Pint of Science World (pintsworld)

What Pint of Science World (pintsworld) does

Pint of Science World is a UK-registered non-profit organisation that runs an annual three-day science communication festival each May, delivering talks by active researchers in informal venues such as pubs, bars, cafes, and public spaces. Founded in 2013 by Dr Praveen Paul and Dr Michael Motskin, two research scientists at Imperial College London, the festival grew from three UK cities to events in over 600 cities across 27 countries by 2026, drawing roughly 150,000 attendees worldwide. There is no proprietary technology platform; the product is the event experience itself, and the organisation is built around a decentralised model in which national and local directors in each country run their own teams and country-specific websites.

The core customer base is two-sided: scientists and researchers who want to communicate findings to non-specialist audiences, and members of the general public with no prior scientific knowledge who want to engage directly with active researchers. The organisation is supported by a community of thousands of volunteer scientists rather than by paid staff, with the disclosed headcount at 1-10 employees concentrated at the UK headquarters level. Pint of Science relies financially on ticket revenue from in-person events and on individual donations, with disclosed donation tiers in GBP and payment via card or PayPal. There are no external funding rounds, no parent company, and no equity backers recorded in the input data.

Distribution is executed through a global network of country franchises (27 countries and country-specific sites such as pintofscience.co.uk, pintofscience.us, and pintofscience.at), with marketing driven by social media (the #pint27 hashtag for 2027), email, the central website, and word of mouth within the volunteer scientist community. The next edition, #pint27, is scheduled for 10-12 May 2027.

Name

Pint of Science World (pintsworld)

Legal name

Pint of Science

Website

https://pintofscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pint of Science World is a UK non-profit that runs an annual three-day global science communication festival each May, connecting thousands of volunteer researchers with around 150,000 members of the public in pubs, bars, and cafes across 27 countries and over 600 cities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public science communication events

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education, Research & Academic Congresses (THAHAJAD), Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)

Keywords

• Science communication festival
• Public research engagement
• Community science events
• Researcher outreach programs
• Science festival organization

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket sales: Non-profit organization with main operations based in the UK that financially relies on ticket money from in-person events.
2. Donations: Accepts donations from supporters to continue operations; donation amounts in GBP (£5.00, £7.50, £10.00, £20.00 or custom).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Pint of Science organises and runs an annual three-day global science festival in which active researchers present the latest scientific findings to the general public in informal venues such as pubs, bars, cafes and other public spaces. The festival takes place simultaneously across hundreds of venues in more than 600 cities and 27 countries in May, with ticket sales funding the non-profit and donations also accepted to support operations. The 2027 edition (#pint27) is scheduled for 10-12 May 2027.

Product overview

Pint of Science is a non-profit global science festival organization that operates as a single unified offering: the annual Pint of Science Festival. This festival brings scientists to share their latest research with the public in informal venues like pubs, bars, cafes, and public spaces. The main festival takes place annually over three days in May, simultaneously across hundreds of venues in over 600 cities across 27 countries worldwide. Founded in 2013 by researchers at Imperial College London, the organization relies on a grass-root community of thousands of volunteer scientists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pint of Science Festival Annual three-day global science festival that brings active researchers together with the general public in informal settings such as pubs, bars, cafes, and public spaces to discuss the latest scientific discoveries. Events occur simultaneously across hundreds of venues in more than 600 cities in 27 countries every May, and no prior scientific knowledge is required of attendees.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150,000 attendees across the world
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Edinburgh International Science Festival: Major UK-based science festival; comparable to Pint of Science in festival-based science communication to public audiences, but geographically concentrated rather than distributed across 27 countries.
• Cambridge Science Festival: University-led public science festival with a similar community-facing mission; comparable as a single-city/region science outreach event but smaller in geographic reach than Pint of Science.

Emerging players

• March for Science: Grassroots movement organizing public science advocacy events globally; overlaps with Pint of Science in mobilizing scientist-led public events, though focused on advocacy rather than research talks.
• Science Festival Alliance: Network organization supporting science festivals; comparable in coordinating multiple science festival operators and amplifying public science engagement, though operating as a meta-organization rather than running its own events.

Broad incumbents

• TED: Established global platform for accessible expert talks across science and ideas; overlaps with Pint of Science in mission to translate expert knowledge for general audiences, though at much larger scale and broader scope.
• AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science): Large scientific society running the AAAS Annual Meeting and public engagement programs; comparable as an established science communication platform, though with a more institutional and conference-center focus.
• The Royal Institution: Historic UK science communication organization running public lectures and demonstration events; comparable in mission to make science accessible to non-specialist audiences.
• Nature events / Springer Nature: Major scientific publisher that runs sponsored public science events and outreach programming at the intersection of research dissemination and public engagement.

Direct peers

• Nerd Nite: Global network of informal science-and-culture talks held in bars, the closest direct analogue to Pint of Science's pub-based science communication format.
• Cafe Scientifique: International movement of informal science discussions held in cafes and pubs, sharing Pint of Science's mission of bringing researchers into everyday public venues.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pintsworld

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles28 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 Pint of Science World (pintsworld)