Gempa

What Gempa does

gempa GmbH is a German private limited company headquartered in Potsdam that operates as the primary commercial development and service company for SeisComP (Seismological Computational Platform), the open-source seismological software package co-developed with the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences. The company's product portfolio spans the full seismic monitoring lifecycle: real-time data acquisition and processing (SeisComP, CAPS), automatic event detection and localization (scautopick, scanloc, ccloc with GPU acceleration), moment tensor and ground-motion analysis (Moment Tensors, SIGMA), tsunami and volcano early warning (TOAST, VORTEX), web-based analysis (GAPS/WebApps), structural health monitoring (SHARD), and dissemination via SMS, email, fax, social media, and web (GDS, QuakeLink, EQEvents). The mobile app EQInfo extends earthquake information delivery to iOS and Android end users.

The company makes money through a hybrid model: it sells commercial licenses for proprietary modules built on top of the open-source SeisComP core, and it earns professional services revenue from training (€2,420–€3,520 per participant), support, remote maintenance, and custom module development. Sales are conducted direct from Potsdam to national seismological agencies, early warning centers, and research institutions; no reseller, marketplace, or self-serve purchase channel is in evidence. Named reference customers include GFZ (Germany), BMKG (Indonesia), SED (Switzerland), GNS Science (New Zealand), and IRIS (USA), and deployments are embedded in operational national systems such as Oman's Multi-Hazard Early Warning System and Indonesia's tsunami warning infrastructure. SeisComP is described as the most widely distributed seismological software package globally, giving gempa a defensible, mission-critical position at the intersection of seismological science and enterprise-grade software engineering.

Name

Gempa

Legal name

gempa GmbH

Website

https://gempa.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

gempa GmbH, headquartered in Potsdam, Germany, is the primary commercial developer and service company for SeisComP, the open-source seismological software package. It sells proprietary modules and professional services to national seismological agencies, early warning centers, and research institutions worldwide for real-time earthquake, tsunami, and volcano monitoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seismological Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural Disaster Preparedness & Recovery (Storm/Flood/Wildfire) (BPABANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crisis Management & Communications Support (Mass Notification) (BPABANAF), Software/Application Support (SaaS, Enterprise Apps) (BPAAACAC), Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)

Keywords

• Seismological software
• Earthquake monitoring
• Tsunami warning systems
• Seismic data processing
• Real-time seismic monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Potsdam

HQ country

Germany

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. Proprietary Software Licenses: gempa GmbH sells commercial/professional editions and licenses for proprietary modules built on SeisComP. These include SeisComPro, Moment Tensors, SIGMA, TOAST, VORTEX, GAPS, SHARD, LAMBDA, CAPS, scanloc, ccloc, sceval, scqceval, npeval, GDS, QuakeLink, and EQEvents. License keys are required for commercial/professional use. The company also manages SeisComP's open-source ecosystem alongside GFZ Potsdam.
2. Professional Services (Training, Support, Development): gempa offers hands-on training (basic and advanced), professional product support, remote maintenance, and consulting for hardware infrastructure. Custom software development services create new SeisComP modules, magnitude plugins, and review existing code for clients. Training courses range from €2,420 (reduced) to €3,520 per participant. These services are a primary revenue stream and customer acquisition channel.
3. SeisComP Open Source: SeisComP core software is open-source (available via GitHub and download sites of GFZ/gempa). The open-source model builds community, drives adoption of proprietary extensions, and maintains ecosystem leadership. This indirectly supports commercial licensing and services revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

gempa GmbH develops, sells, and supports the SeisComP seismological software platform and a suite of proprietary add-on modules (SeisComPro, scanloc, ccloc, Moment Tensors, SIGMA, TOAST, VORTEX, GAPS, SHARD, LAMBDA, CAPS, GDS, QuakeLink, sceval, scqceval, npeval) for real-time earthquake monitoring, tsunami early warning, volcano observation, and structural health monitoring. The company also delivers professional services including hands-on training, product support, remote maintenance, and custom software development to national seismological agencies, research institutions, and early-warning operators worldwide.

Product overview

Gempa GmbH provides a comprehensive seismological software ecosystem centered on the open-source SeisComP platform. The portfolio includes the core SeisComP real-time data acquisition and processing system plus specialized add-on modules for specific monitoring applications: earthquake monitoring (SeisComP, SeisComPro, scanloc, ccloc, sceval, scqceval, npeval), tsunami warning (TOAST, GDS), seismic hazard mitigation (SIGMA, SHARD, Moment Tensors), volcano observation (VORTEX), web-based analysis (GAPS/WebApps), and data acquisition (CAPS). QuakeLink enables real-time data exchange and system redundancy. The company also offers professional services including training, support, and custom development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SeisComP: Open-source seismological software package for real-time data acquisition and processing
• SeisComPro
• Moment Tensors
• SIGMA
• TOAST
• VORTEX
• GAPS / WebApps
• SHARD
• LAMBDA
• CAPS
• scanloc
• ccloc
• sceval
• scqceval
• npeval
• GDS
• QuakeLink
• EQInfo
• GIS

Products and services

• SeisComP Open-source seismological software package for real-time data acquisition, processing, and analysis. Supports earthquake monitoring, tsunami warning, and seismic hazard mitigation for seismological agencies and research institutions.
• SeisComPro Professional edition of SeisComP with additional commercial modules and enhanced support options, requiring a commercial license key for professional and commercial use.
• scanloc Dedicated module for local earthquake monitoring with S-picker plugin for cluster-search-based automatic earthquake detection and localization, optimized for local velocity models.
• Moment Tensors Module for computing and analyzing moment tensors to determine earthquake source mechanisms and fault plane solutions.
• SIGMA Seismic Intensity and Ground Motion Processing and Analysis module for calculating shake maps, PGA, PGV, and intensity metrics.
• TOAST Tsunami Observation and Simulation Terminal providing on-the-fly tsunami simulation for early warning systems.
• VORTEX Multisensor volcano monitoring module for observing volcanic activity and associated seismic events.
• GAPS / WebApps Web-based earthquake analysis platform replacing graphical SeisComP modules (scolv, scrttv, scmv, scesv) with browser-accessible interfaces including OriginLocatorView.
• SHARD Real-time structural health monitoring module for assessing infrastructure integrity during seismic events.
• LAMBDA Module for detecting and analyzing seismic and infrasound events.
• CAPS Common Acquisition Protocol Server providing redundant multi-format data acquisition with web interface for data archiving and retrieval. CAPS web frontend was redesigned and relaunched in April 2022 with interactive data browsing, stream filtering, real-time data viewing, and miniSEED download.
• ccloc Cross-correlation detector module for automatic detection and classification of seismic signals using template matching with multi-threaded CPU and GPU acceleration.
• sceval Origin evaluation module for SeisComP to assess and validate earthquake origin solutions, with collaborative system support.
• scqceval Station quality evaluation and selection module for assessing data quality across seismic networks.
• npeval Network performance evaluation module for assessing seismic network efficiency.
• GDS (gempa Dissemination Server) Modular dissemination server for earthquake notifications and bulletins via SMS, email, fax, social media, and web, with template-based customization.
• QuakeLink Real-time streaming protocol and software implementation for exchanging earthquake event information, station metadata, and DYFI reports between SeisComP systems, enabling redundant and high-availability deployments.
• SeisComP Training Hands-on basic and advanced training courses for SeisComP and gempa products, delivered on-site and at the Potsdam headquarters, covering local earthquake monitoring and other special topics.
• Product Support and Consulting Professional product support, remote maintenance, and consulting for hardware infrastructure used to run SeisComP and gempa products.
• Custom Software Development Custom development of new SeisComP modules, magnitude plugins calibrated to client networks, and review of existing client code.

Quantifiable outcome

• SeisComP is deployed in operational early warning systems, including Oman's Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (launched March 2015) and tsunami warning centers in Indonesia
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability5 records

Feature18 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GFZ Helmholtz Centre for GeosciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGFZ Potsdam and gempa GmbH jointly develop and maintain SeisComP. GFZ originated the SeisComP project (first version for GEOFON network), and gempa was spun out as the commercial development and service company. Both organizations distribute SeisComP packages and documentation. This is the foundational co-development relationship for the entire SeisComP ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Esri: Esri's ArcGIS platform is widely used by seismological agencies for mapping earthquake events, hazard layers, and dissemination (alongside gempa's own GIS image server and GDS). It is a broad incumbent in geo-spatial software rather than a direct competitor in real-time processing, but a frequent ecosystem peer in agency deployments.
• Nanometrics: Nanometrics provides seismic monitoring instrumentation and the data acquisition / processing platform (Trillium / Taurus) used in national networks and early-warning systems. It overlaps with gempa in real-time seismic data workflows and competes for the same monitoring-center budgets.
• Kinemetrics: Kinemetrics is a long-established provider of seismic instruments and integrated monitoring systems, including software bundles for strong-motion and structural monitoring. It competes with gempa both through its hardware-software stacks (e.g., for early warning) and as a global incumbent in the same operational seismology market.
• Güralp Systems: Güralp manufactures broadband seismometers and offers accompanying real-time acquisition and processing software. As a sensor vendor with its own data acquisition stack, Güralp is comparable to gempa in the operational monitoring workflow, especially for institutions buying turnkey seismic networks.

Regional players

• GeoSIG: GeoSIG is a Swiss manufacturer of strong-motion accelerometers, seismometers, and structural monitoring systems, including software for data acquisition and event detection. It competes with gempa in the structural-health and earthquake-monitoring segments and serves a similar institutional customer base.

Others

• EarthScope Consortium: EarthScope (formerly IRIS, an existing gempa customer) operates open data services and tooling for the seismological community. It is not a direct competitor but a closely related ecosystem player whose standards (FDSN, SeedLink) shape how SeisComP and rivals integrate and interoperate.
• MathWorks: MathWorks' MATLAB is the dominant analysis environment for academic and research seismology. It is not a direct competitor to SeisComP but a parallel tool used by the same research institutions for offline analysis, scripting, and algorithm development that can plug into SeisComP pipelines.

Emerging players

• Seismic Equipment Solutions: Seismic Equipment Solutions supplies seismic instruments, data acquisition, and monitoring services in selected regions. While smaller in scale, it competes with gempa in the integrated hardware-software monitoring space for national and commercial seismic networks.
• Refraction Technology (REF TEK): REF TEK produces field seismic data acquisition systems (recorders) used in temporary and permanent networks. While primarily a hardware vendor, its products integrate with SeisComP and competing processing suites, making it an adjacent peer in the broader seismological monitoring stack.

Direct peers

• ISTI (Instrumental Software Technologies, Inc.): ISTI develops Earthworm and Antelope, the principal competing real-time seismological acquisition and processing software suites used by US and international networks. It is the closest direct competitor to Gempa's SeisComP, addressing the same customer base of national seismological agencies and research institutions.

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/SeisComP3
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gempa-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Gempa