Full-Time
Director – Sales & Strategic Partnerships
Semafor
51-200 employees
Digital news outlet with Semaform structure
Compensation Overview
$160k - $180k/yr
Washington, DC, USA
Hybrid
Hybrid or remote work option; must be willing to travel domestically.
 Sales & Account Management (2) |
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- 10+ years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or related fields within media, digital publishing, or advertising
- Proven track record of securing and managing high-impact strategic partnerships in media or digital publishing
- Strong understanding of the digital advertising ecosystem, as well as live event partnerships
- Strong analytical skills and ability to leverage market research and competitive intelligence to drive decision-making
- Exceptional communication and negotiation skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
- Proficiency in CRM and sales management tools (e.g., Salesforce, Boostr)
- Identify, assess, and negotiate strategic partnerships that align with the company’s business objectives
- Understand problems clients need to solve and take a strategic approach to solving them
- Drive revenue through new and existing partnerships by structuring deals that generate business value and audience expansion
- Conduct research and competitive analysis to identify new opportunities and assess the potential impact of strategic relationships
- Work closely with sales, marketing, editorial, and product teams to ensure seamless integration and execution of partnerships
- Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure partnership success, providing insights and recommendations to leadership
- Maintain strong relationships with existing partners while continuously identifying new opportunities for growth
- Successfully manage several complex and multi-dimensional partner relationships and deals
- Monitor and refine partnership strategies to adapt to changing market conditions and business needs
- Represent the company at key industry events, conferences, and meetings to foster relationships and showcase our brand
- Knowledge of the Washington, DC Public Affairs ecosystem
- Strategic partnership development and execution in journalism, media, and/or digital publishing sectors
- Market research, competitive analysis, and audience insights to inform partnership strategies
- Digital marketing, content distribution, and advertising ecosystems
- Strong negotiation and deal-closing capabilities
- Strategic planning and execution of partnership initiatives
- Relationship-building and account management
- Analytical and data-driven decision-making
- Cross-functional collaboration and project management
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Adaptability to dynamic business environments and evolving market conditions
- Strong problem-solving skills to identify and address partnership challenges
- Resilience and persistence in navigating complex negotiations and long sales cycles
- Ability to manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously
- High emotional intelligence (EQ) to foster and maintain strong business relationships
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for innovation and growth
- Comfortable working in a hybrid or remote setting with travel as needed
- Passion for media, journalism, and the evolving digital content landscape
Semafor runs a digital news outlet with a website and newsletters covering global affairs, U.S. politics, business, technology, Africa, and the Middle East. It uses Semaform, an article structure that separates The News, The Reporter’s View, Room for Disagreement, The View From, and Notable to show facts and analysis clearly. Revenue comes from direct-sold advertising and a strong events business with partners like Mastercard, Pfizer, and Verizon, with events delivering high margins. Its goal is to reimagine global journalism for college-educated professionals, pursuing a sustainable mix of advertising, events, and future subscriptions to support independent reporting and restore reader trust.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Early VC
Total Funding
$74M
Headquarters
Washington DC, District of Columbia
Founded
2018
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Semafor raised $30 million in January 2026 at a $330 million valuation.
- 2025 brought $40 million revenue and $2 million EBITDA, its first profitable year.
- World Economy 2026 drew 500 CEOs and 30-plus partners, including Verizon and Bank of America.
What critics are saying
- Events generated over half of revenue in 2025, leaving Semafor hostage to sponsorship demand.
- Semafor still lacks a paid subscription moat, so platform traffic swings hit directly.
- If sponsorships weaken, Semafor loses its core cash engine before subscriptions scale.
What makes Semafor unique
- Semaform splits facts, analysis, dissent, and context inside every story.
- Semafor's events-first model monetizes elite convenings before subscriptions exist.
- Semafor Intelligence turns 4,900 World Economy 2026 claims into editorial insight.
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Benefits
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Remote Work Options
Paid Vacation
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 7%1 year growth
↑ 7%2 year growth
↑ 15%Semafor has launched Semafor Intelligence, an AI-enabled editorial insights product based on its global convenings. The first report, drawn from Semafor World Economy 2026, identifies what it calls "The Chokepoint Economy" — a consensus among leaders that globalisation's promise has shifted to concentrated power and risk. Key findings include a widening gap between optimistic Main Street CEOs and concerned Wall Street financiers, with investors potentially underpricing current economic shocks. Leaders warned that markets are significantly underpricing the Iran war and that private credit has grown into a $3 trillion systemic risk. The report also highlights America's energy advantage whilst cautioning that electricity demand is the real crisis, and notes China's manufacturing-focused AI strategy may prove more durable than the US' race towards superintelligence.
Semafor has developed an AI-powered editorial tool to analyse its World Economy 2026 conference, processing 4,900 distinct claims from over 300 speakers across five days. The tool, initially prototyped by Tech Editor Reed Albergotti using OpenAI's Codex, was refined by data lead Alastair Clements into an analytical system that extracts claims and converts them into numerical embeddings to map semantic relationships. The system used Voyage's embedding model, Anthropic's Haiku 4.5 and Opus 4.7 for analysis, and Cohere's ranker to surface supporting evidence. Journalists then reviewed every theme, stress-testing premises and editing quotes for accuracy. The entire pipeline, running on Google's BigQuery and built with Claude Code, cost only a few hundred dollars in API calls. Semafor emphasises that whilst AI cannot generate insights independently, it enables journalists to analyse larger datasets more effectively.
Semafor has raised $30 million at a $330 million valuation after generating $2 million in EBITDA in 2025, marking its first profitable year. The media company plans to expand its annual CEO gathering in Washington DC. The funding comes as Semafor demonstrates financial viability in a challenging media landscape, achieving profitability just years after its founding. Details about the investors participating in the round and specific expansion plans for the CEO event were not disclosed.
The digital media outlet, which aims to inform the “global leadership class,” plans to expand its events business and add journalists.
👩🍳 How we use AI at Tech in Asia, thoughtfully and responsibly.🧔♂️ A friendly human may check it before it goes live. More news hereXiaomi CEO, Lei Jun, expects the company’s EV division to become profitable in the second half of 2025, according to a company spokesperson.In Q1 2025, Xiaomi reported a loss of 500 million yuan (US$69.5 million) from its smart EVs, AI, and other new ventures.Despite the loss, revenue from the EV segment reached 18.1 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) during the same period.The company plans to launch its second EV model, the YU7, in July 2025.🔗 Source: Reuters🧠 Food for thought1️⃣ Xiaomi’s profit projection stands out in a brutal EV marketLei Jun’s statement about EV profitability comes amid an intensely competitive Chinese market where most manufacturers are struggling to maintain margins.China’s EV landscape features over 94 brands and 300 models competing for market share, creating significant pricing pressure across the industry 1.Recent aggressive price cuts, particularly from market leader BYD, have squeezed profit margins sector-wide, with analysts noting that only a few companies including BYD, Tesla, and Li Auto have managed to maintain profitability 2.Against this challenging backdrop, Xiaomi has reported a 15.4% gross profit margin for its EVs, which is competitive compared to established players 3.The company’s SU7 sedan has gained traction with 27,307 units delivered by August 2024, positioning the company to potentially reach its target of 100,000 units by November 3.2️⃣ Strategic diversification from phones to cars represents a classic tech expansion playXiaomi’s move into electric vehicles follows a pattern seen with other tech giants seeking growth beyond saturated core markets, but with distinctly aggressive investment.The company committed $10 billion over a decade to its EV business—a substantial bet representing a significant portion of its resources compared to its $9.8 billion quarterly revenue in late 2022 4, 5.This diversification strategy was bolstered by the 2021 acquisition of autonomous driving startup Deepmotion for approximately $77.37 million, demonstrating Xiaomi’s commitment to building proprietary technology rather than merely assembling vehicles 4.Unlike many EV startups that struggle with manufacturing, Xiaomi brings substantial experience in mass production and supply chain management from its smartphone business, potentially giving it advantages in scaling efficiently 6.The SU7’s competitive pricing at approximately $29,900—about $4,000 less than Tesla’s Model 3 despite offering greater range—demonstrates how Xiaomi is applying its “high specs, low price” smartphone strategy to disrupt the automotive market 7.3️⃣ China’s shifting EV policies are forcing companies toward operational efficiencyThe profitability Xiaomi projects comes as government subsidies that fueled China’s EV boom are being systematically reduced, forcing manufacturers to focus on operational excellence.Chinese government support for EVs has been massive, with cumulative spending estimated at $230.9 billion from 2009 to 2023, creating artificial market conditions that are now normalizing 8.Direct subsidies per vehicle have fallen dramatically from $13,860 in 2018 to just $4,800 in 2023, compelling manufacturers to find efficiencies rather than rely on government support 8.Market growth is expected to slow significantly from 42% in 2024 to 20% in 2025 as the sector matures, likely triggering further consolidation among the hundreds of EV-related enterprises 9, 10.Xiaomi’s focus on manufacturing efficiency and integration with its existing ecosystem of smart devices appears strategically timed as the market transitions toward a phase where operational excellence will determine survivors 11.Recent Xiaomi developments