OpenMetadata
OpenMetadata is an open-source Semantic Context Graph platform for unified metadata management, data cataloging, governance, and lineage. Built by Collate, Inc., it serves 4,000+ enterprise data and AI teams globally via a freemium core and managed cloud service.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersSan Mateo, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What OpenMetadata does
OpenMetadata is an open-source metadata management platform built on a Semantic Context Graph architecture that unifies technical metadata (schemas, lineage, owners, classifications), business semantics (glossary terms, metric definitions, ontologies), and organizational memory (approvals, corrections, feedback) into a single knowledge graph. Founded in 2021 by the creators of Apache Hadoop, Atlas, and Uber Databook, the project is maintained by Collate, Inc. and operated with 51-100 employees out of San Mateo, USA. The platform exposes 700+ API specifications in JSON Schema and RDF/JSON-LD using W3C-standard relationships (RDF, OWL, DCAT, Schema.org), integrates with 130+ data services spanning databases, pipelines, BI tools, ML platforms, messaging systems, and storage, and runs on just four system components to simplify deployment.
The platform gained the first enterprise-grade MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for metadata in v1.8.0 (June 2025), allowing AI clients including Claude, Cursor, and OpenAI agents to read from and write to the metadata layer under the same authorization engine as the REST APIs. Core capabilities include data cataloging, discovery, governance, lineage, data quality, observability, Data Contracts, and AI-readiness features (AI SDK, Context Center, hybrid keyword/semantic search). Customer-scale deployments include OpenAI's Kepler AI data agent serving 3,500+ internal users over 580+ PB daily across 70,000 datasets, Wix's AirBot AI assistant ingesting 25k+ assets daily with 130,000+ lineage connections, Carrefour Brazil governing 133 PB of daily processing, and Loggi reducing dashboards by 89% (18,000 to 2,000) and saving $2,000/month in infrastructure.
The business is open-core: the Apache-licensed core is free to download and self-host, while Collate, Inc. monetizes through a managed cloud service (free SaaS plus commercial annual subscriptions) and provides enterprise support. Go-to-market is community-led and product-led, with the open-source community (13,500+ members, 450+ contributors, 14,000+ GitHub stars) funneling users into the managed commercial offering. The base spans 4,000+ enterprise deployments across logistics, retail, fintech, e-commerce, AI/tech, public sector, and media in 25+ countries.
OpenMetadata firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenMetadata
- Legal name
- Collate, Inc.
- Website
- https://open-metadata.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- OpenMetadata is an open-source Semantic Context Graph platform for unified metadata management, data cataloging, governance, and lineage. Built by Collate, Inc., it serves 4,000+ enterprise data and AI teams globally via a freemium core and managed cloud service.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenMetadata industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Data Catalog & Metadata Management Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Metadata, Catalog & Semantic Layer for Data Platforms (HDAEABAJ)
Keywords
Where OpenMetadata is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Mateo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
OpenMetadata business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Open Source Platform: OpenMetadata's core platform is open source and freely available under Apache License. The open source model drives community adoption, contributions, and ecosystem growth.
- Collate Managed Cloud Service: Collate, Inc. provides commercial managed services including hosted OpenMetadata cloud, enterprise support, and additional features through their Collate platform. The managed service offers free tier and commercial plans.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Open Source - Free download and self-hosting |
| Freemium | Others | Collate Free SaaS |
| Subscription | Annual | Collate Commercial Plans |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
OpenMetadata product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenMetadata provides an open-source metadata management platform built on a Semantic Context Graph that unifies technical context, business semantics, and organizational memory for cataloging, discovery, governance, quality, lineage, and observability. The platform exposes 700+ open API specifications and supports 130+ data connectors, with a native Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AI agent integration and Data Contracts for producer-consumer governance. A commercial managed cloud service, Collate, is offered on top of the open-source core by Collate, Inc. for enterprise deployments.
Product overview
OpenMetadata is a unified open-source AI context layer platform — the #1 open-source project for AI context, data cataloging, and metadata management. The portfolio consists of the core OpenMetadata platform (providing a Semantic Context Graph for data cataloging, discovery, governance, quality, observability, lineage, semantics, and memory for both people and AI), the native MCP Server (Model Context Protocol) enabling AI agents to connect and automate data operations, Data Contracts (UI-driven agreements between data producers and consumers for data quality enforcement), and Collate, the managed cloud service from Collate, Inc. offering hosted deployments on top of the open-source foundation. The ecosystem is supported by a global community (13,500+ members, 450+ contributors, 14,000+ GitHub stars), Collate Summit annual events, comprehensive documentation, and a live sandbox. OpenMetadata supports 130+ data connectors across databases, pipelines, dashboards, messaging systems, ML models, and storage, and exposes 700+ API specifications in JSON Schema and RDF/JSON-LD.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- OpenMetadata Core Platform The flagship open-source metadata management platform that builds a unified Semantic Context Graph over schemas, tables, columns, dashboards, pipelines, ML models, owners, lineage, classifications, glossary terms, metric definitions, and organizational memory, serving data engineers, data architects, CDOs, AI/ML teams, and business analysts at enterprises needing end-to-end metadata management and AI-ready data context.
- MCP Server (Model Context Protocol) Native Model Context Protocol server fully integrated into OpenMetadata that lets AI agents and assistants read from and write to OpenMetadata integrations while assuming defined roles and policies, providing trusted data context for AI automation, lineage lookups, entity retrieval, search, glossary and metric creation, test execution, and root-cause analysis.
- Data Contracts UI-driven data contract module that formalizes agreements between data consumers and producers within OpenMetadata, enforcing validation across data schemas, business semantics, and data quality tests so that pipeline breakage and contract violations are detected before data is consumed.
- Collate Managed Cloud Service Managed cloud offering from Collate, Inc. that hosts OpenMetadata as a service with free and paid SaaS tiers, providing enterprise support, additional features, and SLA-backed operations on top of the open-source core platform for organizations that want a managed deployment.
Quantifiable outcome
- Repeat query runtime reduced from 22 minutes to under 90 seconds at OpenAI
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenMetadata
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
OpenMetadata technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration91 records
AI capability9 records
Feature6 records
OpenMetadata partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators14 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OpenMetadata competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DataHub: DataHub is an open-source metadata platform originally built at LinkedIn, providing data discovery, lineage, and governance. As a fellow open-source project with overlapping metadata management functionality, it competes for the same developer mindshare and enterprise adoption.
- Collibra: Collibra is an established data intelligence and governance platform providing data cataloging, lineage, and stewardship capabilities. It serves the same enterprise data team personas as OpenMetadata, with a broader but closed-source offering.
- Alation: Alation is a leading enterprise data catalog and metadata management platform serving similar data governance, discovery, and lineage use cases. While closed-source and targeting larger enterprises, it competes directly with OpenMetadata for data team mindshare and budget.
- Apache Atlas: Apache Atlas is an open-source metadata and governance framework founded by the same team that created OpenMetadata. It provides Hadoop-centric metadata management and serves as OpenMetadata's predecessor in many enterprise data governance deployments.
- Atlan: Atlan is a modern data catalog and metadata platform emphasizing collaboration and active metadata for data teams. It targets similar enterprise personas with a focus on modern data stack integration, positioning as a direct competitor in the AI-ready metadata layer space.
- Amundsen: Amundsen is Lyft's open-source data discovery and metadata engine, providing similar data cataloging and search functionality. It competes for the same open-source community contributors and self-hosted enterprise deployments.
Emerging players
- Monte Carlo: Monte Carlo is a data observability platform that addresses data quality and reliability. While focused on observability rather than full cataloging, it increasingly competes in the broader metadata and governance layer that OpenMetadata serves.
- Datafold: Datafold provides data observability and column-level lineage tools, overlapping with OpenMetadata's data quality and lineage functionality. It targets similar modern data stack teams and increasingly expands into the metadata catalog space.
Broad incumbents
- Databricks Unity Catalog: Databricks Unity Catalog is a native data governance and catalog solution within the Databricks Lakehouse Platform. It overlaps significantly with OpenMetadata's metadata management capabilities and represents a major competitive threat from a hyperscaler with much greater scale.
- Informatica: Informatica is a long-established data integration and governance vendor offering enterprise-grade metadata management, data quality, and catalog capabilities. It competes for large enterprise data governance budgets with a broader but more legacy architecture.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
OpenMetadata social profiles
Digital presenceOpenMetadata financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenMetadata leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
OpenMetadata funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenMetadata 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 OpenMetadata
What does OpenMetadata do?
OpenMetadata provides an open-source metadata management platform built on a Semantic Context Graph that unifies technical context, business semantics, and organizational memory for cataloging, discovery, governance, quality, lineage, and observability. The platform exposes 700+ open API specifications and supports 130+ data connectors, with a native Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for AI agent integration and Data Contracts for producer-consumer governance. A commercial managed cloud service, Collate, is offered on top of the open-source core by Collate, Inc. for enterprise deployments.
Is OpenMetadata a public or private company?
OpenMetadata is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was OpenMetadata founded?
OpenMetadata was founded in 2021. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is OpenMetadata based?
OpenMetadata is headquartered in San Mateo, United States, in the North America region.
How does OpenMetadata make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Open Source Platform is the primary driver. The others are collate Managed Cloud Service.
Who are OpenMetadata's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DataHub, Collibra, Alation, Apache Atlas, Atlan and Amundsen. Emerging players are Monte Carlo and Datafold. Broad incumbents are Databricks Unity Catalog and Informatica.
Does OpenMetadata have an API?
Yes. OpenMetadata exposes 700+ open API specifications in JSON Schema and RDF/JSON-LD. The API is schema-first and enables programmatic access to metadata for building data and AI workflows. A Python SDK is provided for automation. In addition, a native MCP (Model Context Protocol) server is fully integrated into OpenMetadata, using the same authorization engine as the REST APIs, enabling MCP clients (such as Claude, Cursor, or OpenAI) to read from or write to OpenMetadata integrations while assuming any defined role or policy. Developer documentation is at docs.open-metadata.org.
What industry is OpenMetadata in?
OpenMetadata's product category is Data Catalog & Metadata Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEABAJ, Metadata, Catalog & Semantic Layer for Data Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.