The Conversation US

What The Conversation US does

The Conversation US, Inc. is an independent nonprofit news organization founded in 2010 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, operating the US edition of a global explanatory-journalism network. The platform publishes articles authored by credentialed academic researchers and edited by professional journalists, covering topics spanning science, politics, health, education, environment, and the arts. All content is made available free of charge to readers and free to republish under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND), which has enabled distribution through 22,000+ partner outlets across all 50 US states and 96+ countries.

The underlying product is a curated content platform rather than a traditional CMS or AI-driven system: the editorial workflow relies on academic contribution, journalist editing, mandatory conflict-of-interest disclosure, and a republishing infrastructure that scales reach without proportional cost. Supplementary offerings include free email newsletters, a Spanish-language sub-brand (The Conversation US en Español), and podcasts (The Conversation Weekly, Curious Kids, The Anthill). The platform integrates social login via Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn but exposes no public API, SDK, or AI/ML capabilities.

The business model is a diversified nonprofit revenue stack. Roughly 90+ university and college institutions (including founding partners such as University of Michigan, Penn State, Boston University, Vanderbilt, and Michigan State) pay recurring membership fees that fund operations and provide researcher contributions. A portfolio of 20+ philanthropic foundations — including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Knight Foundation, Ford Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Mellon Foundation, and Walton Family Foundation — provide grants supporting editorial coverage and specific initiatives. Individual reader donations (1,746 monthly donors) supplement these streams, and a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary, Universal Impact, generates fee-based revenue from training, mentoring, and communications services delivered to research institutions. The Conversation US serves three primary constituencies: general public readers seeking evidence-based analysis, academic authors seeking broader reach for their work, and republishing media partners seeking free expert content.

Name

The Conversation US

Legal name

The Conversation US, Inc.

Website

https://theconversation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Conversation US is a nonprofit news organization that publishes expert-authored, journalist-edited explanatory journalism on science, politics, health, and society, funded by university memberships, foundation grants, and individual donations, with all content free to read and republish.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital News and Nonprofit Journalism

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

akta.pro primary industry

News Magazine & Investigative Journalism Channels (MPABAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Lectures & Speaker Series (MPAGACAI)

Keywords

• Academic journalism
• Explanatory news
• Nonprofit news
• Research-based content
• Expert commentary

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. University and College Memberships: Universities pay to become members, supporting the platform and gaining visibility for their researchers. Members include institutions like University of Michigan, Penn State, Boston University, and 90+ member institutions.
2. Foundation Funding: Grants and funding from foundations including Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Knight Foundation, Ford Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Gates Foundation, and 20+ other foundations. Funding supports editorial operations and specific initiatives.
3. Individual Donations: Individual readers donate to support the nonprofit news organization. The site mentions 1,746 monthly donors and offers options for one-time and recurring donations.
4. Universal Impact Services: The Conversation's commercial subsidiary provides training, mentoring, and communications services to research institutions for a fee.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Conversation US is a nonprofit explanatory journalism platform that publishes news, analysis, and expert commentary written by university scholars and researchers and edited by journalists. All content is delivered free to readers with no paywall or advertising and is freely available for republication under a Creative Commons license across a network of more than 22,000 partner outlets.

Product overview

The Conversation US is a nonprofit independent news organization operating as a single unified platform that delivers explanatory journalism, analysis, and expert commentary written by academic scholars directly for public consumption. The core product is the news website (theconversation.com/us) which publishes articles across multiple topic categories including Arts + Culture, Economy, Education, Environment + Energy, Ethics + Religion, Health, Politics + Society, Science + Tech, World, Podcasts, and Local. Supplementary offerings include free email newsletters (daily and weekly themed editions), a Spanish-language sub-brand (The Conversation US en Español) for translated content, and the Creative Commons licensing program enabling free republication by other outlets. The affiliated commercial subsidiary Universal Impact (operated by The Conversation UK) provides research communication training and consultancy services to academic institutions. No advertising, paywalls, or subscription fees are ever charged for any content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Conversation US News Platform A nonprofit digital news platform publishing research-based articles and expert commentary written by academic researchers and edited by professional journalists, freely accessible to the general public across topics including Arts + Culture, Economy, Education, Environment + Energy, Ethics + Religion, Health, Politics + Society, Science + Tech, and World.
• The Conversation Newsletters
• The Conversation US en Español A Spanish-language edition of The Conversation US offering translated articles and original Spanish-language academic commentary for Spanish-speaking readers in the United States and Latin America.
• Curious Kids Podcast A children's educational podcast answering questions submitted by young listeners, with episodes exploring science and world topics in accessible formats distributed through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
• The Anthill Podcast A podcast series featuring discussions and interviews drawn from academic research and expert contributors, distributed via major podcast platforms to general audiences.
• Universal Impact Services A fee-based service offering from The Conversation's commercial subsidiary providing bespoke training, mentoring, communications planning, editing, writing, video production, and impact and policy engagement services to universities, research institutions, and scholarly organizations.
• Creative Commons Content Licensing for Republication A free republication offering allowing media outlets and publishers worldwide to reuse The Conversation's editorial content at no cost under a Creative Commons attribution-no-derivatives license, expanding distribution to more than 22,000 partner sites in 96+ countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Content republished by 22,000+ sites in 96+ countries
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of MichigancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university. Supports The Conversation's mission to bring academic expertise to public discourse. Provides researchers who contribute articles and institutional backing.
• Tufts UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university supporting the organization with researcher contributions and institutional support.
• Michigan State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university contributing academic researchers and institutional support.
• Vanderbilt UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university providing researcher contributions and institutional backing.
• UMass AmherstcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university contributing academic expertise and institutional support.
• University of FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university supporting the platform with researcher contributions.
• Penn StatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university providing academic researchers for article contributions.
• Boston UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university contributing researchers and institutional support.
• The Ohio State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university providing academic expertise and institutional backing.
• Binghamton University, SUNYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner university contributing academic researchers and institutional support.
• 90+ University Member InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK and global universities paying membership fees to support the platform and gain visibility for their researchers. Includes Macalester College, USC, Rice University, University of Virginia, and 85+ others.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Conversation UK: Sister UK edition of The Conversation network, operating under The Conversation Trust (UK) Limited. Runs the same academic-expert, Creative Commons republication model and shares the Universal Impact commercial subsidiary.
• ProPublica: Major US nonprofit newsroom funded by foundations and individual donors. Comparable in nonprofit funding model and mission-driven journalism, though focused on investigative rather than explanatory content.
• The Marshall Project: Nonprofit news organization focused on criminal justice, funded by foundations and individual donors. Highly comparable operating model — donor- and grant-funded, no paywall, mission-driven beat coverage.
• STAT News: Nonprofit health and science news outlet founded by Boston Globe Media. Comparable in academic-adjacent beat coverage, foundation funding, and Boston operating base.
• The Conversation Australia: Founding edition of the global Conversation network launched in 2011. Runs the identical academic-expert explanatory-journalism model and was the origin point for the US and UK expansions.

Broad incumbents

• Vox: Large commercial digital publisher built around explanatory journalism. Overlaps directly with The Conversation's explainer format but operates at much greater scale with advertising and subscription revenue.

Emerging players

• Massive Science: Smaller science-communication platform pairing researchers with public audiences. Comparable niche (expert-driven science writing) but at a smaller scale and with different funding mechanics.

Others

• Nieman Lab: Harvard-based journalism-industry commentary outlet covering the future of news. Not a direct competitor but operates in the same media-trust ecosystem and addresses overlapping audiences interested in journalism innovation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ConversationUS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheConversationUS
• Facebookfacebook.com/theConversationUS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/conversationus
• Instagraminstagram.com/theconversation.us
• TikToktiktok.com/@theconversation

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 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 The Conversation US