DHI
DHI A/S is a Danish not-for-profit water modelling software and consulting firm, founded in 1964, that develops the MIKE Powered by DHI software suite used by governments, utilities, and engineering consultancies across 115+ countries to simulate coastal, river, groundwater, and urban water systems.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1964
- HeadquartersHørsholm, Denmark
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What DHI does
DHI A/S, headquartered in Hørsholm, Denmark, is a specialist water environment software and consulting firm founded in 1964 as the Danish Institute of Applied Hydraulics and operating under the governance of the DHI Foundation as a not-for-profit organization. The company has built a globally distributed business with 1,100 engineers and specialists across 26 countries and project delivery in 115+ countries, serving public-sector water agencies, engineering consultancies, energy and mining operators, ports and maritime authorities, and academic institutions. Its primary commercial offering is MIKE Powered by DHI, a comprehensive water modelling software suite covering coastal/marine, river, groundwater, urban water, and ecological systems through flagship platforms MIKE 21/3, MIKE+, and FEFLOW, supported by 20+ specialized modules and cloud-native operational tools.
DHI's underlying technology is built on 50+ years of computational hydraulics research, with proprietary numerical formulations and modular architecture spanning hydrodynamics, wave simulation, sediment transport, water quality, particle tracking, subsurface flow, and agent-based ecological modelling. The platform integrates with Azure Marketplace, ArcGIS Pro, MATLAB, Python, QGIS, Leapfrog, and GOCAD, and exposes MIKE Engine API and FEFLOW Python interfaces for custom developer workflows. The product portfolio is delivered through multiple licensing tiers — commercial subscription packages, perpetual licenses, usage-based MIKE on Azure, and an academic program providing free student labkits and 50%-discount research licenses — supplemented by consulting and advisory services delivered through global offices and THE ACADEMY training platform.
The business combines recurring software licensing revenue with project-based consulting delivered by domain scientists, and operates across six primary vertical segments: Cities & Urban Water, Energy, Marine & Coastal, Mining & Metals, Ports & Maritime, and Water Resources. Named enterprise and government customers include PUB Singapore, MPA Singapore, Surbana Jurong, Jacobs, Delhi Jal Board, and EGAT Thailand. As a not-for-profit entity owned by the DHI Foundation, DHI reinvests earnings into R&D and operates under a NetZero carbon neutrality commitment for 2025, with ISO certifications spanning quality, environment, information security, and occupational health and safety across Denmark and Singapore.
DHI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DHI
- Legal name
- DHI A/S
- Website
- https://dhigroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1964
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- DHI A/S is a Danish not-for-profit water modelling software and consulting firm, founded in 1964, that develops the MIKE Powered by DHI software suite used by governments, utilities, and engineering consultancies across 115+ countries to simulate coastal, river, groundwater, and urban water systems.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DHI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Water and Environmental Modelling Software
- NAICS
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)
- SIC
- Water Supply (4941), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- NRW Data Management & Water Balance (IWA Methodology, GIS/SCADA Integration, Digital Twins) (EUANAKAJ), Commercial/Residential Building Water Management & Leak Analytics Services (HSAHAGAK)
Keywords
Where DHI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hørsholm
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
DHI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Software Licenses: Enterprise water modelling software sold through subscription packages (annual) and perpetual licenses with modular pricing. Revenue generated from professional list prices with discounts for academic institutions (50% for university research).
- Academic Licensing: Specialized licensing program for universities and research institutions including university research licenses (50% discount), classroom labkits (network licenses), and free student labkits for undergraduate/MSc/PhD thesis work.
- Consulting and Advisory Services: Technical consulting and advisory services for water environment projects, delivered through global offices and expert modellers. Not-for-profit organization reinvests earnings into R&D.
- Training Services: THE ACADEMY by DHI provides instructor-led courses, self-paced training, webinars, and customized in-house training for software users.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | University Research License |
| Subscription | Annual | Classroom Labkit |
| Freemium | Annual | Student Labkit |
| Subscription | Annual | Commercial Subscription Packages |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Perpetual Licenses |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | MIKE on Azure |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
DHI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DHI develops and sells the MIKE Powered by DHI software suite for modelling water environments including rivers, groundwater, coasts, oceans, and urban water systems. The company complements its software with technical consulting, engineering services, and decision-support tools used by governments, utilities, and engineering firms globally.
Product overview
DHI's product offering is a comprehensive, platform-based portfolio centred on the MIKE Powered by DHI software suite — an integrated water modelling ecosystem offering desktop and cloud-based solutions across the entire water cycle. The core platform encompasses three primary product lines: MIKE 21/3 for coastal, marine, and wave modelling; FEFLOW for groundwater and subsurface flow simulation; and MIKE+ for integrated urban water, river, and flood modelling. These are augmented by specialised modules (MIKE ECO Lab, ABM Lab, LITPACK, WEST, MIKE SHE, MIKE HYDRO Basin), cloud applications (MIKE Cloud, MIKE Data Link, MIKE Mesh Builder, MIKE Metocean Simulator), and digital operational tools (MIKE OPERATIONS, MIKE WaterNet Advisor, DHI CityFlow Live, DHI BlueCast, DHI PlumeCast, MIKE Mine, Leakage Monitor, NCOS ONLINE). Supporting developer tools include MIKE Engine API and MIKE for Developers. Licensing options include subscription packages, perpetual licenses, academic programs, and MIKE on Azure for cloud deployment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MIKE Powered by DHI Integrated software suite for modelling water environments including rivers, groundwater, coasts, oceans, and urban water systems, used by water authorities, consultancies, and researchers.
- MIKE 21/3 2D and 3D hydrodynamic and environmental modelling system for coasts, estuaries, oceans, and surface water bodies.
- FEFLOW Finite-element software for simulating groundwater flow, contaminant transport, and heat transfer in porous media.
- MIKE+ Integrated software for modelling urban water distribution, wastewater collection, and water quality in city networks.
- WEST Dynamic modelling software for the design and operation of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants.
- MIKE Cloud Cloud-hosted platform enabling users to run, manage, and share MIKE-based water simulations online.
- DHI CityFlow Live Operational software service for real-time urban hydrology and flood forecasting in city environments.
- DHI BlueCast AI-enabled forecasting product for water and environmental applications, extending the MIKE modelling suite.
- DHI PlumeCast Forecasting tool for simulating plume dispersion and water quality scenarios in aquatic environments.
- MIKE Mine Software suite for mine water management, tailings dam studies, and mining-related environmental impact assessments.
- Leakage Monitor Operational tool for monitoring, detecting, and reducing water leakage in distribution networks.
- NCOS ONLINE Online platform for operational coastal and ocean monitoring and forecasting.
- DHI Consulting and Engineering Services Project-based water, environmental, and coastal engineering consulting services delivered by DHI engineers worldwide.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 29% reduction in aeration energy through improved control
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use DHI
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
DHI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature10 records
DHI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and flagship.
- VRVisstrategicPartnership to expand access to fast flood simulation technology. VRVis contributes computational expertise for accelerated flood modelling capabilities.
- Microsoft AzurecoreMIKE software available on Azure Marketplace enabling cloud deployment. Users can model in the cloud with no hardware limitations using Azure computational resources.
- UNEP-DHI PartnershipflagshipEstablished UNEP-DHI Partnership – Centre on Water and Environment, a United Nations Environment Programme centre of expertise dedicated to improving management, development and use of freshwater resources from local to global level.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
DHI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ansys: Ansys Fluent and Ansys Workbench provide multiphysics CFD capabilities used in environmental, coastal, and industrial water-flow simulations. As a broad simulation incumbent with deep R&D budgets, Ansys competes for high-end CFD use cases that overlap with MIKE 3.
- Trimble Water: Trimble provides GIS, utility, and infrastructure software used by water utilities and engineering firms, with overlapping workflow integration in surveying and asset management that competes with DHI's MIKE OPERATIONS and WaterNet Advisor offerings.
- Schneider Electric (AVEVA / Water): Schneider Electric's AVEVA portfolio and water utility SCADA offerings overlap with DHI's operational software (MIKE OPERATIONS, DHI CityFlow Live) for real-time water network monitoring and control, serving similar municipal and industrial water customers.
- Esri (ArcGIS Pro / ArcGIS Hydro): Esri's ArcGIS platform is embedded in DHI's own MIKE+ integration but also offers spatial analytics and water utility extensions that partially overlap with DHI's offerings. As the dominant GIS platform for utilities, Esri is both a partner and a competitive threat.
- Autodesk (InfoWorks / InfoWater): Autodesk acquired Innovyze in 2021, adding InfoWater, InfoWorks ICM, and InfoSWMM to its broader AEC portfolio. These products compete directly with MIKE+ for stormwater, sewer, and water distribution modelling, while Autodesk's larger platform reach threatens DHI's standalone position.
Emerging players
- Itasca (Hydrogeological Software): Itasca's hydrogeological codes (MINEDW, MODFLOW-related tools) compete with FEFLOW for mining and groundwater applications. Itasca is a focused specialist with strong credentials in mining water management, an area where DHI's MIKE Mine also competes.
- Kisters: Kisters provides water information systems including KiH and 3S-Hydraulics used by utilities for water resources management. It competes with portions of DHI's MIKE HYDRO Basin and WaterNet Advisor offerings among European utilities.
Direct peers
- Aquaveo: Aquaveo develops SMS (Surface-water Modeling System) and GMS (Groundwater Modeling System), which compete head-to-head with MIKE 21/3 and FEFLOW respectively for surface water and groundwater modelling among engineering consultancies and academic users.
- Bentley Systems: Bentley's OpenFlows suite (WaterGEMS, SewerGEMS, HAMMER) directly competes with DHI's MIKE+ for urban water distribution and wastewater network modelling. Bentley is a broad infrastructure engineering platform incumbent with overlapping customer base among engineering consultancies and utilities.
- Flow Science: Flow Science's FLOW-3D is a computational fluid dynamics platform used for hydraulic, coastal, and environmental simulations. It overlaps with DHI's MIKE 3 for 3D hydrodynamics and is used by similar engineering and research customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Customer concentration
DHI social profiles
Digital presenceDHI compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
DHI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DHI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
DHI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DHI 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 DHI
What does DHI do?
DHI develops and sells the MIKE Powered by DHI software suite for modelling water environments including rivers, groundwater, coasts, oceans, and urban water systems. The company complements its software with technical consulting, engineering services, and decision-support tools used by governments, utilities, and engineering firms globally.
Is DHI a public or private company?
DHI is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was DHI founded?
DHI was founded in 1964. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is DHI based?
DHI is headquartered in Hørsholm, Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does DHI make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses are the primary driver. The others are academic Licensing, consulting and Advisory Services and training Services.
Who are DHI's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ansys, Trimble Water, Schneider Electric (AVEVA / Water), Esri (ArcGIS Pro / ArcGIS Hydro) and Autodesk (InfoWorks / InfoWater). Emerging players are Itasca (Hydrogeological Software) and Kisters. Direct peers are Aquaveo, Bentley Systems and Flow Science.
Does DHI have an API?
Yes. MIKE Engine API is a free desktop-based integration tool that allows developers to seamlessly integrate MIKE into custom development projects. FEFLOW also provides an improved IFM (Interface for Modelling) with over 20 new APIs supporting the new conceptual modelling approach. FEFLOW additionally offers a Python interface for building 2D and 3D meshes and automating workflows from pre-processing through post-processing. Developer documentation is at www.dhigroup.com/technologies/mikepoweredbydhi/mike-for-developers.
What industry is DHI in?
DHI's product category is Water and Environmental Modelling Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAD, Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting, with a secondary code of EUANAKAJ, NRW Data Management & Water Balance (IWA Methodology, GIS/SCADA Integration, Digital Twins). Its NAICS code is 5413 and its SIC code is 4941.