial expressions and emotions. The core product is the Micro Expressions Training Tools suite, which includes online programs for learning to detect micro expressions and subtle emotional expressions for deception detection and emotional awareness. Supporting products include The Feelings Field Guide (an interactive emotional awareness guide), the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) for scientific coding of facial movements, the Atlas of Emotions interactive digital tool, and Cultivating Emotional Balance training program. The company also offers licensed photograph collections for research and educational use, emotion-themed quizzes, and published books including Telling Lies, Emotions Revealed, and Moving Toward Global Compassion. The portfolio is unified around Dr. Ekman's foundational research on universal facial expressions and emotion recognition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Micro Expressions Training Tools: Micro expressions training tools for detecting deception and emotional awareness
• Atlas of Emotions
• Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB)
• The Feelings Field Guide

Products and services

• Micro Expressions Training Tools

Quantifiable outcome

• Studies show that unless properly trained, participants are no better than random chance at detecting deception in others
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• John CleeseminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2015John Cleese provided introduction and participation in the Developing Global Compassion video series with the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman.
• Pixar Animation StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Dr. Ekman served as scientific advisor on the Inside Out movie, helping Pixar create authentic emotional expressions for their animated characters. FACS was used as the basis for 3D character animation.
• Fox Television / Lie to Me ProductioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Dr. Ekman served as scientific advisor to the award-winning television series Lie to Me, which was inspired by his research. He analyzed and critiqued each episode's script and taught the cast and crew about the science of deception detection.
• Mind & Life InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Paul Ekman participated in Mind & Life Institute dialogues starting in 2000, where he met the Dalai Lama. These ongoing dialogues between western scientists and the Dalai Lama have led to multiple collaborative projects including Cultivating Emotional Balance and the Atlas of Emotions.
• His Holiness the Dalai LamaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000Dr. Ekman developed a unique friendship with the Dalai Lama beginning in March 2000 in Dharamsala, India. Their collaborations include Emotional Awareness book, Moving Toward Global Compassion book and video series, and the Atlas of Emotions interactive tool. The Dalai Lama requested the creation of the Atlas as a 'map of emotions to develop a calm mind.'
• Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000The CEB program was created by Dr. Paul Ekman, Dr. Alan Wallace, Dr. Mark Greenberg, and Dr. Richard Davidson at the request of the Dalai Lama. This secular training program helps people manage destructive emotions and cultivate well-being.
• Greater Good Science Center at UC BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Eve Ekman serves as a Senior Fellow at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, contributing to research and education on emotions and well-being.
• ApplecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Eve Ekman serves as wellbeing lead on the health team at Apple, applying emotion research and tools to health technology products.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Six Seconds: Six Seconds is a global emotional intelligence network offering EQ assessments, certifications, and training programs for educators, coaches, and corporate clients. It is a direct peer in evidence-based emotional intelligence training with a comparable distribution model (certified practitioners, workshops, online tools).
• Realeyes: Realeyes uses computer vision and emotion AI to measure audience attention and emotion via webcam, serving advertisers and market researchers. It is a direct peer in facial expression measurement technology, addressing overlapping enterprise buyer personas (researchers, brands) with an automated alternative to Paul Ekman Group's manual FACS methodology.
• TalentSmartEQ: TalentSmartEQ (associated with the bestselling Emotional Intelligence 2.0 book) delivers EQ assessments and training to individuals and enterprises. It overlaps with Paul Ekman Group's general-public and business-professional segments in emotional intelligence training products.
• MHS (Multi-Health Systems): MHS publishes psychological assessments including EQ-i 2.0, a leading emotional intelligence instrument used by clinicians and corporations. It is a direct peer in the evidence-based emotion assessment and training market serving clinicians, researchers, and HR/L&D buyers.
• Smart Eye (Affectiva): Smart Eye acquired Affectiva, the leading commercial facial coding and emotion AI company that uses computer vision to measure facial expressions at scale. Both organizations occupy the facial expression measurement space - Smart Eye/Affectiva via automated AI, Paul Ekman Group via the manual FACS taxonomy - making them the closest direct comparables in product category and end customer (researchers, advertisers, automotive, healthcare).
• Hogan Assessments: Hogan Assessments provides personality and emotional intelligence assessments widely used in leadership development, talent selection, and research. It overlaps with Paul Ekman Group's training and assessment offerings for business professionals and researchers.

Emerging players

• LifeBio: LifeBio captures life stories and personal narratives using structured reminiscence tools, often deployed in senior care and emotional wellness contexts. It is a partial-overlap emerging player in the structured emotional reflection / storytelling space, thematically adjacent to the Atlas of Emotions and Feelings Field Guide offerings.
• Humu: Humu uses behavioral science and AI-driven nudges to improve workplace emotional culture and manager effectiveness. It is an emerging player in the science-backed workplace emotional intelligence space that intersects with Paul Ekman Group's business-professional and healthcare segments.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Coursera is a broad incumbent online learning platform offering emotional intelligence courses from universities and organizations. While not specialized in facial expression training, it competes for the same self-improvement learner spend and corporate L&D budget that Paul Ekman Group targets.
• LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning offers professional development video courses, including emotional intelligence content, bundled into LinkedIn subscriptions. It is a broad incumbent competing for the corporate training and self-improvement budgets that Paul Ekman Group addresses with its METT and CEB products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PaulEkman
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/thepaulekmangroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/PaulEkmanGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paul-ekman-group

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 Paul Ekman