OpenTopography
OpenTopography is an NSF-funded research facility at UC San Diego's San Diego Supercomputer Center that provides free web-based access to high-resolution lidar and topography datasets for the US academic Earth science community, with a paid OT+ subscription and Enterprise API for non-academic commercial and government users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersLa Jolla, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What OpenTopography does
OpenTopography is an NSF-funded research facility operated by the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, with collaborative operations at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration and the EarthScope Consortium (UNAVCO). Founded in 2009, it provides democratized web-based access to high-resolution (meter to sub-meter) Earth science topography data acquired with lidar and related technologies. The platform hosts more than 500,000 km² of high-resolution point cloud datasets globally, including federated access to USGS 3DEP (covering 94% of the United States by end of 2023), NOAA Coastal Lidar, Polar Geospatial Center's ArcticDEM (22,300,208 km²) and REMA (14,897,928 km²), and Natural Resources Canada HRDEM, alongside community-contributed datasets assigned DOIs.
Its technology stack is a cloud-based cyberinfrastructure built on SDSC HPC resources and AWS S3 storage, with a REST API for programmatic access, PDAL-based cloud-native streaming of point cloud data, bulk download via AWS CLI, and on-demand processing tools for generating Digital Elevation Models, Digital Terrain Models, Digital Surface Models, Canopy Height Models, contour lines, and hydrologic products via Whitebox Workflows. Core products include the OpenTopography Data Portal (portal.opentopography.org), on-demand processing tools, the Community Dataspace for contributed datasets, and educational resources including online training and workshops.
Revenue mechanics are mixed and modest: primary operational funding comes from NSF Division of Earth Sciences grants (most recently $2,550,000 under Awards 2410799, 2410800, 2410801, dated August 2024), with a secondary OT+ subscription-based model for non-academic commercial, government, and hobbyist users, plus Enterprise API keys for for-profit integrations. The principal customer segment is the US academic Earth science community with valid .edu addresses receiving free access; secondary segments include K-12/international academics (application-based), and commercial/government users via OT+. Marketing is community-led, relying on academic outreach, publications, conferences, and partner networks rather than paid acquisition.
OpenTopography firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenTopography
- Legal name
- OpenTopography Facility
- Website
- https://opentopography.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- OpenTopography is an NSF-funded research facility at UC San Diego's San Diego Supercomputer Center that provides free web-based access to high-resolution lidar and topography datasets for the US academic Earth science community, with a paid OT+ subscription and Enterprise API for non-academic commercial and government users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenTopography industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Geospatial Data Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)
Keywords
Where OpenTopography is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- La Jolla
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
OpenTopography business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- National Science Foundation Funding: Primary operational funding comes from NSF Division of Earth Sciences grants (Award Numbers 2410799, 2410800 & 2410801) supporting the facility's mission to democratize access to high-resolution topography data for Earth science research and education.
- OpenTopography+ (OT+) Subscriptions: Subscription service for non-academic users (commercial, hobbyist, government) to access restricted datasets and value-added processing services. Provides browser-based tools for generating custom DEMs, contour lines, hillshades, 3D visualizations, hydrology products, and vertical change maps.
- Enterprise API Keys: Commercial for-profit entities requiring integration of OpenTopography API keys into products or services must purchase Enterprise API keys, which also offer higher daily API rate limits. Contact-based pricing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | OpenTopography+ subscription for non-academic users |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise API keys for commercial integration |
| Freemium | Annual | Free access for US academics with .edu addresses |
| Freemium | Annual | Application-based access for K-12 and international academics |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
OpenTopography product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenTopography provides online, on-demand access to high-resolution (meter to sub-meter) Earth science-oriented topography datasets acquired with lidar and related technologies, covering more than 500,000 km² globally. The platform combines a web Data Portal with value-added processing tools that generate Digital Elevation Models, hydrology products, contour lines, canopy height models, and 3D visualizations without requiring users to operate their own HPC systems. REST APIs and bulk AWS downloads support automated, reproducible research workflows for the Earth science community.
Product overview
OpenTopography is a web-based platform providing free access to high-resolution topography and lidar data for Earth science research. The core offering is the Data Portal, a map-based interface for dataset discovery, point cloud processing, and DEM generation. Key products include on-demand processing tools for generating custom DEMs, hydrologic analysis (now upgraded to Whitebox Workflows), contour generation, and canopy height models. The platform offers programmatic access via REST API for automated workflows. OT+ provides subscription-based access to restricted datasets for non-academics. The Community Dataspace enables researchers to contribute and archive their own datasets with DOI citation support. Educational resources include online training, workshops, and curriculum materials.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OpenTopography+ (OT+): Subscription service enabling non-academic users to access OT's value-added services applied to restricted datasets.
- OT+
Products and services
- OpenTopography Data Portal Map-based web portal for discovering, accessing, processing, and visualizing hundreds of high-resolution lidar point cloud and DEM datasets covering 500,000+ km² globally. Users subset point clouds by spatial area, generate DEMs, hillshades, contours, and hydrology products on demand, and download derived products in LAS/LAZ/GeoTIFF formats. Primary audience is the U.S. Earth science research community plus OT+ subscribers.
- OpenTopography+ (OT+) Subscription Annual subscription granting non-academic users browser-based access to restricted datasets (USGS 3DEP, NOAA Coastal Lidar, ArcticDEM, REMA, Canada HRDEM) and value-added processing tools for generating custom DEMs, contours, hillshades, 3D visualizations, hydrology products, and vertical change maps.
- Programmatic API Access (including Enterprise API Keys) REST API providing programmatic access to point cloud and raster datasets, tile index spatial queries, and bulk S3 retrieval. Requires account and API key; commercial for-profit integration requires Enterprise API keys with higher daily rate limits and contact-based pricing.
- Community Dataspace Drag-and-drop dataset contribution portal for community members to archive and share small to moderate-sized topographic datasets with DOI assignment, citation support, and public discoverability alongside federally hosted datasets.
- Online Training & Education Educational program offering online training modules, educator curriculum resources, workshops, short courses, and Jupyter notebook tutorials for teaching and learning high-resolution topography data handling.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1,500 peer-reviewed publications enabled since inception
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenTopography
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
OpenTopography technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
OpenTopography partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), UC San DiegocoreOpenTopography Facility is based at SDSC, which provides the cyberinfrastructure backbone including HPC resources (Gordon, Comet, and Expanse supercomputers), cloud storage infrastructure, and technical operations support.
- Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Earth and Space ExplorationcoreOperates in collaboration with colleagues at ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration, contributing to data development, research collaboration, and academic outreach.
- EarthScope Consortium (UNAVCO)coreCollaborative partnership with UNAVCO for data integration, distribution, and community engagement in the Earth science geospatial community.
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) - 3D Elevation Program (3DEP)coreFederates access to USGS 3DEP lidar point cloud data, applying OpenTopography's value-added tools for data discovery, access, processing, and visualization. By end of 2023, 3DEP had collected data over 94% of the US.
- NOAA Coastal Lidar ProgramcoreFederates access to NOAA Coastal Lidar Data collection through OpenTopography's processing tools. Data is hosted on AWS as part of the AWS Public Dataset Program.
- Polar Geospatial Center (PGC), University of MinnesotacoreProvides access to ArcticDEM and REMA (Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica) datasets through OpenTopography. PGC leads NGA-NSF funded initiatives to produce high-resolution DEMs of polar regions.
- AWS Public Dataset ProgramcoreBulk lidar data (USGS 3DEP and NOAA Coastal Lidar) stored on AWS S3 as Public Datasets, with OpenTopography providing value-added access layer and processing services.
- Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN)coreProvides access to High Resolution Digital Elevation Model (HRDEM) mosaic of Canada through OpenTopography. Part of Canada's National Elevation Data Strategy.
- Hobu, Inc.supportingLed USGS efforts in migrating 3DEP data to the cloud in collaboration with US Army Corps of Engineers CRREL.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OpenTopography competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Hexagon Geospatial: Enterprise geospatial software provider (ERDAS, GeoMedia, M.App) with capabilities in remote sensing, lidar processing, and terrain analysis. A broader incumbent serving government and commercial customers with overlapping point cloud and DEM capabilities.
- Planet Labs: Commercial Earth observation company operating the largest fleet of imaging satellites, providing daily global coverage and derived analytics products. Operates in the same Earth observation/geospatial data space with broader commercial scale than OpenTopography.
- Maxar Technologies: Leading commercial provider of high-resolution satellite imagery and derived geospatial products including elevation models. A broader incumbent in Earth observation whose high-resolution data products overlap with OpenTopography's satellite-derived DEM offerings.
- Esri: Dominant GIS software provider (ArcGIS) with extensive lidar processing, DEM, and terrain analysis capabilities across enterprise and government customers. Overlaps with OpenTopography's data access, processing, and visualization functions but serves a much broader geospatial market.
- Trimble: Major provider of geospatial hardware and software solutions for surveying, mapping, and construction with strong lidar and point cloud processing capabilities (e.g., eCognition, Trimble Business Center). Broader incumbent across the geospatial value chain.
Emerging players
- SkyWatch: Earth observation data marketplace and platform aggregating satellite imagery and geospatial datasets for developers and enterprises. Emerging player providing cloud-based access to remote sensing data with a marketplace model similar in spirit to OpenTopography's value-added data access layer.
- Descartes Labs: Cloud-based geospatial analytics platform that processes satellite imagery and Earth observation data at scale for agriculture, energy, and sustainability applications. Shares OpenTopography's cloud-native, on-demand processing model for geospatial datasets.
- UP42: Airbus-owned Earth observation platform providing API-based access to satellite imagery, elevation data, and geospatial analytics processing blocks. An emerging marketplace and processing platform comparable to OpenTopography's cloud-based data access and on-demand processing model.
Direct peers
- Cesium: 3D geospatial visualization platform specializing in terrain rendering and streaming of massive geospatial datasets including point clouds and elevation models. Comparable to OpenTopography's 3D visualization and high-resolution topography delivery capabilities.
- Google Earth Engine: Google's cloud-based geospatial analysis platform for Earth science research, providing on-demand processing of satellite imagery and elevation datasets including SRTM and other DEMs. Closest functional analog to OpenTopography's web-based Earth science data access and processing model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
OpenTopography social profiles
Digital presenceOpenTopography compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
OpenTopography financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenTopography leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
OpenTopography funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenTopography M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenTopography
What does OpenTopography do?
OpenTopography provides online, on-demand access to high-resolution (meter to sub-meter) Earth science-oriented topography datasets acquired with lidar and related technologies, covering more than 500,000 km² globally. The platform combines a web Data Portal with value-added processing tools that generate Digital Elevation Models, hydrology products, contour lines, canopy height models, and 3D visualizations without requiring users to operate their own HPC systems. REST APIs and bulk AWS downloads support automated, reproducible research workflows for the Earth science community.
Is OpenTopography a public or private company?
OpenTopography is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was OpenTopography founded?
OpenTopography was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is OpenTopography based?
OpenTopography is headquartered in La Jolla, United States, in the North America region.
How does OpenTopography make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. National Science Foundation Funding is the primary driver. The others are openTopography+ (OT+) Subscriptions and enterprise API Keys.
Who are OpenTopography's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Hexagon Geospatial, Planet Labs, Maxar Technologies, Esri and Trimble. Emerging players are SkyWatch, Descartes Labs and UP42. Direct peers are Cesium and Google Earth Engine.
Does OpenTopography have an API?
Yes. OpenTopography provides a set of APIs for accessing and processing topographic data. APIs enable programmatic data access for point clouds, DEMs, and global datasets. Requires account registration and API key generation. Commercial for-profit integration requires Enterprise API keys with higher rate limits. The API is used for automated, reproducible workflows with data available in formats including LAS, LAZ, ASCII, GeoTIFF, and Arc ASCII Grid. Developer documentation is at opentopography.org/developers.
What industry is OpenTopography in?
OpenTopography's product category is Geospatial Data Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHAKAD, Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing), with a secondary code of BPAMANAM, Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms. Its NAICS code is 54136 and its SIC code is 7370.