What GIS Planning does

GIS Planning, founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a GIS mapping and location intelligence platform that has operated as a subsidiary of The Financial Times Ltd (a Nikkei company) and was rebranded to FT Locations in 2024, now operating under the fDi Intelligence brand. The company builds location-intelligence software — primarily ZoomProspector (embeddable GIS mapping for commercial property and demographic research), InvestmentMap (investment tracking and economic-impact measurement), and ZoomTour (interactive virtual-tour authoring) — that economic development organisations and corporates use to research, visualise, and promote locations for business attraction, expansion, and site selection. The technology stack is built on GIS mapping technology with integration/interoperability features that allow the tools to be embedded directly on customer websites, complemented by data-scale capabilities in tracking investment flows and incentives globally.

The business model is a multi-product enterprise SaaS operation combined with advertising and sponsorship revenue from the fDi Intelligence publication. Pricing is quote-based with annual subscription billing and a consultative sales motion (CTAs include "Request a demo" and "Contact us"), targeting four primary vertical segments: investment promotion agencies and economic development organisations (primary), corporates doing site selection, consultants and intermediaries, and academic/research institutions. The GTM is global enterprise field sales, leveraging the Financial Times brand ecosystem (LinkedIn, X, the fDi Intelligence publication, events, and a Knowledge Hub of reports/webinars) for top-of-funnel lead generation, with mid-funnel conversion through custom demos and lead-generation roundtables. The company is positioned as a specialist B2B data and platform vendor in the niche foreign-direct-investment (FDI) and economic-development market, with brand authority derived from its Financial Times parent and Nikkei grandparent.

Name

GIS Planning

Legal name

FT Locations (operated by The Financial Times Ltd)

Website

https://gisplanning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GIS Planning (now FT Locations) is an enterprise SaaS provider of GIS mapping, investment tracking, and virtual-tour tools used by economic development organisations, corporates, and consultants to support site selection, business attraction, and FDI analysis under the Financial Times brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscriptions (ZoomProspector, InvestmentMap, ZoomTour): Subscription-based access to GIS mapping and location intelligence platforms. The company offers multiple product tiers including ZoomProspector, InvestmentMap, and ZoomTour as premium subscription services.
2. Advertising and Sponsorship: Print and digital advertising opportunities with fDi Intelligence targeting C-Suite executives and cross-border investment professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GIS Planning, operating as FT Locations under The Financial Times Ltd, provides GIS mapping and location intelligence SaaS platforms that enable economic development organisations, investment promotion agencies, and corporates to research, visualise, and share location data and available commercial properties. Its core products include ZoomProspector (GIS mapping), InvestmentMap (investment tracking and performance measurement), and ZoomTour (interactive virtual tour creation), complemented by advertising and sponsorship opportunities through fDi Intelligence.

Product overview

GIS Planning operates as part of FT Locations (fDi Intelligence), offering a suite of location intelligence and economic development solutions. The portfolio consists of ZoomProspector (GIS mapping technology for business attraction), InvestmentMap (investment tracking and performance measurement), and ZoomTour (interactive virtual tour creation), complemented by advertising and sponsorship opportunities through fDi Intelligence. Formerly known as GIS Planning, the company now aligns under the FT Locations brand while continuing to serve economic development organizations, investment promotion agencies, and corporates with location analysis and marketing tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZoomProspector GIS mapping technology platform that enables economic development organisations to attract businesses by allowing companies to research, visualise, and share key location data and available commercial properties directly on their website.
• InvestmentMap Investment tracking solution that enables organisations to track all investment in their location, measure organisational performance, and assess the quality and economic impact of investment.
• ZoomTour Interactive virtual tour creation tool that allows users to build web-based tours featuring text, images, video, maps and data on customisable themes.
• Advertising and sponsorship opportunities Print and digital advertising opportunities with fDi Intelligence, enabling organisations to increase exposure to C-Suite executives and cross-border investment professionals.
• fDi Markets Data and analysis product to track global investment signals and trends.
• fDi Benchmark Research locations worldwide through benchmarking data and analysis.
• IncentivesFlow Track incentives deals and policies globally.
• InvestmentFlow (Canada and the UK) Track domestic investment in Canada and the UK.
• fDi Strategies Expert strategy and consultancy advice for economic development organisations and corporates.
• Amplify Platform to manage the investor lifecycle on one platform.
• fDi Influencers Access to the global FDI community for business development and networking.
• Events and roundtables Lead generation events and roundtables for the FDI community.
• fDi Institute Certified professional development and training for economic development professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of decision-makers rely on online research when making location decisions

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ESRI: ESRI is the dominant enterprise GIS platform (ArcGIS) used widely by government and economic development agencies. GIS Planning competes at the application layer on top of mapping infrastructure, but ESRI is the incumbent whose tools often surround these workflows.
• Deloitte Site Selection & Incentives Practice: Deloitte's site selection and incentives advisory serves corporates evaluating expansion locations. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same corporate FDI strategy spend as GIS Planning, complemented by deeper advisory services.
• JLL (Location Intelligence): JLL provides corporate location strategy, incentives advisory, and real estate intelligence. It competes for the same corporate site-selection budgets as GIS Planning while offering broader CRE services.
• Cushman & Wakefield (Location Intelligence / Incentives): Cushman & Wakefield is a global commercial real estate services firm with a dedicated location incentives and site selection practice. It overlaps with GIS Planning's corporate site-selection and incentives analysis use cases at much larger scale.

Others

• Loqate (GBG): Loqate is a global address verification and location data quality provider. It is an adjacent data and infrastructure vendor whose location intelligence overlaps thematically with GIS Planning's site-selection stack.
• Carfax (commercial vehicle / location data): Carfax-style location and mobility data providers supply real-world movement intelligence that informs site selection. They are thematically adjacent providers of location signals that compete for the same end-customer budgets in market analysis.

Emerging players

• Sensor Tower: Sensor Tower provides location and market intelligence, including foot-traffic and digital advertising analytics. It is an emerging player with adjacent use cases to corporate location decisions and competitive overlap at the analytics layer.
• Placer.ai: Placer.ai is a location analytics platform using mobility data for retail and CRE site selection. It is an emerging competitor serving overlapping corporate site-selection and trade-area analysis needs.
• Mapbox: Mapbox provides developer-focused mapping and location platform APIs used by EDOs and corporates for custom interactive maps. It is an emerging enabling competitor at the mapping infrastructure layer beneath GIS Planning.

Direct peers

• Site Selection Group: Site Selection Group is a location advisory and economic development consulting firm serving corporates and EDOs. It is directly comparable as a competitor in the site-selection and FDI advisory space where GIS Planning's tools are used.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ZoomProspector
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gis-planning
• Facebookfacebook.com/zoomprospector

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GIS Planning