USC Shoah Foundation

What USC Shoah Foundation does

USC Shoah Foundation is a non-profit institute housed at the University of Southern California that preserves, indexes, and disseminates video testimonies from Holocaust survivors and witnesses to other genocides. Founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg following the production of Schindler's List, the organization operates the Visual History Archive — 60,394 searchable testimonies collected across 69 countries and 45 languages — accessible through 208 institutional sites worldwide, a patent-protected search engine, and a mobile app (IWalk). The technical platform combines a large video corpus with 12 patents on digital collection management and AI-driven interactive technology (Dimensions in Testimony), which uses natural language processing to let visitors ask questions that trigger real-time responses from pre-recorded survivor interviews. This technology is deployed at more than ten museum partners including Illinois Holocaust Museum, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, and Sydney Jewish Museum.

The organization's core products are Visual History Archive (the underlying corpus), IWitness (a free K-12 and educator platform with testimony-based activities), Dimensions in Testimony (the interactive AI exhibit), and IWalk (location-based mobile app). Supporting programs include the Countering Antisemitism Lab (a policy-oriented research initiative launched in 2024), Echoes & Reflections (a Holocaust educator training partnership with ADL and Yad Vashem dating to 2005), Living Links (a 3G descendant program), and The Willesden Project. Distribution extends to YouTube (47M views, 138M minutes viewed in 2024), HBO Max, and Netflix documentary placements.

The business model is non-profit philanthropy: donations, planned giving, foundation grants, corporate matching (7,500+ companies), and major individual gifts including a $30M endowment gift from Mickey Shapiro in 2025. All educational programs, IWitness, and Visual History Archive access through designated sites are free to end users; monetization runs through donor cultivation rather than user fees. Customers are segmented across K-12 educators and students, academic researchers, museum visitors, government/policy makers, and Holocaust survivors themselves. The organization reports 407,000 educators reached, 27 million students impacted globally, and 7,000 scholarly citations of the archive.

Name

USC Shoah Foundation

Legal name

USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education

Website

https://sfi.usc.edu/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

USC Shoah Foundation is a USC-affiliated non-profit that preserves and distributes the world's largest video testimony archive (60,394 Holocaust and genocide survivor accounts) through educational platforms, museum exhibits, and AI-powered interactive experiences for educators, researchers, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Holocaust and Genocide Education

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Educational Support Services (611710), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

akta.pro primary industry

Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Media Archives, Libraries & Content Preservation (MPABADAL), Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

Keywords

• Video testimony archive
• Holocaust education programs
• Interactive survivor biographies
• Digital historical preservation
• Educational research platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation operates as a non-profit organization supported by individual donations. Supporters can make one-time gifts, recurring gifts, stock donations, and tribute gifts to commemorate events or memorialize loved ones.
2. Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts: Donors can include the foundation in their estate plans through planned giving, providing long-term financial sustainability while offering donors tax benefits.
3. Corporate and Foundation Grants: Major funding from foundations including Forever Fund ($3,000 gifts), Last Chance Testimony Collection Fund, and other programmatic funding. Over 7,500 companies match charitable contributions through matching gift programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

USC Shoah Foundation preserves and provides access to the world's largest collection of primary-source video testimonies from Holocaust survivors and witnesses to other genocides through the Visual History Archive (60,394 searchable testimonies across 69 countries and 45 languages). It delivers K-12 and university educational programs through the IWitness platform, operates the patented Dimensions in Testimony interactive biography technology at partner museums, and develops the IWalk mobile application for location-based learning tied to survivor testimonies.

Product overview

USC Shoah Foundation operates a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on its Visual History Archive—the world's largest collection of primary source video testimonies. Key products include IWitness (educational platform), Dimensions in Testimony (interactive biography technology), and the IWalk mobile app. Supporting programs include the Countering Antisemitism Lab research initiative, Echoes & Reflections educator training (in partnership with ADL and Yad Vashem), Living Links community program, and The Willesden Project. The organization also produces documentary films including Academy Award-winning titles and licenses content through SFI Access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Visual History Archive: The world's largest collection of primary source video testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides, containing 60,394 searchable testimonies.
• IWitness
• IWalk
• Dimensions in Testimony
• Countering Antisemitism Lab (CAL)
• Echoes & Reflections
• Living Links

Products and services

• Visual History Archive The world's largest collection of primary source video testimonies from survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, containing 60,394 searchable testimonies across 69 countries and 45 languages, with patented search functionality over 2M+ personal names and 71,971 keywords.
• IWitness An online educational platform providing testimony-based activities for students and educators, featuring embedded tools to build videos, word clouds, and other projects using survivor testimonies; available free of charge to K-12 educators and students globally.
• Dimensions in Testimony Interactive biography technology enabling people to ask questions that prompt real-time responses from pre-recorded video interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses through conversational AI and advanced natural language processing, deployed at partner museums globally.
• IWalk App A mobile application connecting users to curated tours at authentic sites of history and memorials, linking locations with testimonies from survivors and witnesses of genocide and mass atrocity, developed with the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation.
• SFI Access Licensing platform for accessing collections of testimonies, footage, and images from the archive, and obtaining downloadable copies of recorded interviews for documentary and educational use.

Quantifiable outcome

• 27 million students reached through educational programs globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 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

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025Collaborated to expand AI-powered Dimensions in Testimony interactive technology to include Kizito Kalima, Tutsi survivor of Rwandan genocide. First non-Holocaust interactive exhibit at the museum, developed with USC Libraries and USC Digital Repository.
• AJC (American Jewish Committee)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Partnership announced at AJC Global Forum to document and map global antisemitism, giving voice to modern-day antisemitism around the world through combined efforts.
• ADIR FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2025Co-hosted 'Digital Frontlines: The Challenges and Solutions to Fighting Online Antisemitism' one-day event in Washington D.C. bringing together technology, policy, and research experts. ADIR engaged 400 innovators from 25 countries in its first year through its open innovation challenge.
• ADL (Anti-Defamation League)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership program since 2005 through Echoes & Reflections, providing Holocaust education professional development programs and resources impacting millions of students across the United States at no cost.
• Yad VashemflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership program since 2005 through Echoes & Reflections, combining expertise in Holocaust education and testimony preservation for educator professional development.
• Holocaust Educational Trust (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching program equips UK educators with tools, training, and curated testimony resources. USC Shoah Foundation is one of only three organizations whose resources are signposted through this initiative.
• USC Institute for Creative TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for Dimensions in Testimony, developing the interactive biography technology enabling conversational interactions with pre-recorded survivor testimonies.
• Claims ConferenceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Inside Kristallnacht XR experience launching ahead of Kristallnacht anniversary, recreating Holocaust survivor Dr. Charlotte Knobloch's firsthand account through immersive mixed-reality technology.
• MetaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partner for Inside Kristallnacht immersive XR experience, providing platform for mixed-reality Holocaust education content.
• makemepulsecoreTechnology or IntegrationCreative technology studio that developed the Inside Kristallnacht immersive mixed-reality experience recreating survivor testimony.
• UNESCOflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Inside Kristallnacht XR experience, supporting Holocaust education and remembrance through immersive technology.
• Discovery EducationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to expand reach of educational materials through Discovery Education's platform, inspiring students and educators to fight discrimination and hate using testimony.
• The Genocide Education ProjectcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to expand reach of Armenian Genocide educational materials into high schools across the United States.
• Living LinkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst national organization engaging and empowering 3G (third generation) descendants of Holocaust survivors, partnering to help new generations tell their family stories.
• Delirio FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in animated short film 'Ruth: A Little Girl's Big Journey' bringing Holocaust survivor Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer's childhood journey to life.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: The US national Holocaust museum and archive, with overlapping missions in testimony preservation, scholarly research, and Holocaust education. It collaborates directly with USC Shoah Foundation on the Countering Antisemitism Summit and shares the testimony-based education model targeting schools and the general public.
• Yad Vashem: Israel's official Holocaust remembrance authority and archive, and a direct partner of USC Shoah Foundation via Echoes & Reflections (with ADL). Comparable in testimony collection, archival research, educator professional development, and international reach.
• Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies: A Yale University-based video testimony archive of Holocaust survivor witnesses — the most directly comparable collection to USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive. Same content category (preserved survivor video testimony), same primary user base (scholars and educators), and similar archival/research access model.
• Holocaust Educational Trust (UK): UK-based nonprofit delivering testimony-based Holocaust education to schools; an active partner of USC Shoah Foundation under the UK Department for Education's 'Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching' programme. Closely aligned on K-12 classroom deployment and educator training.
• Arolsen Archives: International archive documenting victims and survivors of Nazi persecution, headquartered in Germany. Comparable as a Holocaust-focused archival/educational institution, though its primary medium is documents rather than video testimony.
• The Wiener Holocaust Library: The UK's largest Holocaust archive and library, offering collections, exhibitions, and educational programming. Directly comparable to USC Shoah Foundation in combining archival preservation with public-facing Holocaust education and scholarly access.
• Anti-Defamation League (ADL): Long-standing flagship partner of USC Shoah Foundation via Echoes & Reflections since 2005. ADL is broadly comparable in antisemitism education and K-12 educator professional development, with overlapping distribution channels to schools.
• AJC (American Jewish Committee): Global Jewish advocacy organization and active USC Shoah Foundation partner (2025 partnership to document and map global antisemitism). Comparable as an antisemitism-monitoring, education, and policy organization engaging government and civil society audiences.

Broad incumbents

• StoryCorps: A national oral history nonprofit recording and archiving personal audio testimonies across many topics. Comparable in oral-history testimony methodology and large-scale archive stewardship, though broader in scope and not Holocaust-specific.
• Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Canada's national human rights museum combining exhibitions, archives, and educational programming across multiple genocides and mass atrocities. Comparable as a museum/educational institution using testimony-based exhibits to teach about genocide, with similar educator outreach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/uscshoahfoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/USCSFI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/usc-shoah-foundation-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/uscshoahfoundation
• Xx.com/uscshoahfdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about USC Shoah Foundation