How Semafor turned Washington into a profit center

Tech Insider : Politics, Business, Economy
Seamfor CEO Justin Smith speaks onstage at one of the news publisher's conference in Washington, DC, October 2025 in Washington, DC.
Semafor CEO Justin Smith says his company hosted close to 100 events in 2025. His ambition is to build a Washington, DC-based event that's supposed to rivals the annual Davos gathering in Switzerland.

Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Semafor

Semafor cofounder Ben Smith's car is very easy to spot, and he also needs to slow down

Tech Insider
Ben Smith at a laptop, and his car with a SEMAFOR vanity license plate.
Semafor co-founder Ben Smith and his vanity license plate.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images | Jack Newsham/Business Insider

Ozy sues Ben Smith and BuzzFeed, claiming the media executive stole trade secrets to create Semafor

Tech Insider
Ben Smith Carlos Watson
Semafor co-founder, former New York Times columnist, and BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith and Ozy founder Carlos Watson.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Kimberly White/Getty Images

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