US Open Data

What US Open Data does

US Open Data (operating as BQ Open Data and OpenData.org) is an open-data initiative under BrightQuery, a private factual-AI company founded by Jose M. Plehn, PhD. The platform provides an open global entity graph linking organizations, addresses, locations, and people through unique BQID identifiers and standardized metadata, with comprehensive U.S. coverage (86M organizations, 142M locations, 45M addresses, 101M people) and global expansion underway (274M organizations, 512M locations, 197M addresses, 1.2B people). The product is built on Senzing AI for entity resolution and is positioned for AI platforms, MDM programs, capital markets, KYB/KYC compliance, business credit, and sales-and-marketing use cases.

The technology stack is anchored by AI-native entity resolution via Senzing, golden-record-based entity linkages, and a proprietary BQID identifier system that functions like a URL for real-world entities, reducing ambiguity in cross-dataset references. A standardized Open Data Dictionary defines fields across five core entity types (Organizations, Locations, People, Addresses, and their linkages), with sources drawn from government and other public records. Access is delivered through an API and bulk data feeds, with an SDK in development; core fields are freely available, while a Premium BQ Data tier offers enhanced records for enterprise, compliance, and advanced enrichment use cases.

The business model is freemium: core entity data is free via API or bulk download to drive adoption and community contribution, while premium data is offered on a subscription basis (annual billing, likely quote-based for enterprise). Distribution is API-first and community-led, with verified contributors exchanging data improvements for premium BQ records. No disclosed revenue, funding, headcount, or named paying customers were identified in the available data, and the company is founder-led with no disclosed external investment.

Name

US Open Data

Legal name

BrightQuery

Website

https://usopendata.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

US Open Data operates an open global entity graph of organizations, addresses, locations, and people, built on Senzing AI and accessed via API or bulk data feeds under a freemium model targeting AI, MDM, compliance, and capital-markets use cases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entity Data & Business Intelligence

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Data Marketplace Platforms (HDAEABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Data Platforms & Modern Data Stack Services (Lakehouse, DW, MDM) (BPAEAHAC), Data Quality, Monitoring & Observability (uptime, latency, reconciliation) (FSAGACAL)

Keywords

• Open entity data
• Entity resolution API
• Global entity graph
• Business intelligence data
• AI-ready open data

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Open Data Access: Free core entity data including organizations, locations, people, and addresses with standard fields available via API or bulk download. Core fields are freely accessible to drive adoption and community contribution.
2. Premium BQ Data: Premium data offering with enhanced fields available for advanced needs. Unlocks premium data with full BQ Data offering for enterprise and professional users requiring deeper entity information and enrichment capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

US Open Data operates opendata.org, providing what it describes as the world's largest open global entity graph covering organizations, addresses, locations, and people. The platform is AI-native, built on Senzing AI entity resolution technology, and assigns each entity a unique BQID. It distributes a free core dataset to the public while offering a premium BQ Data tier with additional sources, quality controls, and commercial usage rights via API and bulk data feeds.

Product overview

BQ Open Data is a unified data platform offering an open global entity graph. The core product provides free access to foundational entity data (organizations, addresses, locations, people) with unique BQIDs, while the premium BQ Data tier unlocks enhanced fields for advanced needs. Both tiers leverage Senzing AI for entity resolution and are accessible via API or bulk data feeds, with SDKs in development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BQ Open Data A free, open dataset forming the core of the global entity graph, providing organization, address, location, and person records each identified by a unique BQID. It is intended for developers, researchers, and data scientists building entity-aware applications and analytics.
• BQ Data (Premium Data Tier) A premium data tier extending BQ Open Data with additional sources, quality controls, and commercial usage rights. Delivered through API access and bulk data feeds for enterprise AI platforms, financial institutions, and data teams that require production-grade entity data.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OpenCorporates: OpenCorporates is the largest open database of legal entities worldwide, providing company registration data sourced from public registries for KYB, compliance, and due diligence. Directly comparable as an open data entity graph with a similar government-records sourcing model and open access philosophy targeting KYB/KYC and capital markets users.
• Crunchbase: Crunchbase maintains a structured company graph used for venture capital, corporate development, and capital markets intelligence. Directly comparable on the company entity graph for capital markets, with overlap on regulatory identifiers and private company data that US Open Data also exposes.
• Clearbit: Clearbit (acquired by HubSpot) provides company and people data enrichment APIs for B2B sales and marketing, covering company firmographics, employee counts, and contact details. Comparable as an API-first company data platform targeting developer and sales users with similar enrichment and entity resolution workflows.
• ZoomInfo: ZoomInfo is a leading B2B intelligence platform providing company and contact data for sales, marketing, and recruiting workflows. Comparable to US Open Data on the company and people entity graph with overlap on sales & marketing and KYB use cases, though built on proprietary rather than open data.
• Apollo.io: Apollo.io combines a B2B contact database with sales engagement tooling, providing company and people data for outbound sales teams. Comparable on the company and people entity graph for sales & marketing use cases, with a freemium API-first model similar to US Open Data's distribution approach.
• Dun & Bradstreet: Dun & Bradstreet is the incumbent leader in business entity data, providing the D-U-N-S Number system and global company records for enterprise KYB, credit, and supply chain use cases. Directly comparable as a primary source of structured organization, location, and corporate hierarchy data for B2B use cases.
• LexisNexis Risk Solutions: LexisNexis Risk Solutions aggregates public and proprietary records to deliver entity resolution, KYC/AML compliance, and fraud detection for financial institutions and regulated enterprises. Directly comparable on KYB/KYC, business credit, and entity linking use cases addressed by US Open Data's premium tier.

Emerging players

• Senzing: Senzing is the AI entity resolution engine underlying US Open Data's technology stack, and also offers its own entity resolution software to enterprises, governments, and data providers. Comparable as the underlying technology provider that US Open Data commercializes at the open data layer, with direct product overlap for customers evaluating AI-native entity resolution.
• Wikidata: Wikidata is a free, collaborative knowledge base of structured entity data maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation, covering organizations, people, and locations with unique Q-identifiers. Comparable as an open community-driven entity graph with persistent identifiers, but broader in scope (general knowledge) rather than focused on B2B entity resolution.

Broad incumbents

• Experian Business Information: Experian provides consumer and business credit data, KYC, and entity information as part of a broader credit bureau portfolio. Comparable on business credit, risk monitoring, and entity verification use cases, but serves a wider set of consumer credit products beyond the entity graph niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/opendata

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 US Open Data