About Hamlet
We watch local government so you can see it.
Most decisions that shape a town are made at meetings almost nobody attends. We collect the video of city councils, county boards and planning commissions. We transcribe it, name each official who speaks, and link every quote to its source.
- meetings read
- 82,000+
Every word has a source
Every quote links to its meeting.
How it started
It started when our founder ran for city council and lost.
In 2022 Sunil Rajaraman ran for Orinda City Council. Six people, three seats. He lost. Lamorinda Weekly
He went looking for how the town made its decisions.
Towns had started posting their meetings online. He started Hamlet that year to read them and say who said what.
Before Hamlet he co-founded Scripted and ran The Bold Italic, which he sold to Medium. TechCrunch
“A total black box, and almost intentionally opaque.”
Sunil Rajaraman, founder, on how his town made decisions. TechCrunch
What we make
- The recordThe City IndexEvery meeting, place and official, and the top 10 of every ranking. Free, no account.Search the record
- ReportingThe DistrictLong stories built on the record, one city at a time.Read The District
- ClipsHamlet TVLocal government, unedited. Hot mics, procedural meltdowns and the odd great speech.Watch Hamlet TV
In the press
- Solo FoundersA secret $2 trillion market close to homeApr 29, 2026
- TechCrunchNew streaming channel launches to give viewers a peek into city council meetingsDec 5, 2025
- GovTechCities using AI for transparency, resident engagementJan 3, 2025
- PublicCEO ReportSunil Rajaraman, Hamlet (podcast)May 9, 2024
- PublicCEOHamlet partners with the City of Palo Alto on council summariesJun 2024
Built in Oakland, California.
A small team, backed by Slow Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Kapor Capital and Banana Capital. TechCrunch PublicCEO
How we make money
Hamlet is a company. We sell Hamlet for business, our paid service. Lobbyists, PR firms, developers, energy companies and advocacy groups buy it to follow an issue across many places.
Free to read: search (the first 40 results), every place, the officials directory and the top 10 of every ranked list. Paid: every search result, full transcripts, alerts, agenda monitoring and the API.
This site carries no ads and needs no account. Reporters and researchers can ask for access.
Reach us
- Corrections
- Report a problem
- Business
- Hamlet for business
- Press and research
- Ask for access
- Everything else
- Contact us