What Taylor Geospatial Institute does

Taylor Geospatial is a St. Louis-based nonprofit research organization that develops and openly disseminates geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) infrastructure for global public benefit. Its core technological capability is producing planetary-scale spatial intelligence from satellite Earth-observation data (primarily Sentinel-2), delivered through cloud-native formats (GeoParquet, PMTiles, Zarr) hosted on Source Cooperative and accessible without a backend API. The flagship product is Fields of the World, an open machine-learning ecosystem comprising the first globally consistent 10m-resolution agricultural field boundary dataset, benchmark training data assembled in the open fiboa specification across 24+ countries, baseline U-Net models, and a web-based inference application. Complementary products include the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security (GIFS) program — three flagship projects (up to $550K each over 18 months) plus 10 AWS-co-funded pilots — that apply GeoAI to supply-chain resilience, crop shifting, and nitrogen use efficiency, and operational tools such as the AF-PULSE humanitarian early warning platform and a Food System Instability prediction tool used by FEWS NET in conflict zones.

The organization was established with a philanthropic gift from Andy Taylor, Executive Chairman of Enterprise Mobility, and was formed in March 2026 by merging Taylor Geospatial Institute and Taylor Geospatial Engine, simultaneously spinning off from Saint Louis University to become independent. It operates a community-led go-to-market motion, relying on a coalition of academic partners (Washington University in St. Louis, Arizona State University, Clark University, University of Missouri), cloud and platform providers (Microsoft AI for Good Lab, AWS, Wherobots, Source Cooperative), and operational users (NASA Harvest, NASA Goddard, FEWS NET, UN World Food Programme, FAO). The Technical Fellows Program embeds industry engineers with academic teams to translate research into deployable tools. Output distribution is entirely open and free, with pricing labeled "Freemium" and "Freely accessible to researchers and innovators worldwide."

The revenue model is philanthropic and grant-based: founding capital from Andy Taylor / Enterprise Mobility, supplemented by programmatic co-investment (notably AWS for GIFS pilots) and likely additional foundation and government grants. There are no commercial pricing tiers, no licensing fees, and no sales channel; a recently added Commercialization Director role suggests intent to capture downstream value in the future. Primary beneficiaries span humanitarian food security agencies, government monitoring programs, academic GeoAI researchers, agtech developers, and international development organizations, with the St. Louis region emphasized for economic-development impact.

Name

Taylor Geospatial Institute

Legal name

Taylor Geospatial

Website

https://taylorgeospatial.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Taylor Geospatial is a St. Louis-based nonprofit that builds and openly distributes geospatial AI (GeoAI) infrastructure, most notably the first global 10m-resolution agricultural field boundary dataset and the GIFS food security program, serving humanitarian agencies, governments, academic researchers, and agtech developers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Artificial Intelligence

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Satellite Imagery & Monitoring Platforms (AFAAAFAI), Field Mapping, GIS & Remote Sensing Analytics (AFAAAFAB), Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD), GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

Keywords

• Geospatial artificial intelligence
• Satellite imagery analytics
• Agricultural field mapping
• Food security monitoring
• Open source GeoAI

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant and Philanthropic Funding: Taylor Geospatial is a nonprofit organization funded primarily through a philanthropic gift from Andy Taylor (Executive Chairman of Enterprise Mobility). Additional funding comes from co-investment partnerships with organizations such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) for the GIFS program. The organization does not generate commercial revenue from its tools and datasets, which are released as open digital public goods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Taylor Geospatial Institute is a nonprofit research organization that develops and openly releases geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) products, including the Fields of the World global agricultural field boundary dataset and machine learning models trained on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. It runs the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security (GIFS) program funding flagship and pilot projects that apply GeoAI to early warning systems, crop shifting, and nitrogen management. All datasets, models, benchmarks, and tools are distributed as open digital public goods via Source Cooperative and GitHub.

Product overview

Taylor Geospatial Institute operates as a nonprofit research organization offering an integrated portfolio of open GeoAI products, programs, and datasets. The flagship offering is Fields of The World, an open ecosystem for global agricultural field boundary detection comprising a benchmark dataset (fiboa format), baseline ML models, inference tools, and web applications, all published openly via Source Cooperative. Complementing this is the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security (GIFS) program — a multi-project initiative funding flagship and pilot projects that develop GeoAI tools for food security applications including early warning systems, crop shifting, and nitrogen management. The organization also runs a Technical Fellows Program embedding industry engineers with academic teams. All outputs are shared as digital public goods under open-source licenses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fields of the World: An open ecosystem for agricultural field boundary detection combining a global benchmark dataset, baseline ML models, inference tools, and web applications.
• Geospatial Innovation for Food Security (GIFS)

Products and services

• Fields of the World An open ecosystem for agricultural field boundary detection combining a global benchmark dataset, baseline ML models, inference tools, and web applications. Released the first globally consistent dataset of agricultural field boundaries at 10m resolution, openly available via Source Cooperative in cloud-native formats (GeoParquet, PMTiles, Zarr). The initiative includes a fiboa-format benchmark dataset spanning 24 countries and a high-performing model architecture for inferring global field boundaries.
• Geospatial Innovation for Food Security (GIFS) A transdisciplinary challenge program that funds and supports advanced research to address critical food security challenges. GIFS focuses on three problem spaces: enabling agri-food supply chain resilience, informing crop shifting, and increasing nitrogen use efficiency. The program includes three flagship projects (18-month, fully funded) and ten pilot projects (12-18 months, co-invested with AWS), with outputs shared openly as public goods.
• AF-PULSE Platform The Afghanistan Platform for Understanding Local Shocks and Emergencies, a GeoAI-enhanced early warning system that integrates satellite data, weather forecasts, field observations, and machine learning to track hazards affecting food access and supply routes in Afghanistan. Supports humanitarian responders with real-time operational maps and disruption forecasting.
• Food System Instability Prediction Tool A promptable, uncertainty-aware GeoAI system for in-season forecasting of food assistance infrastructure in conflict zones. Combines satellite-based embeddings with natural-language queries to generate accessible, question-driven insights about crop conditions and transportation access, tested in Sudan, Ukraine, Syria, and Haiti.
• Water-First Nitrogen Management A GeoAI model that maps plant-available soil water at sub-field scales to improve nitrogen fertilizer application decisions. Combines multispectral and thermal satellite imagery, radar data, and crop growth models (DSSAT) to create management zones for Missouri and Iowa claypan soils, designed to be adaptable globally.
• Technical Fellows Program A program embedding elite geospatial industry technologists alongside academic research teams to ensure scientific rigor translates into deployable, industry-usable outputs. Fellows contribute code and engineering expertise to open-source geospatial projects including Fields of The World.

Quantifiable outcome

• First globally consistent agricultural field boundary map at 10m resolution, covering every agricultural field on Earth
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• Common SpacesecondaryGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 June 2026Taylor Geospatial co-hosts SatSummit St. Louis (November 18-19, 2026) alongside Common Space and Development Seed. Common Space is a partner in convening practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and technology leaders for this two-day geospatial industry conference at The Post Building in St. Louis.
• Development SeedsecondaryGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 June 2026Development Seed co-hosts SatSummit St. Louis alongside Taylor Geospatial and Common Space. Development Seed is a technology company specializing in open-source geospatial solutions and contributes to the convening of the satellite and Earth observation community in St. Louis.
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2026Taylor Geospatial co-convened (alongside NRDC) a yearlong collaboration among more than two dozen U.S. and Canada-based scientific experts to produce the Scientific Roadmap for Advancing Agricultural Nitrous Oxide MMRV and Modeling. NRDC and Taylor Geospatial jointly guided this effort to establish research priorities for measuring and reducing agricultural N2O emissions.
• Microsoft AI for Good LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2026Microsoft AI for Good Lab was a co-investor and co-developer of the Fields of the World initiative. The lab contributed researcher Caleb Robinson's deep technical expertise and significant cloud compute infrastructure to enable global-scale GeoAI inference. Microsoft co-funded the effort alongside Taylor Geospatial's Andy Taylor philanthropy to produce the first global agricultural field boundary dataset.
• Wherobots (as RasterFlow initial customer)coreTechnology or Integration · 12 December 2025Taylor Geospatial is listed as an initial customer and partner for Wherobots' RasterFlow product, which automates overhead imagery mosaicking, preprocessing, AI/ML model execution, and physical-world analysis. Outputs are written to Apache Iceberg tables for consumption in platforms like Databricks and Snowflake. Taylor Geospatial also partners on the Fields of the World project enabled by RasterFlow.
• Washington University in St. Louis (Land Cover Change Modeling)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2025Taylor Geospatial provided funding for a land cover change modeling project using generative AI in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis, starting Winter 2025. The project uses advanced AI models to predict environmental transformations from satellite imagery to improve land-use planning, climate resilience, and support sustainable development goals.
• Washington University in St. LouiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNathan Jacobs' lab at Washington University's McKelvey School of Engineering contributed core scientific innovation to the Fields of the World model and architecture. WashU is also the host institution for a postdoctoral position co-funded by Taylor Geospatial and Microsoft AI for Good Lab. Washington University is a key regional academic partner in the St. Louis GeoAI ecosystem.
• Arizona State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHannah Kerner's lab at Arizona State University contributed core scientific innovation to the Fields of the World model architecture. ASU is also the lead institution for the GIFS Predicting Food System Instability flagship project, developing GeoAI capabilities to identify early signals of food system instability in conflict zones using satellite imagery and natural-language tools.
• WherobotscoreTechnology or IntegrationWherobots built the RasterFlow platform used to generate global satellite mosaics and run the Fields of the World model at planetary scale efficiently. Wherobots provides the cloud-native geospatial infrastructure that enables Taylor Geospatial to perform large-scale Earth observation data processing and model inference.
• Source Cooperative (Radiant Earth)coreTechnology or IntegrationSource Cooperative, created by Radiant Earth's Jed Sundwall, serves as the open repository for hosting all Taylor Geospatial cloud-native geospatial datasets, including the Fields of the World global field boundary dataset in formats such as GeoParquet, PMTiles, and Zarr. This enables free, backend-free access for the global community.
• Clark UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerLyndon Estes at Clark University provided additional research contributions to the Fields of the World global field boundary mapping effort, contributing to the collaborative academic coalition that produced the dataset.
• United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe UN World Food Programme, in partnership with the REACH Initiative, leads the Afghanistan PULSE flagship project under Taylor Geospatial's GIFS program. The project enhances the AF-PULSE platform using GeoAI to track food supply chain risks by integrating satellite data, weather forecasts, field observations, and machine-learning tools to detect early warning signs of disruption in conflict environments.
• REACH InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe REACH Initiative partners with WFP on the AF-PULSE platform, providing humanitarian situational awareness tools. REACH contributes expertise in rapid assessment feeds and data collection methodologies that feed into the GeoAI-enhanced early warning system developed under the GIFS program.
• University of Missouri (and MU Extension)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Missouri, in partnership with MU Extension, leads the Water-First Nitrogen Management flagship project under GIFS. The project develops GeoAI models for sub-field-scale plant-available soil water capacity mapping to improve nitrogen application decisions. Initial demonstrations focus on Missouri and Iowa claypan soils using hundreds of on-farm trials.
• NASA HarvestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA Harvest is a key dissemination partner for Fields of the World data and a research partner on the GIFS Predicting Food System Instability project. NASA Harvest, led by Dr. Inbal Becker-Reshef, works to advance the use of NASA Earth observations for agricultural monitoring and food security analysis globally.
• NASA Goddard Space Flight CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA Goddard Flight Center is a research partner on the GIFS Predicting Food System Instability project, contributing satellite-based embedding generation capabilities and scientific expertise alongside NASA Harvest and FEWS NET.
• Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEWS NET, a U.S. Department of State-funded program, is a research partner on the GIFS Predicting Food System Instability project. The network uses satellite imagery, GIS, and socioeconomic data to provide early warning and analysis of food security conditions. The Taylor Geospatial project aims to integrate GeoAI tools into FEWS NET's operational systems.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• NASA Harvest: NASA Harvest is NASA’s food security and agriculture program, a key dissemination partner for Taylor Geospatial's Fields of the World data. While Taylor Geospatial provides the open datasets and models, NASA Harvest focuses on operational use and outreach to monitoring agencies.

Emerging players

• Descartes Labs: Descartes Labs provides a geospatial analytics platform with satellite imagery and ML models for agriculture and supply chain intelligence. It is a more established emerging player in geospatial AI for agriculture, comparable to Taylor Geospatial's commercial-adjacent capabilities.
• Wherobots: Wherobots built the RasterFlow platform used by Taylor Geospatial to generate global satellite mosaics and run Fields of the World at planetary scale. Both companies operate in cloud-native geospatial infrastructure with overlapping AI/ML on Earth observation workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Planet Labs: Planet Labs operates the largest commercial constellation of Earth observation satellites and provides high-resolution satellite imagery and analytics used in agricultural monitoring. It is a broad incumbent in the same observational and analytics space as Taylor Geospatial's GeoAI stack.
• Mapbox: Mapbox provides a commercial platform for geospatial data and mapping APIs, with overlapping capability in cloud-native spatial data infrastructure comparable to Taylor Geospatial's PMTiles-based distribution stack.
• Esri: Esri is the dominant provider of GIS software and spatial analytics to governments, NGOs, and enterprises. Its ArcGIS platform serves many of the same food security and agricultural agencies that Taylor Geospatial targets, providing a broader but commercial alternative.
• Google Earth Engine: Google Earth Engine is a planetary-scale platform for geospatial analysis hosting petabytes of satellite imagery and providing cloud-based geospatial processing comparable to Taylor Geospatial's RasterFlow-powered global inference pipelines.
• Maxar Technologies: Maxar operates high-resolution Earth observation satellites and provides imagery and analytics to government and humanitarian customers. It overlaps with Taylor Geospatial's food security monitoring and humanitarian applications, though as a commercial satellite operator in a much broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Development Seed: Development Seed is a technology company specializing in open-source geospatial solutions and co-hosts SatSummit with Taylor Geospatial. It builds open-source tooling and ML pipelines for satellite imagery, directly comparable to Taylor Geospatial's open pipelines and benchmark datasets.
• Radiant Earth: Radiant Earth operates Source Cooperative, the open data platform that hosts Taylor Geospatial's datasets. Both organizations operate as nonprofits producing open geospatial infrastructure for planetary-scale Earth observation and machine learning, with very similar missions and overlapping communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/jennifer-marcus-b559091
• Xx.com/TaylorGeoSTL

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A1 record

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Taylor Geospatial Institute