What GEM Foundation does

GEM Foundation is a non-profit scientific public-private partnership established in 2009 and headquartered in Pavia, Italy, that develops open-source resources for worldwide earthquake risk assessment. Its core technology is the OpenQuake Engine (open-source under AGPL), supported by a portfolio of global and regional hazard models, exposure databases, vulnerability models, the GEM Building Taxonomy, active fault databases, and a 100,000-year Global Stochastic Catalogue. The 2026 release extended hazard coverage across oceans for the first time and introduced new products including the Global Seismic Embodied Carbon Risk Map, Global Liquefaction Hazard Map, Global Map of Road Exposure to Ground Shaking and Liquefaction, and forward-looking risk scenarios to 2045 and 2065.

GEM operates a dual-track model: products are free for non-commercial academic, government, and humanitarian use under open licenses (CC BY-SA, CC BY-NC-SA, AGPL), while higher-resolution datasets and certain models are available under commercial license agreements, with commercial revenue reinvested into public-good programs and Global South capacity building. Monetized revenue streams include institutional sponsorships (e.g., Italian Civil Protection at EUR 100,000 annually), project partnerships (e.g., SERENE with Uganda, ARISTOTLE in Europe, SSAHARA in Sub-Saharan Africa), commercial license fees, service agreements, training and OpenQuake-engine certification programs, and the Atlas subscription API for hazard map layers. The foundation is governed by a board that now includes its first Public Governor (Uganda NBRB) and engages national agencies (USGS, NRC, SGS, Geoscience Australia, ETH Zurich/SED) to integrate their authoritative national models into the OpenQuake mosaic.

GEM serves national governments and public institutions for building code development and disaster risk reduction, the insurance and reinsurance industry for portfolio risk quantification and catastrophe bond design, academic and research institutions for reproducible seismic risk science, and humanitarian and engineering consulting organizations for post-disaster and infrastructure assessment. Knowledge dissemination is delivered through an annual conference, the GEM-EGU Summer School, webinars, peer-reviewed publications (100+ using OpenQuake), and active GitHub and training communities.

Name

GEM Foundation

Legal name

GEM Foundation

Website

https://globalquakemodel.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

GEM Foundation is a non-profit scientific public-private partnership, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Pavia, Italy, that develops open-source data, models, and software (OpenQuake Engine) for worldwide earthquake hazard and risk assessment, serving governments, insurers, researchers, and humanitarian organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seismic Hazard and Risk Assessment Software

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Catastrophe Risk Modeling & Analytics Services (FSAOACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainability, ESG & Climate Risk Advisory (BPAHAJAH), Climate Hazard & Catastrophe Modeling (Flood, Wind, Wildfire, Heat, Sea-Level Rise) (EUABALAA)

Keywords

• Seismic hazard assessment
• Earthquake risk modeling
• Open-source risk software
• Global exposure modeling
• Vulnerability assessment data

Headquarters

HQ city

Pavia

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sponsorships: Institutional sponsorships from public and private organizations supporting GEM's core programs. Sponsors engage through financial contributions at various tiers to support ongoing and future work in earthquake risk reduction.
2. Project Partnerships: Collaborative projects with governments, international organizations, and institutions (e.g., SERENE project with Uganda, ARISTOTLE European projects). Partners provide funding and in-kind contributions for specific deliverables.
3. Commercial License Fees: Revenue from licensing GEM products for commercial use. Higher resolution datasets and certain models are available only under commercial license agreements. Revenue reinvested in public good activities with emphasis on Global South.
4. Service Agreements: Tailored service agreements for partners requiring specific configurations, implementations, or specialized support for GEM tools and data.
5. Training and Certification: OQ training programs for comprehensive disaster risk reduction and management, including official OpenQuake-engine certification programs and summer schools.
6. Atlas Subscription Service: Subscription-based access to Atlas portal providing pay-as-you-go alternative to licensing Global Seismic Hazard Map data layers directly, with API access for integration into workflows.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

GEM Foundation produces global earthquake risk assessment resources through the OpenQuake Engine, an open-source (AGPL) software platform for probabilistic seismic hazard and risk calculation, together with a portfolio of global, regional, and national hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and risk models and datasets (e.g., Global Seismic Hazard Map, Global Exposure Model, Global Vulnerability Model, Global Liquefaction Hazard Map, Global Seismic Embodied-Carbon Risk Map, Active Faults Database, Global Stochastic Catalogue). It monetizes selected higher-resolution data, the Atlas subscription API, project partnerships, service agreements, training/certification, and sponsorships while keeping core products free for non-commercial, academic, government, and humanitarian use.

Product overview

GEM Foundation offers a comprehensive earthquake risk assessment platform consisting of the OpenQuake Engine (open-source seismic hazard and risk calculation software under AGPL license) and an extensive portfolio of global, regional, and national models and datasets. The flagship products include the Global Seismic Hazard Map (v2026, first to extend across oceans), Global Seismic Risk Map, Global Exposure Model, Global Vulnerability Model, and the new Global Seismic Embodied Carbon Risk Map. Supporting products include the Global Liquefaction Hazard Map, Global Map of Road Exposure to Ground Shaking and Liquefaction, GEM Building Taxonomy (v4.0.1), Country-Territory Seismic Risk Profiles, Active Faults Database, Global Stochastic Catalogue, Atlas (subscription API service), and the Model Builder's Toolkit (oq-mbtk). GEM also provides numerous regional hazard models covering Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and specialized regions (Alaska, Hawaii, California, Arabia, etc.). Products are released under various open licenses (AGPL for software, CC BY-SA/CC BY-NC-SA for datasets) with some commercial options available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OpenQuake Engine: Open-source software for seismic hazard and risk modeling
• Global Seismic Hazard Map
• Global Seismic Risk Map
• GEM Building Taxonomy
• Global Exposure Model
• Global Vulnerability Model
• SERENE Project

Products and services

• OpenQuake Engine Open-source software engine (AGPL) for seismic hazard and risk calculations, serving as the computational core for GEM's models and providing tools for modelers, researchers, and emergency planners with accompanying training, forum, and documentation.
• Global Seismic Hazard Map Updated probabilistic seismic hazard map combining national, regional, and internally developed models into a globally consistent mosaic that, in the v2026 release, extends across oceans for the first time.
• Global Seismic Risk Map Global seismic risk maps providing earthquake risk metrics including exposure, vulnerability, economic losses, fatalities, buildings destroyed, built-up area destroyed, population rendered homeless, and embodied-carbon loss.
• Global Exposure Model Global mosaic of local and regional exposure models providing an inventory of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings at the smallest administrative division of each country, including number of buildings, occupants, vulnerability characteristics, built-up area, and replacement costs.
• Global Vulnerability Model Global model describing the susceptibility of buildings and infrastructure to earthquake damage, used with hazard and exposure models to compute risk across multiple damage states and loss metrics.
• Global Seismic Embodied-Carbon Risk Map Global embodied-carbon risk model estimating greenhouse gas emissions associated with earthquake damage, repair, demolition, and reconstruction, adding an environmental dimension to seismic risk assessment.
• Global Liquefaction Hazard Map Global-scale assessment of liquefaction hazard identifying where earthquake-induced ground failure could occur and potentially damage roads, bridges, buried lifelines, and other infrastructure.
• Global Map of Road Exposure to Ground Shaking and Liquefaction First global analysis of road network exposure to liquefaction and ground shaking, identifying where earthquake-induced ground failure could disrupt transport corridors, emergency access, logistics, and recovery.
• GEM Building Taxonomy v4.0.1 Uniform global classification scheme (v4.0.1) for describing and categorising buildings by vulnerability attributes, used as a key step in vulnerability and risk assessment and supported by a Python tool for validation and classification.
• Country-Territory Seismic Risk Profiles Country and territory-level seismic risk profiles providing hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and risk metrics for individual jurisdictions.
• GEM Building Taxonomy Tool Online tool helping users validate and classify buildings according to the GEM Building Taxonomy, providing explanations for each classification and supporting adherence to global standards.
• Active Faults Database Comprehensive global dataset of active fault traces of seismogenic concern comprising GIS files with fault geometry, kinematics, slip rate, and other attributes useful for seismic hazard modeling.
• Global Stochastic Catalogue 100,000-year global stochastic catalogue of earthquake events developed under the SEESAWS project, representing seismicity based on the 2026 GEM Hazard Mosaic and including all ruptures with magnitudes M >= 5.
• Atlas - Global Seismic Hazard Curves Subscription-based dynamic web portal and API featuring instant display and download of hazard curves worldwide at multiple return periods, providing programmatic access to GEM's seismic hazard data for commercial users.
• Model Builder's Toolkit (oq-mbtk) Open-source suite of tools (v0.9) hosted on GitHub for constructing components of Probabilistic Seismic Hazard (PSH) models for the OpenQuake Engine, enabling external users to develop regional hazard models.
• Forward-Looking Risk Scenarios Forward-looking risk scenarios for 2045 and 2065 exploring how seismic risk may evolve as population, settlements, building stock, and construction practices change, using socioeconomic pathways.
• Northern Africa Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2017.2.0) for hazard calculations covering North Africa from Morocco to Egypt along the Mediterranean coastline.
• Western Africa Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2018.1.1) for hazard calculations covering the Atlantic side of the African continent.
• Sub-Saharan Africa Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2018.1.0) for hazard calculations for Sub-Saharan Africa, developed with AfricaArray.
• Africa Exposure Model Repository with inventory of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings across African countries and territories including exposure characteristics and vulnerability data.
• Alaska Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2007.2.0) for hazard calculations for Alaska including the Aleutian Islands, translated from a USGS model.
• Arabia Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2018.3.0) for hazard calculations covering Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and Qatar, developed with the Saudi Geological Survey.
• Hawaii Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v1998.1.1) for hazard calculations for Hawaii, translated from a USGS model.
• Pacific Islands Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2018.4.0) for hazard calculations covering the Southern Pacific Islands including Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.
• Northwest Asia Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2018.2.0) for hazard calculations covering Northwest Asia, developed with the Swiss Seismological Service and ETH Zurich using a distributed seismicity approach.
• Northeast Asia Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2018.3.0) for hazard calculations covering Northeast Asia.
• North Asia Exposure Model Repository with inventory of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings in North Asia including Russia and Mongolia.
• California UCERF3 Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2023.0.0) for hazard calculations for California, based on the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast version 3.
• Conterminous US Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2023.0.0) for hazard calculations for the conterminous United States based on the 2023 US National Seismic Hazard Model.
• North and South Korea Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2020.2.0) for hazard calculations covering the entire Korean Peninsula.
• Canada Hazard Model OpenQuake engine input model (v2025.0.0) for hazard calculations for Canada based on the 6th Generation Seismic Hazard Model.

Quantifiable outcome

• First fully global probabilistic seismic hazard coverage including oceans achieved in 2026 release
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Uganda National Building Review Board (NBRB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 December 2025NBRB Uganda became GEM's first Public Governor appointed through the merit-based partnership pathway in December 2025, marking the second African country on GEM's Governing Board. The partnership supports evidence-based building regulation, revision of seismic design codes, and national capacity building in earthquake hazard and risk analysis. In April 2026, the SERENE project (Scientific Evidence for Risk Engineering, Norms and Education) was launched to develop national hazard maps, exposure models, and Uganda's first national seismic risk map.
• AfricaArraycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration within USAID-supported SSAHARA project for developing seismic hazard models for Sub-Saharan Africa. AfricaArray contributes to regional capacity building and research collaboration in African seismology.
• Swiss Seismological Service (SED), ETH ZurichcoreTechnology or IntegrationCollaborative development of Northwest Asia (NWA) hazard model based on distributed seismicity approach with rate redistribution for spatial variability representation.
• United States Geological Survey (USGS)coreTechnology or IntegrationTranslation of USGS seismic hazard models (Alaska, Hawaii, Conterminous US, California UCERF3) into OpenQuake Engine format for global mosaic integration.
• Saudi Geological Survey (SGS)coreTechnology or IntegrationDevelopment of Arabia seismic hazard model covering Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and Qatar. GEM translates and integrates SGS models into global hazard mosaic.
• Geoscience AustraliacoreTechnology or IntegrationImplementation of Australia seismic hazard model (2018) for global hazard mosaic coverage of Australian continent.
• Natural Resources Canada (NRC)coreTechnology or IntegrationConversion of Canada's 6th Generation Seismic Hazard Model into OpenQuake format by NRC for global mosaic integration.
• Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on ARISTOTLE European project for seismic hazard and risk services. INGV provides scientific expertise and receives OpenQuake training and support.
• EUCENTRE - Centro Europeo di FormazioneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContribution to GEM activities through membership contributions and collaborative engagement in earthquake risk training.
• University of AveirocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for GEM-EGU Summer School 2026. Vitor Silva serves as Principal Investigator at University of Aveiro while Head of Risk Engineering at GEM.
• University of Zagreb - Croatian Centre for Earthquake EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for GEM Conference 2026 (June 23-25, Zagreb) featuring public release of new global earthquake risk products.
• European Geosciences Union (EGU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organization of GEM-EGU Summer School on GeoHazards Risk Assessment combining GEM's technical expertise with EGU's scientific network.
• Fondazione CIMAminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting contract collaboration for specific technical deliverables and project work.
• Università di BergamominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicense agreements for GEM Global Seismic Hazard Map datasets for academic research purposes.
• Università di BariminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHPC papers collaboration under PNRR funding for high-performance computing research applications.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• USGS Earthquake Hazards Program: U.S. government source of authoritative seismic hazard data and models, with which GEM directly collaborates (e.g., translating USGS models into OpenQuake format). Comparable as a producer of foundational seismic hazard data, though serving a national mandate rather than a global platform.
• UNDRR (UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction): UN system entity coordinating the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Comparable to GEM as an institutional force shaping global disaster risk policy and frameworks; an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a commercial competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Swiss Re Institute: Research and catastrophe analytics arm of Swiss Re publishing sigma reports and catastrophe risk data. Comparable to GEM in producing authoritative seismic and natural catastrophe risk insights, but as part of a global reinsurer's broader portfolio.
• Munich Re NatCatSERVICE: Munich Re's proprietary natural catastrophe loss database covering earthquakes, storms, floods, and wildfires globally. Comparable to GEM as a major source of catastrophe risk reference data, though owned and operated internally by a global reinsurer rather than as a public-good platform.

Direct peers

• AIR Worldwide (Verisk): Catastrophe risk modeling platform within Verisk serving insurance, reinsurance, and financial markets with earthquake and other peril models. Directly comparable to GEM in the insurance catastrophe modeling use case, differentiated by proprietary data and larger installed base.
• Aon Impact Forecasting: Aon-owned catastrophe modeling unit producing earthquake, flood, windstorm, and climate models for re/insurance clients. Direct competitor in the seismic catastrophe modeling market with broader multi-peril coverage and strong broker distribution.
• Moody's RMS: Largest commercial provider of catastrophe risk modeling for the insurance and reinsurance industry, with deep earthquake, hurricane, and flood models. Most directly comparable competitor to GEM in the seismic catastrophe modeling category, though it operates on a proprietary, paid-license basis rather than open source.

Emerging players

• CRED / UCLouvain Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters: Research center maintaining the EM-DAT international disaster database used for global catastrophe loss analysis. Comparable to GEM in providing open disaster data for research and humanitarian decision-making, though focused on historical event impact data rather than forward probabilistic modeling.
• KatRisk: Independent catastrophe risk modeling firm offering probabilistic flood, hurricane, and earthquake models for re/insurance clients. Comparable to GEM in the seismic catastrophe modeling space as a smaller commercial alternative to the RMS/AIR duopoly.
• Oasis Loss Modelling Framework: Open-source catastrophe modeling framework originally backed by the insurance industry for transparent risk modeling. Comparable to GEM as an open-source alternative in catastrophe modeling, though with different scope (model execution platform versus hazard and risk data production).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/gem
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@gemglobalearthquakemodel3652
• Facebookfacebook.com/GEMwrld
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gem-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/globalearthquakemodel
• Xx.com/GEMwrld

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about GEM Foundation