Data Terra
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersMontpellier, France
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Data Terra does
Data Terra is a French national research infrastructure (UAR CNRS DATA TERRA) coordinating integrated Earth system observation data and services across five thematic domains: atmosphere (AERIS), oceans (ODATIS), continental surfaces (THEIA), solid Earth (FormaTerre), and biodiversity (PNDB). It operates as a federated model comprising five thematic data poles and three transverse devices: DINAMIS for institutional access to Very High Resolution satellite imagery (Pléiades, Spot 6/7), Inter-Pôles for cross-pole coordination and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data expertise, and ART for regional science-society interface activities. The infrastructure provides unified catalog access to approximately 100,000 TB of data through 27 data centers and services, with standardized vocabularies, ontologies, and APIs.
The underlying technology stack includes FAIR-compliant data catalogs, a multi-domain data federation layer, and specialized visualization and processing tools such as The Geodesy Plotter (GNSS and geodetic products) and the CIEST2 rapid satellite acquisition service for civil protection. AI is applied in scoped initiatives including the BIOCCIA project (predictive species distribution modeling using satellite imagery and climate projections) and a generative AI axis under the France 2030 strategy. The infrastructure integrates with European initiatives via the EOSC Federation MoU and Destination Earth.
Data Terra operates as a publicly funded coordination body rather than a commercial entity. Its 42 M€ annual budget flows from French government research funding through MESRI and CNRS, with no disclosed commercial pricing or paying-customer model. It is governed jointly by 34 partner organisms and universities including CNRS, CNES, IFREMER, IGN, INRAE, IRD, Météo France, CEA, BRGM, and CIRAD. End users are the French scientific research community, French government agencies, civil protection services, and increasingly regional territorial authorities.
Data Terra firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Data Terra
- Legal name
- UAR CNRS DATA TERRA
- Website
- https://data-terra.org
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Data Terra industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Earth Observation Research Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137), Space Research and Technology (927), Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (924110)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil) (BPAIAMAC), Satellite Imagery & Monitoring Platforms (AFAAAFAI), Terrestrial Ecology & Habitat Surveys (EUAHAHAA), Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)
Keywords
Where Data Terra is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Montpellier
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Data Terra business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Public Research Funding: Data Terra operates as a public research infrastructure (Infrastructure de Recherche) funded by French government through CNRS and partner institutions. The organization provides data and services to the scientific community without direct revenue generation.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Data Terra product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Data Terra is a French national research infrastructure (UAR) under CNRS that coordinates the collection, processing, and distribution of Earth System observation data across five thematic poles: AERIS (atmosphere), ODATIS (oceans), THEIA (continental surfaces), FormaTerre (solid Earth), and PNDB (biodiversity). The infrastructure operates 27 data centers and services, manages approximately 100,000 TB of data, and provides cross-cutting access to satellite imagery through DINAMIS.
Product overview
Data Terra is a French Research Infrastructure for Earth System observation, consisting of 5 thematic data poles (AERIS for atmosphere, ODATIS for ocean, THEIA for continental surfaces, FormaTerre for solid Earth, PNDB for biodiversity) and 3 transverse devices (DINAMIS for satellite imagery access, Inter-Pôles for cross-pole coordination, and ART for science-society interface). The infrastructure provides FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data and services for integrated Earth observation, including satellite imagery, in-situ measurements, and modeling data. Key products include specialized data poles with their respective catalogs, the DINAMIS VHR satellite imagery platform, geodetic visualization tools, and various thematic services for volcanic monitoring, biodiversity mapping, and territorial analysis.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AERIS
Quantifiable outcome
- 100,000 TB of Earth observation data managed and made accessible (2022-2023)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Data Terra
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Data Terra technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
Data Terra partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)corePrimary research partner and founding member of Data Terra. CNRS provides scientific expertise and hosts multiple data centers within the infrastructure.
- CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales)coreFrench space agency and key partner for satellite data provision. Founding member of DINAMIS and contributor to multiple data poles.
- IFREMERcoreFrench research institute for marine science. Founding member of DINAMIS and contributor to ODATIS ocean data pole.
- IGN (Institut National de l'Information Géographique et Forestière)coreNational geographic institute providing expertise in geoinformation. Founding member of DINAMIS and contributor to THEIA pole.
- INRAEcoreNational research institute for agriculture, environment, and forestry. Founding member of DINAMIS and contributor to PNDB biodiversity pole.
- IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)coreResearch institute for sustainable development. Founding member of DINAMIS and contributor to multiple data poles.
- Météo FrancemajorFrench national meteorological service contributing atmospheric data and expertise to AERIS pole.
- CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives)majorAlternative energies and atomic energy commission contributing scientific expertise to Earth observation activities.
- BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières)majorGeological and mining research bureau contributing to solid Earth data through FormaTerre pole.
- CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement)majorAgricultural research center for development. Founding member of DINAMIS and contributor to biodiversity/agricultural data.
- EOSC FederationmajorEuropean Open Science Cloud partnership for shared path to operations. Data Terra coordinates the French EOSC node.
- MESRI (Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur de la Recherche et de l'Innovation)coreFrench ministry overseeing higher education and research, providing national strategic direction and funding.
- SHOM (Service Hydrographique de la Marine Nationale)majorFrench naval hydrographic service contributing to oceanographic data and services.
- TerrOïkomajorPrivate company providing biodiversity solutions for territorial management. Partner in BIOCCIA AI project for Occitanie biodiversity mapping.
- OpenIGmajorOpen Infrastructure association contributing to GEO information and data infrastructure for Occitanie region.
- GAIA DatacoreEquipex+ project integrated with Interpole since 2022, providing federated access to data sources, storage, processing, and visualization services.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Data Terra competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- European Space Agency (ESA): ESA operates the pan-European Earth observation programme including Copernicus Sentinel missions and Earth Explorers, providing space-based Earth observation data at a much larger scale than Data Terra and directly competing for the same scientific and policy user base.
- EUMETSAT: EUMETSAT operates meteorological satellites and delivers atmospheric and oceanographic data products that overlap directly with Data Terra's AERIS atmosphere and ODATIS ocean poles, and supports similar scientific and policy users across Europe.
- Copernicus (EU Earth Observation Programme): Copernicus delivers European-scale Earth observation services across atmosphere, marine, land, climate, emergency and security domains, overlapping directly with all five Data Terra thematic poles at a larger geographic and budgetary scale.
Others
- European Open Science Cloud (EOSC): EOSC is the European federated environment for research data and services; Data Terra already coordinates the French EOSC node, making EOSC an enabling platform rather than a direct competitor, but a key benchmark for federation standards.
Direct peers
- Helmholtz Association (HGF): Germany's Helmholtz Association operates large-scale federated research infrastructures (including the Helmholtz Data Federation) across Earth, environment and energy domains, structurally analogous to Data Terra's federated CNRS-led research infrastructure model.
- Destination Earth (DestinE): Destination Earth is an EU initiative building digital twins of the Earth system using Earth observation and model data, directly comparable to Data Terra's integrated multi-domain Earth observation mission and a likely collaborator/competitor for funding.
- LifeWatch ERIC: LifeWatch ERIC is the European research infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research, directly comparable to Data Terra's PNDB pole and sharing the federated national-infrastructure operating model with EU member-state nodes.
- National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI): Germany's NFDI is a federated national research data infrastructure across multiple scientific consortia, closely comparable to Data Terra's federated pole model, FAIR data principles and cross-institution governance.
- EPOS (European Plate Observing System): EPOS is a European research infrastructure for solid Earth data, directly comparable to Data Terra's FormaTerre pole and The Geodesy Plotter, and shares the federated, FAIR-data, multi-partner governance model.
Regional players
- USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center: USGS EROS operates the US national archive of land-imagery and Earth observation data (including Landsat), a national-scale analogue to Data Terra's THEIA continental-surfaces pole, but serving a North American user base rather than competing directly in Europe.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Data Terra social profiles
Digital presenceData Terra financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Data Terra leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Data Terra subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Data Terra funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Data Terra 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 Data Terra
What does Data Terra do?
Data Terra is a French national research infrastructure (UAR) under CNRS that coordinates the collection, processing, and distribution of Earth System observation data across five thematic poles: AERIS (atmosphere), ODATIS (oceans), THEIA (continental surfaces), FormaTerre (solid Earth), and PNDB (biodiversity). The infrastructure operates 27 data centers and services, manages approximately 100,000 TB of data, and provides cross-cutting access to satellite imagery through DINAMIS.
Is Data Terra a public or private company?
Data Terra is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Data Terra founded?
Data Terra was founded in -1. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Data Terra based?
Data Terra is headquartered in Montpellier, France, in the Europe region.
How does Data Terra make money?
One revenue line is on record: public Research Funding.
Who are Data Terra's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT and Copernicus (EU Earth Observation Programme). European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is listed as an others. Direct peers are Helmholtz Association (HGF), Destination Earth (DestinE), LifeWatch ERIC, National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) and EPOS (European Plate Observing System). USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center is listed as a regional player.
Does Data Terra have an API?
Yes. DINAMIS catalogue offers APIs for data manipulation and access. The sources mention APIs for accessing satellite imagery through the DINAMIS platform, including catalog search, data selection, and download functionality. A webinar was held on 'Manipulation des flux et APIs depuis le Catalogue DINAMIS' (API manipulation from DINAMIS Catalogue) on May 7, 2026. Developer documentation is at catalogue-dinamis.data-terra.org.
What industry is Data Terra in?
Data Terra's product category is Earth Observation Research Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHAKAD, Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing), with a secondary code of BPAIAMAC, Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil). Its NAICS code is 54137.