Editing Stratfor (section)

==Structure and operations==
Stratfor clients have included academic institutions, investment firms, and large corporations such as [[Lockheed Martin]], [[Goldman Sachs]], [[Bank of America]], [[the Coca-Cola Company]], and [[Dow Chemical Company]].<ref name="rs280212">{{cite news|last1=Hastings|first1=Michael|date=28 February 2012|title=WikiLeaks Stratfor Emails: A Secret Indictment Against Julian Assange?|publisher=RollingStone|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/wikileaks-stratfor-emails-a-secret-indictment-against-julian-assange-181655/|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="nbc280212">{{cite news|last1=Weber|first1=Paul J.|last2=Satter|first2=Raphael|date=28 February 2012|title=Leaked emails shine rare light on Stratfor|publisher=NBC News|agency=AP|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46555168/ns/us_news-security/t/leaked-emails-shine-rare-light-stratfor/#.XbZ6Fi1L0cg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303064557/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46555168/ns/us_news-security/t/leaked-emails-shine-rare-light-stratfor/#.XbZ6Fi1L0cg|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 3, 2013|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="yahoo280212">{{cite news|last1=Vinograd|first1=Cassandra|last2=Satter|first2=Raphael|date=28 February 2012|title=WikiLeaks publishes leaked Stratfor emails|publisher=Yahoo|agency=AP|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/wikileaks-publishes-leaked-stratfor-emails-135816242.html|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref> Many of Stratfor's operatives previously worked for the U.S. government.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pfeffer |first1=Anshel |title=Israel, Kurdish Fighters Destroyed Iran Nuclear Facility, Email Released by WikiLeaks Claims |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-kurdish-fighters-destroyed-iran-nuclear-facility-email-released-by-wikileaks-claims-1.415066 |website=Haaretz |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=en |date=17 February 2012}}</ref>

Media coverage of their ideas about the [[1998 bombing of Iraq]] brought Stratfor into the public eye.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Fisher|first=Max|date=2012-02-22|title=Stratfor Is a Joke and So Is Wikileaks for Taking It Seriously|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/02/stratfor-is-a-joke-and-so-is-wikileaks-for-taking-it-seriously/253681/|magazine=Atlantic|access-date=2021-07-05|quote=. . . Stratfor's first big break had come in 1999 with a spate of glowing articles such as this January piece in ''Time,'' which reported Stratfor's 'striking' theory that the U.S. bombing of Iraq in December 1998 was 'actually designed to mask a failed U.S.-backed coup.'}}</ref> At this time, the company had about twenty employees.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Hall|first=Michael|date=1999|title=The Spying Game|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-spying-game/|magazine=Texas Monthly|access-date=2021-07-05}}</ref> By 2008 they were up to 40 full-time employees in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]]. 2016 saw the number rise to about 100, three-quarters of whom were based in Austin.<ref name="states">{{cite news|last=Grisales|first=Claudia|date=25 September 2018|orig-year=21 October 2015 (stated as 4 September 2016)|title=Austin's Stratfor raises $12 million to fund growth|work=[[Austin American-Statesman]]|url=https://www.statesman.com/business/20160904/austins-stratfor-raises-12-million-to-fund-growth|url-status=live|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023074915/http://www.mystatesman.com/news/business/austins-stratfor-raises-12-million-in-growth-plan/nn6zY/|archive-date=23 October 2015}}</ref> Stratfor often hired and trained interns from the nearby [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas]].<ref name="nbc280212" />

Stratfor analysts pay for information, but also use open source information to predict where global crises will arise. Stratfor also obtains information by way of personal networks. [[Fred Burton (security expert)|Fred Burton]] indicated in leaked emails that he maintained contact with his trusted former CIA sources as a source of information, and that he was aware of the sealed indictment against [[Julian Assange]] in 2011.<ref name="nbc280212" /><ref name="rs280212" /><ref name="Barrons">{{cite web|last=Laing|first=Jonathan R.|date=October 15, 2001|title=The Shadow CIA|url=http://online.barrons.com/article/SB1002927557434087960.html|access-date=December 19, 2010|publisher=Barron's magazine}} ([http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=13032 read complete article] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601025407/http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=13032|date=2011-06-01}})</ref> ''Barron's'' Jonathan Laing has called Stratfor founder George Friedman "one of our favorite experts on geopolitics," saying, "His judgments tend to be more nuanced and long-term than those of the press or Wall Street."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Laing|first1=Jonathan|date=16 August 2014|title=Putin's Big Miscalculation|publisher=Barrons|url=http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB50001424053111904537004580094312032577890?mod=BOL_twm_col|access-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> More recently, ''The Atlantic's'' [[James Fallows]] referenced a Stratfor article on U.S. strategy in [[Iraq]] and [[Ukraine]], following outbreaks of turmoil in those regions.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Fallows|first=James|date=June 24, 2014|title=Stratfor on American Grand Strategy in Iraq and Ukraine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/06/stratfor-on-american-grand-strategy-in-iraq-and-ukraine/373308/|magazine=Atlantic|access-date=9 July 2014}}</ref>

Friedman resigned from the company in 2015 to launch a new company, [[Geopolitical Futures]].<ref>[https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2015/12/03/stratfor-founder-george-friedman-forms.html Pope, Colin (December 3, 2015). "Stratfor Founder George Friedman Starts Media Business," Austin Business Journal.]</ref>

[[Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp|Dun & Bradstreet's]] estimate of Stratfor's 2021 revenue is $11.61 million.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stratfor Enterprises, LLC|url=https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.stratfor_enterprises_llc.03937e4d4db189a95b02a0741c76588a.html#financials-anchor|access-date=2021-07-05|website=D&B Business Directory|publisher=Dun & Bradstreet}}</ref>

===Funding===
In October 2015, Stratfor raised $12 million in funding through a growth equity investment by Dallas-based Teakwood Capital.<ref>{{cite news|last=Calnan|first=Christopher|date=22 October 2015|title=Austin security firm raises $12M, plans C-suite hire|work=[[Austin Business Journal]]|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/techflash/2015/10/austin-security-firm-raises-12m-plans-c-suite-hire.html|access-date=4 April 2019}}</ref> Stratfor planned to use the funds to expand its reporting networks, improve operational infrastructure, and move into new markets.<ref name="states" />