How Semafor turned Washington into a profit center
The news business is gloomy these days, and lots of companies are bracing for more grim news: Changes in the distribution landscape are making it harder to get the news you produce in front of people who want to consume it, which means you have less revenue to make more compelling news. Which can lead to a grim cycle.
But last week, Semafor, which pitches itself as a news outlet for the global leadership class, said it was bucking the trend: The startup, launched by former BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith and former Bloomberg executive Justin Smith in 2022, had turned a profit in 2025.
The speed at which Semafor has made this work is surprising. The business plan is less so: Semafor, like other recent successful news startups, has built itself by aiming squarely at Washington, DC, and positioning itself as a way for advertisers to reach powerful CEOs and government officials who do business there.
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.