FiscalNote
FiscalNote Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NOTE) is a technology company headquartered in Washington, D.C., that develops AI-powered platforms for global policy and market intelligence, enabling organizations to track and analyze legislation, regulations, and geopolitical risks.[1][2] Founded on June 11, 2013, by Tim Hwang, Gerald Yao, and Jonathan Chen—then college students—the company originated from the need for better tools to monitor government actions, drawing on Hwang's experience as a young elected official in Maryland.[3][4] FiscalNote went public in August 2022 via a SPAC merger, marking a milestone in its expansion, and has since grown through acquisitions and investments exceeding $500 million, employing around 800 people and serving more than half of the Fortune 100 alongside governments and nonprofits.[1][5] Its flagship offerings, including the PolicyNote platform—which recently surpassed legacy systems in daily usage—and specialized tools like CQ for federal tracking and VoterVoice for advocacy, leverage proprietary databases covering over 5 million policy documents across thousands of jurisdictions.[6][7][2] Notable associations include former U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal serving on its board until May 2025, reflecting the company's ties to defense and strategy expertise.[8] While praised for pioneering data-driven policymaking, FiscalNote has faced limited public scrutiny, primarily in early legal disputes over former employees, though it maintains a focus on technological innovation amid competitive pressures in the policy tech sector.[9]History
Founding and Early Development
FiscalNote was co-founded on June 11, 2013, by Timothy Hwang, Gerald Yao, and Jonathan Chen, who were childhood friends from Maryland and college seniors at the time.[4][2] The trio bootstrapped the venture with limited initial capital, incorporating the company that June before relocating temporarily to Silicon Valley for the summer to develop their concept.[10] Their vision centered on leveraging technology to provide real-time insights into legislative processes, addressing inefficiencies in tracking and predicting policy outcomes that traditional methods struggled with.[11] In the summer of 2013, the founders focused on building an early prototype called FiscalNote Prophecy, a platform designed to predict the passage or failure of bills by analyzing legislative data, news, and other indicators.[11] This tool incorporated predictive modeling to forecast outcomes, marking an initial foray into data-driven policy intelligence. Following the prototype phase, FiscalNote shifted operations to Washington, D.C., to capitalize on proximity to federal policymaking centers and expand its data aggregation from U.S. state and federal legislatures.[10] The company's early efforts emphasized natural language processing and machine learning to automate bill tracking, distinguishing it from manual lobbying practices prevalent at the time.[12]Funding Rounds and Initial Growth
FiscalNote secured its initial seed funding of $1.2 million in September 2013, led by Mark Cuban following a cold email from co-founder and CEO Tim Hwang, with participation from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), First Round Capital's Dorm Room Fund, and AME Ventures.[13][14] This capital enabled the company, founded in June 2013 by Hwang alongside CTO Jonathan Chen and CSO Gerald Yao, to transition from a college-side project to a formal operation, including relocation from a Motel 6 to offices in Bethesda, Maryland, in September 2013.[3][5] Subsequent rounds accelerated development: a $7 million Series A in November 2014 from investors including iSelect Capital and Middleland Capital, followed by a $10 million Series B in February 2015 led by Renren, a Chinese social network, with continued backing from early investors like Cuban.[15][16] These infusions totaled approximately $18.2 million in early-stage venture capital within the first two years, supporting product refinement in legislative tracking and analytics.[3] The funding facilitated rapid initial growth, with the first customer onboarded in December 2013 and media attention from outlets like Bloomberg and CNN in 2014 highlighting the platform's real-time government analysis capabilities.[3] Employee headcount expanded from the three founders to about 10 by 2014 and 30 by 2015, culminating in over 100 staff by mid-2015 amid a shift to Washington, D.C., headquarters.[5][3] Revenue reached the mid-seven figures in 2015, reflecting early market traction in policy intelligence for advocacy groups, corporations, and government entities, while the company raised a cumulative $28 million in venture capital over its first three years.[17]| Round | Date | Amount | Key Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | September 2013 | $1.2M | Mark Cuban, NEA, First Round Dorm Room Fund, AME Ventures[13] |
| Series A | November 2014 | $7M | iSelect Capital, Middleland Capital[15] |
| Series B | February 2015 | $10M | Renren (lead), prior investors[16] |
Public Listing and Major Milestones
FiscalNote announced its intention to go public through a merger with Duddell Street Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by an affiliate of Counterpoint Global, on November 8, 2021, in a transaction implying an enterprise value of approximately $1.3 billion.[18] The deal included commitments for up to $255 million in additional financing, later expanded to $425 million in gross proceeds to support long-term growth initiatives.[19] Duddell Street stockholders approved the business combination on July 27, 2022, with the merger closing on July 29, 2022.[20] Following the merger, FiscalNote's Class A common stock commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "NOTE" on August 1, 2022.[20] The company marked its public market debut with an opening bell ceremony at the NYSE on August 4, 2022, attended by CEO Tim Hwang and other executives.[21] On August 15, 2023, FiscalNote commemorated both its 10-year founding anniversary (from June 11, 2013) and its first full year as a public company with a second NYSE bell ringing event.[22]Products and Services
Core Policy Intelligence Platforms
FiscalNote's core policy intelligence platforms encompass tools for monitoring, analyzing, and responding to legislative and regulatory developments across local, state, federal, and international levels. These platforms integrate data aggregation, expert analysis, and stakeholder engagement capabilities to support organizations in navigating policy risks and opportunities. Key offerings include PolicyNote as the central hub for comprehensive tracking, CQ for specialized U.S. federal insights, and VoterVoice for advocacy activation informed by intelligence data.[2] PolicyNote serves as the company's next-generation flagship platform, leveraging AI and machine learning to process unstructured government data into actionable intelligence. It covers policy activity in over 100 countries, providing features such as curated bill summaries, custom alerts, stakeholder databases, and predictive bill forecasting to streamline review processes and inform strategic positioning. Users benefit from reduced research time—often from days to hours—and enhanced workflow efficiency, with the platform achieving a milestone in customer adoption by surpassing the legacy FiscalNote platform in daily active users as of June 26, 2025.[23][6] CQ Federal focuses on U.S. Congressional monitoring, offering access to over 30 years of historical legislative data alongside real-time updates, expert analysis, and visualization tools for tracking bills, votes, and committee actions. Established in 1945, CQ pairs proprietary datasets with patented technologies to deliver granular insights into legislative implications, enabling clients to anticipate policy shifts and assess impacts on sectors like technology and finance.[24] VoterVoice extends intelligence into operational advocacy, integrating policy tracking data to facilitate grassroots and grasstops campaigns. It supports targeted mobilization through emails, texts, surveys, and scorecards, with performance metrics including 89.2 million messages delivered to officials and 11.3 million new supporters engaged as of 2024. Used by over 2,000 organizations, the platform ensures secure, compliant stakeholder outreach tied directly to monitored policy developments.[25] These platforms collectively form a unified ecosystem, serving thousands of clients including more than half of the Fortune 100, by combining broad coverage with domain-specific depth to prioritize empirical policy signals over fragmented sources.[2]AI-Driven Innovations and PolicyNote
PolicyNote is an AI-powered policy management platform developed by FiscalNote, unveiled on January 15, 2025, to enable organizations to identify, analyze, and respond to legislative and regulatory changes using artificial intelligence.[26] The platform integrates comprehensive U.S. federal and state datasets, including legislative and regulatory policy data, with AI-driven tools such as automated summaries to streamline policy monitoring and decision-making.[27] Built upon FiscalNote's established policy intelligence infrastructure, PolicyNote emphasizes user-friendly interfaces and scalable global coverage to reduce complexity in tracking policy developments.[28] In June 2025, FiscalNote enhanced PolicyNote with AI capabilities for legislative forecasting, intelligent alerts, and bill discovery, allowing users to predict policy trajectories and receive proactive notifications based on machine learning analysis of legislative patterns.[29] This was followed in July 2025 by the addition of AI-powered legislative drafting features, which enable the generation of full bill texts, amendments, and policy proposals tailored to specific jurisdictions, incorporating strategic intent and existing legislative models.[30] By August 2025, the platform incorporated AI-driven social listening to monitor real-time discussions on platforms including X, Truth Social, and Bluesky, surfacing early indicators of policy shifts through sentiment and trend analysis.[31] Further advancements arrived in October 2025 with AI-powered bill comparison tools, which facilitate instant identification of differences between legislative versions, assessment of policy impacts, and trend detection across bills to support informed advocacy and compliance strategies.[32] These iterative AI integrations position PolicyNote as a tool for proactive policy engagement, combining data aggregation, predictive analytics, and generative capabilities to enhance organizational agility in regulatory environments.[23]Operations
Leadership and Governance
Josh Resnik serves as FiscalNote's chief executive officer and president, effective January 1, 2025, following a leadership succession plan announced on November 12, 2024. Resnik, previously the company's president and chief operating officer, possesses over 25 years of experience as an executive, attorney, and business leader in technology and information services sectors. His appointment aims to enhance operational efficiency, product focus, and business simplification amid the company's strategic realignment.[33][34][35] Co-founder Tim Hwang transitioned from CEO to executive chairman on the same date, retaining oversight of long-term strategy and board leadership. Hwang, who led FiscalNote through its 2022 public listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: NOTE) as the youngest Asian American CEO of a NYSE-listed company at the time, continues as board chair. Key executive roles are held by Jon Slabaugh as chief financial officer and chief investment officer, leveraging three decades in investment and operations; Gerald Yao as chief strategy officer and co-founder; and Todd Aman as chief legal and administrative officer.[33][36][37] FiscalNote's board of directors, chaired by Hwang, comprises eight members as of October 2025, following the December 2024 retirement of director Dickson Yiu, which reduced it to nine, and the May 2025 resignation of General Stanley A. McChrystal, further streamlining to eight. Notable directors include co-founder Gerald Yao and independents such as Michael Callahan and Key Compton. The board operates through standing committees, including audit, compensation, nominating and corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions, as outlined in SEC filings. Governance is supported by formal documents, including an audit committee charter, code of ethical business conduct, and code for senior financial officers, ensuring compliance with public company standards.[38][8][39][40]Global Operations and Customer Base
FiscalNote maintains its global headquarters at 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Sixth Floor, in Washington, D.C., serving as the central hub for its policy intelligence operations.[2] The company operates offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, enabling localized support and coverage of international policy landscapes.[2] This structure supports monitoring and analysis in key jurisdictions, including expansions such as enhanced coverage of Chinese legislative and regulatory developments announced on November 6, 2023.[41] Additional regional presence includes activities in Brussels for European Union policy tracking and partnerships in South Korea, reflecting strategic focus on high-impact markets.[42][43] The firm's international operations emphasize scalable, AI-enhanced platforms that track policy risks and opportunities beyond the United States, with recent growth in commercial agreements across regulated sectors globally.[44] While approximately 90% of revenue derives from U.S.-headquartered customers as of June 2025, self-service tools like PolicyNote facilitate broader adoption in non-U.S. markets, including Europe and Asia.[6] FiscalNote's global intelligence capabilities, bolstered by acquired entities such as Oxford Analytica and FrontierView, provide clients with insights into over 200 countries and territories.[45] FiscalNote's customer base comprises approximately 5,000 individual buyers across parent organizations worldwide as of mid-2023, spanning small nonprofits, government agencies, and large corporations, with over 60 Fortune 100 companies among them.[45] Notable clients include 3M, AstraZeneca, Ingredion, Uber, Lyft, and Shinhan Card, alongside public sector entities such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and members of the U.S. Congress.[46][47][48][43] The base is diversified across sectors like defense, aerospace, fintech, pharmaceuticals, and media, with recent expansions in international government contracts and regulated industry upsells.[49][50][51] U.S. public sector remains a core strength, but global commercial growth has accelerated, driven by multi-year renewals and new wins in 2024 and 2025.[52][44]Financial Performance
Revenue Model and Streams
FiscalNote's primary revenue stream derives from subscription-based arrangements, which provide customers with access to its policy intelligence platforms, including real-time tracking of legislative and regulatory developments across global jurisdictions.[53] These subscriptions typically involve recurring fees for software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery of data analytics, AI-driven insights, and workflow tools tailored for government relations, advocacy, and compliance professionals.[54] In fiscal year 2024, subscription revenue constituted approximately 92% of total revenues, reflecting the company's emphasis on high-margin, predictable recurring income from a customer base exceeding 5,000 organizations.[55] [56] The remaining revenue, around 8%, stems from non-subscription sources such as advisory services, advertising, and ancillary offerings. Advisory services include customized consulting on policy strategy and stakeholder engagement, often bundled or sold separately to enterprise clients seeking specialized expertise beyond standard platform access.[57] Advertising revenue arises from sponsored content or targeted placements within the platforms, leveraging FiscalNote's audience of policymakers and influencers.[58] Other streams encompass one-time fees for bespoke data exports, training, or integrations, which support customer retention and upsell opportunities.[12] This model benefits from cross-selling across product lines, such as upgrading from core legislative tracking to AI-enhanced features in PolicyNote, which has seen accelerated adoption and contributes to annual recurring revenue (ARR) stability despite market fluctuations. FiscalNote's sales strategy focuses on expanding contracts with existing clients in fragmented sectors like public affairs, where high subscription retention rates underpin long-term financial durability.Key Financial Metrics and Profitability Shift
FiscalNote has demonstrated a strategic focus on achieving profitability through cost discipline and operational efficiencies, despite revenue challenges. In the second quarter of 2025, the company reported total revenue of $23.3 million, a 20% decline from $29.1 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to the non-renewal of legacy contracts and a net revenue retention rate of 96%, down from 98%.[53] [59] Adjusted EBITDA reached $2.8 million, marking a 58% year-over-year improvement and doubling the adjusted EBITDA margin to approximately 12%, driven by an 18% reduction in total operating expenses to $25.7 million.[53] [60] However, GAAP net loss widened slightly to $13.3 million from $12.8 million year-over-year, reflecting ongoing amortization of intangibles and other non-cash charges.[61] The company's profitability trajectory shows a marked shift from persistent losses to positive adjusted EBITDA. For full-year 2024, FiscalNote achieved adjusted EBITDA of $9.8 million, reversing a $24.5 million loss in 2022, supported by sixth consecutive quarters of year-over-year adjusted EBITDA gains by Q4 2024, when it reported $3.3 million on $29.5 million in revenue.[62] [63] This improvement stemmed from aggressive cost management, including workforce reductions and divestitures of underperforming assets, alongside a pivot to product-led growth emphasizing AI-enhanced platforms.[62] In Q1 2025, adjusted EBITDA held at $2.8 million on $27.5 million revenue, with margins expanding to 10% from 4% year-over-year.[64] Free cash flow also strengthened, improving by $69 million over the prior two years through these measures.[65]| Period | Revenue ($M) | Adjusted EBITDA ($M) | Net Loss ($M) | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2022 | N/A | -24.5 | N/A | Pre-shift heavy losses |
| FY 2024 | N/A | 9.8 | N/A | Turn to positive EBITDA |
| Q4 2024 | 29.5 | 3.3 | N/A | Exceeded guidance |
| Q1 2025 | 27.5 | 2.8 | N/A | Margin expansion to 10% |
| Q2 2025 | 23.3 | 2.8 | -13.3 | Revenue down 20% YoY, EBITDA up 58% |
Recognition and Partnerships
Awards and Industry Accolades
FiscalNote has garnered recognition from various industry bodies for its policy intelligence platforms, customer service, and advocacy tools, primarily through awards focused on technology innovation and business performance. These accolades, often self-reported via company announcements, highlight achievements in SaaS product excellence and sales operations, though independent verification from awarding organizations confirms the honors.[68][69] In 2021, FiscalNote received two Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, including a Gold Stevie in the Sales or Customer Service Solutions Technology Partner category, acknowledging superior performance in client engagement and technological support.[68] The Stevie Awards, administered annually by an independent judging committee, evaluate entries based on innovation and results.[70] The year 2022 saw multiple honors: FiscalNote's Curate platform earned the "Best Data Innovation in a SaaS Product" at the SaaS Awards, judged by a panel of industry experts for advancements in data integration and usability.[69] Its Equilibrium ESG solution won "Best SaaS Product for CSR/Sustainability" in the same program, recognizing capabilities in environmental, social, and governance analytics.[71] Additionally, FiscalNote and its campaigns secured recognitions across categories at the Reed Awards, including for advocacy effectiveness, continuing a pattern of wins in grassroots and public affairs tools.[72] Forbes also named it one of "America's Best Startup Employers" based on employee satisfaction surveys and growth metrics from over 2,500 startups.[73] The company further received a Timmy Award for best tech work culture, emphasizing internal innovation and employee development.[2] In 2023, FiscalNote's VoterVoice platform was awarded "Best Advocacy Technology" in the Grassroots Advocacy category at the Reed Awards, citing its AI-driven features for stakeholder mobilization.[74] It also earned a Silver Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service, building on prior recognitions.[2] CEO Tim Hwang was named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 Mid-Atlantic winner by Ernst & Young, selected from regional nominees for entrepreneurial vision and company impact.[75]| Year | Award | Category/Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Stevie Awards | Gold: Sales or Customer Service Solutions Technology Partner | [68] |
| 2022 | SaaS Awards | Best Data Innovation in a SaaS Product (Curate) | [69] |
| 2022 | SaaS Awards | Best SaaS Product for CSR/Sustainability (Equilibrium) | [71] |
| 2022 | Reed Awards | Multiple categories for advocacy campaigns | [72] |
| 2022 | Forbes | America's Best Startup Employers | [73] |
| 2022 | Timmy Awards | Best Tech Work Culture | [2] |
| 2023 | Reed Awards | Best Advocacy Technology (VoterVoice) | [74] |
| 2023 | Stevie Awards | Silver: Sales & Customer Service | [2] |
| 2023 | EY Entrepreneur of the Year | Mid-Atlantic Winner (Tim Hwang) | [75] |