The Investigative Project on Terrorism

What The Investigative Project on Terrorism does

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit research organization founded in 1995 by Steven Emerson, the journalist-producer of the 1994 PBS documentary 'Jihad in America.' The organization conducts open-source intelligence gathering and analysis on radical Islamic terrorist groups, and provides briefings, evidence, and analytical products to U.S. government agencies, federal and local law enforcement, Congress, public policy forums, and the media.

IPT's core product is a comprehensive research platform (investigativeproject.org) that functions as a single integrated knowledge base. It consists of four primary assets: profiles of groups and individuals linked to Islamist terrorism, a court cases database (over 735 entries covering civil suits, material support cases, prosecutions, and terror financing cases), a collection of research reports, congressional testimonies, and policy documents, and a multimedia archive including award-winning documentary films such as the original 'Jihad in America' (1994, PBS) and 'Jihad in America: The Grand Deception' (2013). Distribution is multi-channel: a primary website, native iOS and Android mobile applications, social media (Facebook, X, YouTube), Vimeo for documentary distribution, a free email mailing list, and an RSS feed. The technology stack is essentially human-driven: Arabic-speaking staff subscribe to and monitor Arab-language publications and radical websites, and accumulated archive depth (30+ years) is the principal technical asset.

The business model is purely donation-funded. IPT operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit through the Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation and states that it accepts only private contributions from U.S. sources, explicitly excluding foreign, governmental, and political/religious institution funding. All research products, subscriptions, and mobile apps are free to end users; there is no paid product, no advertising, and no commercial data licensing. Pricing to consumers is 'Freemium' in form (free mailing list subscription) but in substance the revenue is entirely philanthropic rather than transactional.

Name

The Investigative Project on Terrorism

Legal name

The Investigative Project on Terrorism

Website

https://investigativeproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a Washington-based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1995 that researches radical Islamic terrorist groups, maintains an extensive open-source archival database, and provides intelligence, briefings, and documentation to U.S. government, law enforcement, Congress, and media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Counter-terrorism research services

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital/Online Investigations & OSINT (Non-cyber) (BPAKAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intelligence (Strategic, Tactical & Technical) (BPAIAHAD), Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

Keywords

• Counter-terrorism research
• Open-source intelligence
• Radical Islam analysis
• Terrorist network archives
• Threat assessment research

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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. Donations and Contributions: The IPT is funded entirely by private donations from U.S. sources. It explicitly states it accepts no funding from outside the United States, governmental agencies, or political/religious institutions. Its fundraising arm is the Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Investigative Project on Terrorism conducts open-source intelligence research on radical Islamic terrorist groups, maintaining one of the world's largest archival databases of documents, dossiers, court cases, and thousands of original investigations. The organization provides briefings and evidence to U.S. government agencies, law enforcement, Congress, and media, and distributes content via its website, mobile applications, documentary films, and a free email newsletter.

Product overview

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) operates a single unified research platform offering comprehensive intelligence and archival data on radical Islamic terrorist groups. The core product is the IPT Research Platform (investigativeproject.org), which provides access to multiple integrated resources including a database of terrorist group and individual profiles, a court cases database (with over 735 entries), reports and testimonies, documents, and multimedia content. Additionally, IPT offers a mobile application for iPhone and Android, and has produced documentary films including the award-winning 'Jihad in America' series. The organization provides briefings to U.S. government agencies, law enforcement, and Congress, functioning as a counter-terrorism intelligence resource.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• IPT has provided evidence that has led to successful government action against terrorists and financiers based in the United States
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• U.S. Government and Law Enforcement AgenciescoreOthersIPT provides briefings to U.S. government and law enforcement agencies, members of Congress and congressional committees. The organization has been described by former officials as an invaluable resource, with one stating IPT provided more sensitive information about radical Islamic groups than FBI, CIA, DOJ, and NCTC combined.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Royal United Services Institute (RUSI): U.K.-based defense and security think tank producing research on counter-terrorism, extremism, and national security. Comparable to IPT in producing OSINT-derived, policy-relevant counter-extremism research for government clients, with a broader geographic and thematic footprint.
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Major bipartisan U.S. think tank with substantive counter-terrorism, transnational threats, and Middle East programs that publish reports and briefings for policymakers. CSIS competes for the same government and congressional audience as IPT but at materially greater resource scale.
• RAND Corporation: Global policy research organization with deep counter-terrorism, homeland security, and irregular warfare portfolios producing peer-reviewed analysis for U.S. and allied governments. RAND represents the institutional, well-funded competitor in the same policy-research space IPT operates in.
• Washington Institute for Near East Policy: Larger, established U.S. think tank producing research and policy analysis on Middle Eastern affairs, including terrorism and counter-extremism. Overlaps with IPT on policy briefings to Congress and government, but operates at significantly broader scale with a wider regional mandate.

Direct peers

• Gatestone Institute: Nonprofit policy and research organization focused on the Middle East, radical Islam, and free societies. Gatestone's investigator-style articles, briefings, and rapid-response research output are highly comparable to IPT's article-and-briefing distribution model.
• Middle East Forum: Philadelphia-based think tank promoting U.S. interests in the Middle East and protecting Western values from Islamist threats. Shares IPT's ideological framing, research-on-radical-Islam focus, and editorial outlet (Middle East Quarterly) that publishes investigative content.
• Counter Extremism Project (CEP): Non-partisan, international policy and research organization combating extremist groups through analysis, online investigations, and policy advocacy. CEP's online investigations and extremist-profiling database overlap directly with IPT's OSINT-driven research output and government-facing brief distribution.
• Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD): U.S.-based, non-partisan policy institute focused on national security and foreign policy with substantial counter-terrorism and Iran-focused research. FDD mirrors IPT's mission of producing research and analysis on radical Islamist threats for U.S. policymakers, though at materially larger scale.
• International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR): King's College London-based academic research center producing policy-relevant research on radicalization and terrorism. ICSR represents the academic counterpart to IPT's investigative output, with comparable methodology (OSINT, network mapping) and policy briefings to government stakeholders.

Others

• Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE): U.S.-based nonprofit journalism membership organization that promotes investigative journalism and best practices. IRE represents the professional-investigative-journalism ecosystem that IPT operates within, given Emerson's prior IRE recognition (Tom Renner Award).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheIPT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheIPT
• Facebookfacebook.com/Investigative.Project.Terrorism
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/investigative-project-on-terrorism-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 The Investigative Project on Terrorism