What Population Explorer does

Population Explorer (PopEx), operated by PopEx Holding, LLC, is a US-based SaaS company founded in 2022 that provides a web-based spatial decision platform for territory mapping and site selection. The platform integrates three primary data layers: annual LandScan ambient population grids (~1km resolution, global), WorldPop constrained residential population grids (~100m resolution, settlement-accurate), and Google Places points of interest (200M+ businesses), supplemented by gridded household income layers in select markets. Core capabilities include drive-time isochrone analysis, administrative boundary measurement, competitor and co-tenancy mapping, and export-ready outputs (shapefiles, KML, Excel, ZIP codes) suitable for franchise disclosure document (FDD) compliance, CRM integration, and regulatory submissions. The platform serves franchise franchisors, retail site selection teams, telecom operators, sales operations teams, and humanitarian organizations.

The business operates on a self-serve, product-led growth motion with instant free trial access and no credit card requirement, monetizing through monthly or annual SaaS subscriptions with automatic renewal. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; prospective customers contact sales or sign up to view pricing. The company maintains a small team of 1-10 employees, with its legal entity registered in Missoula, Montana and a general office in Broomfield, Colorado. Distribution is entirely via web browser, supported by an extensive SEO-driven blog, knowledge base, and video tutorial library, alongside dedicated enterprise solution pages for each vertical. The company claims usage across 120+ countries with named customers spanning logistics (Hypr Logistics), healthcare (Akros), fitness (PureGym), aviation (Volaire Aviation), mining, transportation (MDS Traffic Planners), and franchise (Mini First Aid) industries. Privacy compliance frameworks for GDPR and CCPA are in place to support international data processing.

Name

Population Explorer

Legal name

PopEx Holding, LLC

Website

https://populationexplorer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Population Explorer (PopEx) is a SaaS platform combining LandScan, WorldPop, and Google Places data layers for territory mapping and site selection. It serves franchise networks, retailers, telecom operators, and humanitarian organizations with self-serve GIS analytics and compliance-ready exports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Spatial Analytics Software

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

Keywords

• Territory mapping software
• Site selection analytics
• Population data platform
• Franchise territory planning
• Spatial decision intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription: The platform operates on a subscription model with automatic renewal. Users select subscription terms (monthly or annual) upon initial payment, with fees charged recurring on a monthly or annual basis depending on the selected term. Subscription fees are non-refundable and exclusive of taxes. The company reserves the right to increase fees at renewal and to charge for features currently available free of charge. A free trial is available without credit card required.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Population Explorer (PopEx) is a self-serve SaaS spatial decision platform that combines globally consistent LandScan and WorldPop gridded population datasets with Google Places points of interest and household income layers to support franchise territory mapping, sales territory balancing, retail site selection, telecom infrastructure planning, and humanitarian response mapping. Users define custom territories using drive-time isochrones, buffers, or administrative boundaries and instantly export FDD-ready, CRM-ready, and regulatory-ready outputs without GIS expertise.

Product overview

Population Explorer (PopEx) is a unified spatial decision platform that provides territory mapping and site selection capabilities across multiple industries. The core platform combines globally standardized, high-resolution demographic data (LandScan ambient population and WorldPop residential population grids), Google Places Points of Interest, and household income layers in a map-based workspace. Key solution modules include Franchise Territory Mapping, Sales Territory Mapping, Retail Site Selection, Telecom Site Mapping, and Humanitarian Response Mapping, with specialized sub-modules for Food & Beverage Franchise Mapping and Service Franchise Territory Mapping. The platform supports export to shapefiles, KML, Excel, and ZIP codes for FDD compliance and CRM integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Population Explorer (PopEx) Platform A web-based spatial decision platform unifying LandScan and WorldPop population grids, Google Places POIs, and household income layers in a map-based workspace for territory mapping and site selection across multiple verticals. Targets franchise networks, sales operations, retail site selection teams, telecom operators, and humanitarian organizations.
• Franchise Territory Mapping

Quantifiable outcome

• Create franchise territory in under 2 minutes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• LandScan (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)coreTechnology or IntegrationLandScan is a global gridded population dataset developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy. It provides ambient population estimates (~1km resolution globally; ~90m for LandScan HD in select regions) updated annually. PopEx integrates LandScan as one of two primary population data sources, using it for drive-time and buffer territory analysis where ambient (24-hour average) population presence is relevant.
• WorldPop (University of Southampton)coreTechnology or IntegrationWorldPop is a global population mapping initiative from the University of Southampton producing high-resolution ~100m gridded estimates. The constrained top-down approach disaggregates census totals only within cells mapped as settlements or buildings using machine learning (Random Forest). PopEx integrates WorldPop as a primary population source for higher resolution and settlement-accurate mapping, particularly in urban areas.
• Google PlacescoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Places provides over 200 million business points of interest globally. PopEx integrates Google POIs for competitor analysis, co-tenancy assessment, and demand driver identification. The POI layer enables users to visualize competitors, allies, and commercial infrastructure within their territories.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alignmix: Specialist franchise territory mapping and balance platform. Highly comparable because both target franchisors with population- and drive-time-based territory design and FDD-ready outputs.
• Mapline: Cloud-based territory mapping and data visualization SaaS. Comparable because it serves franchise, sales operations, and field-service use cases with map-based territory design overlapping PopEx's solutions.
• Kalibrate: Retail and QSR site selection platform with location intelligence and competitive analytics. Comparable because it targets the same retail/restaurant buyer with population, drive-time, and competitor cannibalization analysis.
• Placer.ai: Location analytics platform using panel-derived POI and foot-traffic data. Comparable because it overlays commerce/competitor signals on top of demographic context for site selection and territory decisions.
• Buxton: Customer analytics and retail site selection vendor. Comparable because both serve multi-unit retail/restaurant operators with demographic and competitive site evaluation workflows.
• SiteZeus: AI-driven site selection for retail and restaurant brands. Comparable because its scoring, cannibalization, and trade-area modeling directly overlaps PopEx's retail site selection module.
• Carto: Cloud-native spatial analytics platform for business users. Comparable because it offers self-serve map-based analytics, demographic overlays, and territory workflows targeting non-GIS enterprise analysts.

Broad incumbents

• Esri: Dominant GIS platform (ArcGIS) used by most large enterprises and government agencies. Comparable as the default incumbent PopEx positions against when selling self-serve analytics without GIS expertise.
• Mapbox: Mapping platform and location services provider with APIs, SDKs, and visualization layers. Comparable as a broader platform offering underlying mapping and POI capabilities PopEx assembles on top of.
• Precisely: Data integrity and location intelligence vendor with address/POI and demographic datasets. Comparable because it bundles enterprise-grade demographic, geocoding, and territory data offerings for similar buyers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pop_explorer
• Facebookfacebook.com/PopulationExplorer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/22316995

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Population Explorer