Napoleon
The Fondation Napoléon is a French non-profit foundation operating napoleon.org, a free digital platform providing articles, digitized archives, peer-reviewed journals, and educational resources on the First and Second French Empires for enthusiasts, students, teachers, and academic researchers, funded by donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersPolisot, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Napoleon does
The Fondation Napoléon is a French non-profit foundation that operates napoleon.org, a comprehensive digital platform dedicated to the history of the First and Second French Empires. Its core product is a freely accessible history website offering articles, biographies, chronologies, bibliographies, iconographies, and curated dossiers on the Napoleonic periods, organized for four primary audiences: general history enthusiasts, young learners (ages 3+), K–12 teachers, and academic researchers.
The platform's underlying asset is a deep, curated content library and digital archive stack. This includes the Bibliothèque Numérique Napoléonienne and the Martial-Lapeyre digital library (thousands of digitized books, engravings, and theses); Napoleonica® les archives (structured digital collections of primary-source documents such as the General Correspondence of Napoleon, State Council Archives, and Civil Code Documents, sourced from institutional partnerships); two peer-reviewed scientific journals (Napoleonica® la revue in French, Napoleonica® the journal in English, the latter launched September 2022); the Napoleonica® les conférences study circle; and a 15-volume published Correspondance Générale de Napoléon. The foundation also runs an annual study scholarship program for graduate students.
The business model is donation-funded rather than transactional: all content is provided free of charge with no paywall or registration requirement, and revenue is sourced from supporters via fondationnapoleon.org. Distribution is self-serve global through the website (available in French and English) and supplemented by social channels (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and a weekly newsletter. The foundation is formally recognized by the French Ministry of Education (Eduscol) as a trusted educational resource, embedding it within the national K–12 curriculum ecosystem. Leadership comprises a small team under Director General Thierry Lentz and Scientific Director Pierre Branda.
Napoleon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Napoleon
- Legal name
- Fondation Napoléon
- Website
- https://napoleon.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Fondation Napoléon is a French non-profit foundation operating napoleon.org, a free digital platform providing articles, digitized archives, peer-reviewed journals, and educational resources on the First and Second French Empires for enthusiasts, students, teachers, and academic researchers, funded by donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Napoleon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Historical Education and Research (Digital Content)
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Libraries and Archives (51921)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)
Keywords
Where Napoleon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Polisot
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Napoleon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Napoleon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Fondation Napoléon operates napoleon.org, a free multilingual digital platform offering comprehensive historical content on the First and Second French Empires. It provides articles, biographies, chronologies, bibliographies, digitized archives, peer-reviewed journals, educational resources for young people and teachers, conferences, and study scholarships for graduate researchers.
Product overview
Napoleon.org is a comprehensive historical content website operated by the Fondation Napoléon, organized as a multi-platform portfolio of interconnected digital offerings. The core platform, napoleon.org, provides articles, biographies, chronologies, bibliographies, and educational resources on the First and Second French Empires. Supporting the core are specialized digital archives (Napoleonica® les archives), two peer-reviewed journals (Napoleonica® la revue and Napoleonica® the journal), and two digital libraries (Bibliothèque numérique napoléonienne and the Digital Library of the Fondation Napoléon). Additional offerings include Napoleonica® les conférences (study circle/conferences), Napoleonica® la correspondance (Napoleon's correspondence publication project), study scholarships for researchers, and dedicated educational sections for young historians and teachers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Napoleonica® la revue: Scientific, pluridisciplinary, and international review dedicated to developing research on the history of the two French Empires
- Napoleonica® the journal
- Napoleonica® les archives
- Napoleonica® les conférences
- Bibliothèque Numérique Napoléonienne
Products and services
- Napoleon.org Website The primary history website of the Fondation Napoléon, offering comprehensive coverage of the history of the two French Empires (First Empire and Second Empire), with sections for magazine content, historical articles, biographies, chronologies, bibliographies, and educational resources for general history enthusiasts.
- Napoleonica® les archives
Companies that use Napoleon
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Napoleon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Napoleon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Napoleon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Institut de France: Umbrella institution encompassing five French academies including the Académie des sciences morales et politiques. The Fondation Napoléon operates under its auspices; comparable as the parent institutional ecosystem that provides scholarly legitimacy and resources to affiliated foundations.
- Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé: French cultural foundation preserving and presenting historical film and cultural archives with educational programming. Comparable as a French heritage foundation operating a specialized archival repository with public-facing educational content.
Broad incumbents
- Smithsonian Institution: Major U.S. cultural and educational institution combining museums, archives, scholarly publications, and digital learning platforms. Comparable as a heritage/educational organization offering free digital access to historical content and educational programming.
- Musée de l'Armée (Paris): French national military museum at Les Invalides with extensive Napoleonic collections, educational content, and scholarly resources. Comparable as a heritage institution presenting Napoleonic history through curated collections and educational programming.
- Château de Versailles: Major French heritage institution that operates a historic palace museum with deep Napoleonic content (especially the Napoleonic museums), educational programming, and digital resources. Comparable as a French cultural heritage institution blending historical interpretation, education, and visitor experiences.
Regional players
- Musée Carnavalet: Paris museum dedicated to the history of Paris, with materials overlapping the Napoleonic period. Comparable as a French heritage institution offering free access to historical collections, educational content, and digitized archives.
Direct peers
- Internet Archive: Nonprofit digital library offering free access to digitized historical books, manuscripts, and cultural artifacts. Comparable as a free, donation-funded digital repository of historical materials with educational and research uses.
- Fondation du Patrimoine: French nonprofit foundation dedicated to heritage preservation and education. Comparable as a French nonprofit heritage foundation operating educational programs, public-facing cultural content, and donation-based funding.
- Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) / Gallica: France's national library, whose Gallica digital library offers free digitized historical documents including substantial Napoleonic-era holdings. Directly comparable as a French institution providing free digital access to Napoleonic historical archives and reference materials.
Emerging players
- Europeana: EU-funded digital platform aggregating cultural heritage content from European museums, libraries, and archives. Comparable as a free digital gateway to historical collections, including Napoleonic-era materials, with educational programming.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Napoleon social profiles
Digital presenceNapoleon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Napoleon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Napoleon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Napoleon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Napoleon
What does Napoleon do?
The Fondation Napoléon operates napoleon.org, a free multilingual digital platform offering comprehensive historical content on the First and Second French Empires. It provides articles, biographies, chronologies, bibliographies, digitized archives, peer-reviewed journals, educational resources for young people and teachers, conferences, and study scholarships for graduate researchers.
Is Napoleon a public or private company?
Napoleon is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Napoleon founded?
Napoleon was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Napoleon based?
Napoleon is headquartered in Polisot, France, in the Europe region.
Who are Napoleon's main competitors?
Others on record are Institut de France and Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé. Broad incumbents are Smithsonian Institution, Musée de l'Armée (Paris) and Château de Versailles. Musée Carnavalet is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Internet Archive, Fondation du Patrimoine and Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) / Gallica. Europeana is listed as an emerging player.
Does Napoleon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Napoleon.
What industry is Napoleon in?
Napoleon's product category is Historical Education and Research (Digital Content). Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAI, Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations). Its NAICS code is 7121.