Rasterex
Rasterex provides an embeddable multi-format rendering canvas and JavaScript SDK that lets software teams embed CAD, BIM and PDF viewing, markup and measurement inside their own products, serving vertical SaaS vendors, defense and government systems integrators, and AEC end users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1985
- HeadquartersOslo, Norway
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Rasterex does
Rasterex Software AS is a Norwegian private software company founded in Oslo in 1985 that builds a multi-format technical document rendering engine and embeds it, via a JavaScript SDK or iframe with PostMessage, inside other software products. Its core product, the Rasterex Canvas, renders 100+ file formats including DWG, DGN, IFC, PDF, MS Office and raster images on the server so that the browser or host application stays light, and exposes primitives for viewing, markup/annotation, calibrated measurement, real-time collaboration over WebSocket, revision comparison, CAD/BIM layer control and server-side batch export. The company also sells desktop products (RxView, RxHighlight, RxSpotlight, RxAutoImage) and operates from Oslo with a North American office in Houston.
The technology stack is a server-side rendering engine paired with a zero-footprint HTML5/JavaScript/CSS client and a documented REST/WebSocket API surface, with the SDK distributed as @rasterex/sdk. Customers are primarily vertical SaaS and engineering software companies (e.g., DataViewer, SmartStruct, Wrench Solutions, InEight, Deltek, NTI CADsenter) and large enterprises building internal platforms (Kos Krebs), rather than end-user viewers sold retail.
Commercially, Rasterex runs an OEM/embedded go-to-market: annual or multi-year partner licenses with no per-user fees, quote-based pricing, direct enterprise sales, and 30-minute tailored demos. Desktop tools are perpetual licenses with 14-day trials. The model is bootstrapped/founder-owned with no disclosed funding rounds, a recent 2023-2024 consolidation with Viewsoft, and a strategic repositioning around selling the embeddable canvas rather than a viewer, supported by an on-premises, no-cloud posture that targets defense, government and critical infrastructure buyers.
Rasterex firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rasterex
- Legal name
- Rasterex Software AS
- Website
- https://rasterex.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1985
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Rasterex provides an embeddable multi-format rendering canvas and JavaScript SDK that lets software teams embed CAD, BIM and PDF viewing, markup and measurement inside their own products, serving vertical SaaS vendors, defense and government systems integrators, and AEC end users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rasterex industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Technical Drawing Viewing Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (51321), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Developer Experience Platforms for Enterprise (IDEs, CI/CD, Dev Portals) (HDAEAKAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Developer Experience (DevEx) Tooling & Productivity Engineering (BPAEAKAM)
Keywords
Where Rasterex is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oslo
- HQ country
- Norway
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Rasterex business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- SDK Licensing: Annual or multi-year SDK/canvas licenses sold to software companies embedding the engine in their products. Partner license model with no per-user fees. License covers the rendering engine, APIs, and support.
- OEM Partnership Licensing: OEM embedded engine model where the SDK ships as part of a partner's on-premises product. Long-term partnerships with annual agreements. Revenue derived from DataViewer and similar OEM partners.
- Desktop Software (RxView/RxHighlight): Desktop viewer products sold as perpetual licenses or subscriptions. RxView for basic viewing; RxHighlight for advanced markup, conversion and batch processing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise OEM / Embedded SDK |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | RxView Desktop (Basic) |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | RxHighlight Desktop (Advanced) |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | RxSpotlight Desktop (Raster-to-Vector) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Rasterex product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rasterex develops and licenses an embeddable rendering engine and JavaScript SDK that enables software teams to view, annotate, measure, compare and collaborate on 100+ technical drawing formats (CAD, BIM, PDF, MS Office, raster) directly inside their own applications. The core deliverable is the Rasterex Canvas/SDK sold under OEM/embedded partner licenses, supplemented by perpetual desktop viewer products (RxView, RxHighlight, RxSpotlight, RxAutoImage) for AEC professionals.
Product overview
Rasterex provides a technology platform for embedding technical drawing viewing capabilities into software products. The core offering is the Rasterex Canvas (web-based viewing engine) and Rasterex SDK for embedding. Supporting products include RxView and RxHighlight (desktop viewers for CAD, BIM, PDF and images), RxSpotlight (raster-to-vector conversion software), and RxAutoImage (AutoCAD plugin). The engine supports 100+ file formats including DWG, DXF, DGN, IFC, PDF, MS Office formats, and various raster image formats.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RxView: Desktop viewer for CAD, BIM, PDF, Office and images. Enables viewing, measuring, printing, and comparing 100+ file formats natively.
- RxHighlight
- RxSpotlight
- RxAutoImage
Products and services
- Rasterex Canvas Web-based canvas that renders, annotates, measures and compares technical drawings (DWG, DGN, IFC, PDF and 100+ formats) directly inside a host application without redirects or extra windows. Designed to be embedded under the host's brand and UI.
- Rasterex SDK JavaScript SDK (@rasterex/sdk) plus REST and WebSocket APIs that let software teams embed the Rasterex rendering engine inside their own products. Supports iframe embed with PostMessage and full programmatic control via 40+ SDK methods and events.
- RxView (Desktop) Windows desktop viewer for CAD, BIM, PDF, MS Office and image files. Supports viewing, comparing, printing and measuring 100+ file formats natively, with access to CAD layers, BIM attributes, blocks and XREFs.
- RxHighlight (Desktop) Advanced desktop viewer that builds on RxView with annotation, markup, file conversion, batch processing, printing and converting capabilities. Optimized for AEC, CAD and BIM workflows.
- RxSpotlight (Desktop) Raster-to-vector conversion software for Windows. Hybrid drawing editor that cleans up scanned drawings and converts raster images to vector data, with object selection, color/grayscale editing, tracing, OCR and vector enhancement tools.
- RxAutoImage (Desktop) AutoCAD plugin combining intelligent raster editing, raster-to-vector and vector-to-raster conversions directly inside AutoCAD.
Quantifiable outcome
- SmartStruct shipped drawing features 3x faster using the embedded SDK vs. building in-house
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Rasterex
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Rasterex technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature10 records
Rasterex partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- DataViewercoreAustralian-headquartered engineering document management vendor. OEM partnership since 1998 — one of Rasterex's longest relationships. The Rasterex SDK ships inside every DataViewer install on-premises across 31 countries, serving defense, government, and critical infrastructure. Partnership has survived every major technology transition: ActiveX (1998), Windows Server (early 2000s), SDK (2010s), and today's embedded engine model.
- SmartStructcoreConstruction management platform that embedded the Rasterex SDK directly into their product. Not an iframe — the rendering engine runs inside their app, hooked into their auth, data, and UI. Model: Embedded SDK with partner license. SmartStruct ships drawing features 3x faster and avoided 12-24 months of in-house engineering.
- Kos KrebscoreIndustrial operator that built an internal platform with the Rasterex SDK embedded at the core. Drawings open inside their environment, measurements happen on screen, one source of truth for every revision. Annual agreement model with internal platform deployment and workflow advisory.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Rasterex competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Apryse (formerly PDFTron): Provides document viewing, annotation, and conversion SDKs (including PDF, Office, CAD) that software vendors embed into their own products. Most direct comparable to Rasterex's OEM/embedded SDK model, though with a stronger SaaS/marketplace go-to-market.
- Aspose: Sells file-format APIs and SDKs (PDF, CAD, Word, Excel, image) for embedding into .NET, Java, and cloud applications. Overlaps with Rasterex on multi-format rendering and developer-facing SDK distribution.
- Foxit Software: PDF SDK and embedded viewer business used by software vendors and OEMs in regulated industries. Comparable to Rasterex in OEM/embedded model and AEC overlap, though more PDF-centric and broader in enterprise distribution.
- GroupDocs: Offers document viewing, annotation, and conversion APIs/SDKs for embedding inside third-party applications. Directly comparable embeddable-engine product family, primarily in .NET/Java ecosystems.
- PSPDFKit (now Nutrient): Document SDK for PDF viewing, markup, and collaboration embedded in enterprise software. Comparable OEM/SDK distribution model and developer-focused positioning, though focused on PDF rather than multi-format CAD/BIM.
- CADSoftTools: Provides CAD viewing, conversion, and printing components (ActiveX, .NET, web) embedded inside third-party applications. Closely overlaps Rasterex on multi-CAD-format rendering and OEM licensing, though without Rasterex's BIM/IFC depth.
- Leadtools: Developer SDK for document, medical, and raster imaging, including CAD and PDF viewing libraries. Comparable as a horizontal multi-format developer toolkit sold to software teams embedding imaging into their products.
Broad incumbents
- Adobe: Owner of the dominant PDF viewer and document services platform (Acrobat, PDF Services API, PDF Embed API). Broad incumbent that competes with Rasterex's PDF viewing capabilities as part of a much larger portfolio.
- Bluebeam (Nemetschek Group): PDF markup and collaboration tools for AEC, with Revu and Studio products. Competes with Rasterex in AEC markup/review workflows; part of the Nemetschek construction software portfolio.
- Bentley Systems: Provider of MicroStation, iTwin, and ProjectWise for engineering and infrastructure document management. Competes with Rasterex on BIM/IFC viewing and on-prem document management at the enterprise infrastructure level.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Rasterex social profiles
Digital presenceRasterex financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rasterex leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Rasterex funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rasterex 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 Rasterex
What does Rasterex do?
Rasterex develops and licenses an embeddable rendering engine and JavaScript SDK that enables software teams to view, annotate, measure, compare and collaborate on 100+ technical drawing formats (CAD, BIM, PDF, MS Office, raster) directly inside their own applications. The core deliverable is the Rasterex Canvas/SDK sold under OEM/embedded partner licenses, supplemented by perpetual desktop viewer products (RxView, RxHighlight, RxSpotlight, RxAutoImage) for AEC professionals.
Is Rasterex a public or private company?
Rasterex is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Rasterex founded?
Rasterex was founded in 1985. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Rasterex based?
Rasterex is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, in the Europe region.
How does Rasterex make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SDK Licensing is the primary driver. The others are OEM Partnership Licensing and desktop Software (RxView/RxHighlight).
Who are Rasterex's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Apryse (formerly PDFTron), Aspose, Foxit Software, GroupDocs, PSPDFKit (now Nutrient), CADSoftTools and Leadtools. Broad incumbents are Adobe, Bluebeam (Nemetschek Group) and Bentley Systems.
Does Rasterex have an API?
Yes. Rasterex offers a JavaScript SDK (@rasterex/sdk) for embedding the viewing canvas into applications. The SDK supports iframe embed with PostMessage for two-way communication, and full programmatic control via JavaScript APIs. REST and WebSocket APIs are available for server-side conversion, persistence, and real-time collaboration. The SDK provides 40+ SDK methods and events. Key capabilities include: viewer.open(file), viewer.measure(), viewer.markup(), viewer.compare(). Documentation is available at documentation.rasterex.com. Developer documentation is at documentation.rasterex.com.
What industry is Rasterex in?
Rasterex's product category is Technical Drawing Viewing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAKAI, Developer Experience Platforms for Enterprise (IDEs, CI/CD, Dev Portals), with a secondary code of BPAEAKAM, Developer Experience (DevEx) Tooling & Productivity Engineering. Its NAICS code is 51321 and its SIC code is 7371.