Mobility Data Space
Mobility Data Space is a Munich-based non-profit operating a decentralized data sharing platform for the European mobility sector, serving automotive OEMs, municipalities, insurance firms, and mobility startups through EDC-based connectors, a shared data catalogue, and a 165+ member community across 12 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Mobility Data Space does
Mobility Data Space (MDS) is a Munich-based non-profit data sharing platform, legally organized as DRM Datenraum Mobilität GmbH, that enables peer-to-peer exchange of mobility data among European automotive OEMs, municipalities, mobility service providers, insurance companies, and technology startups. Founded in 2021 as a spinoff of an acatech Foundation project and originating from a 2019 German government decision, MDS operates one of seven Gaia-X Lighthouse Projects and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport alongside private shareholders including major automotive companies and the Free State of Bavaria.
The platform is built on Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC), providing decentralized data exchange with no central data storage and preserving data sovereignty for all participants. Core products include the MDS Portal (member-facing web interface), a searchable Data Catalogue across eleven mobility data categories (traffic, road works, parking, weather, public transport, EV charging, etc.), the EDC Connector for technical data exchange, and Connector-as-a-Service (CaaS) as a managed SaaS alternative. An integration with Mobilithek, Germany's national mobility data access point, extends access to public-sector open data offerings. Membership stands at approximately 165 organizations across 12 European countries.
MDS generates revenue through a hybrid model: recurring annual membership fees scaled by organization type and turnover (introduced January 2025), ongoing public funding from the German Federal Ministry of Transport and German states, and contributions from private shareholders. Go-to-market combines community-led engagement (working groups, workshops, matchmaking, afterwork events), enterprise field sales for membership contracts, and event-driven outreach at major European mobility conferences. The organization serves a horizontal set of mobility stakeholders rather than a single vertical, positioning itself as a neutral sovereign intermediary for cross-company mobility data trading.
Mobility Data Space firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mobility Data Space
- Legal name
- DRM Datenraum Mobilität GmbH
- Website
- https://mobility-dataspace.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Mobility Data Space is a Munich-based non-profit operating a decentralized data sharing platform for the European mobility sector, serving automotive OEMs, municipalities, insurance firms, and mobility startups through EDC-based connectors, a shared data catalogue, and a 165+ member community across 12 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mobility Data Space industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobility Data Exchange Platform
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Transportation Services (4700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mobility Data Exchange & Analytics Platforms (MDM, Data Hubs, Insights) (THADALAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Data Marketplace Platforms (HDAEABAH), Mobility Aggregation & Booking (Multi-Provider Marketplace) Platforms (THADALAB)
Keywords
Where Mobility Data Space is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mobility Data Space business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: From January 2025, MDS levies user fees to co-finance the Data Sharing Community and MDS services. The exact amount depends on the type of organization and annual turnover of the member. The MDS remains a non-profit organization.
- Public Funding: MDS is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV). Additional public funding comes from German states.
- Private Shareholder Contributions: MDS receives private funding from its shareholders including major automotive companies, mobility providers, and German states.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Annual membership based on organization type and turnover |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Mobility Data Space product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mobility Data Space operates a decentralized, membership-based data sharing platform for the European mobility sector. Members—automotive OEMs, municipalities, mobility service providers, insurance firms, and startups—exchange mobility datasets peer-to-peer using EDC connectors while retaining full data sovereignty. The platform is delivered through the MDS Portal, Data Catalogue, Connector-as-a-Service, and the wider Data Sharing Community, with technical interoperability aligned to Gaia-X and IDSA standards.
Product overview
The Mobility Data Space is a decentralized, non-profit data marketplace platform for the European mobility sector, built as a data sharing community where organizations exchange mobility data on equal terms. The core platform comprises the Data Sharing Community (the membership ecosystem), the MDS Portal (the member-facing web interface), and the Data Catalogue (the searchable dataset marketplace). Technical data exchange is powered by the EDC Connector (built on Eclipse Dataspace Components), with a Connector-as-a-Service (CaaS) module available as a managed SaaS alternative for members who do not wish to self-host the connector. An additional Mobilithek integration extends access to Germany's national open mobility data catalogue. Data is exchanged peer-to-peer with no central storage, preserving data sovereignty for all participants.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MDS Portal: Central platform for members to access data catalogue, manage connectors, and contact support.
- EDC Connector
- Connector-as-a-Service (CaaS)
- Data Sharing Community
Products and services
- Data Sharing Community Membership-based ecosystem connecting data providers and data consumers from the mobility sector (OEMs, mobility service providers, municipalities, insurance companies, and startups) for peer-to-peer data exchange, networking, working groups, and co-development of mobility solutions.
- MDS Portal Centralized web portal for registered members that consolidates access to the Data Catalogue, My Data Offers, My Connectors, organization management, and support services; serves as the primary member-facing interface.
- Data Catalogue Searchable catalogue of mobility data offerings from MDS members across eleven categories, enabling members to discover, filter, and consume datasets via their connector.
- EDC Connector Self-hosted connector built on Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC) that forms the technical backbone for secure, decentralized, and sovereign data exchange between MDS members, acting as the intermediary between providers and consumers with no central data storage.
- Connector-as-a-Service (CaaS) Software-as-a-service connector offering that enables members to participate in the Mobility Data Space without installing the MDS Connector in their own infrastructure; accessible via single sign-on from the MDS Portal with unlimited users.
- Mobilithek Data Offering Integration of Germany's national mobility data access point (Mobilithek) within MDS, enabling members to access open-data-licensed content brokered or hosted by Mobilithek directly through the MDS platform without a separate Mobilithek registration.
- European Cycle Data Space
Quantifiable outcome
- PrioBike-HH project in Hamburg successfully used MDS data to evaluate cyclist safety system with LED ground lights reducing turning accidents
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Mobility Data Space
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Mobility Data Space technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Mobility Data Space partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- CODE University of Applied SciencescoreAccelerated technology transfer: Development partnership bringing innovative data and AI solutions faster into application. The partnership aims to accelerate technology transfer between MDS and the university for innovative data and AI solutions in mobility.
- Data for Road SafetycoreNew cooperation for more road safety in Europe: MDS and Data for Road Safety network companies, authorities and OEMs to strengthen safe exchange of mobility data. Goal is Vision Zero - no road deaths by 2050.
- BoschcorePartnership to realize data and AI-based solutions for mobility together. Aims to unlock the potential of data beyond company boundaries.
- IAVflagshipAnchor partnership for implementing data and AI-based solutions for mobility and logistics. IAV is a leading engineering partner in automotive development.
- WirecoreMDS began using Wire, implementing a strong foundation for digital sovereignty in Germany and Europe alongside its decentralized data space.
- SolitacorePartnership for data-based Smart City solutions. Solita helps customers excel in the data revolution, build seamless mobility services, and manage transport systems in realtime.
- deployEMDScoreEU co-financed project aimed at enabling data exchange and reuse to contribute to the common European Data Space. MDS serves as Associated Partner, particularly active in the Governance work package.
- Mission KIcoreNational Initiative for Artificial Intelligence and Data Economy. MDS collaborates on AI solutions for innovative mobility applications including intermodal mobility, traffic control, and autonomous driving.
- Gaia-XflagshipMDS is one of seven Lighthouse Projects of Gaia-X, part of the European cloud initiative. As a Lighthouse Project, MDS is interoperable with other data spaces enabling cross-domain and cross-sector exchange.
- International Data Spaces AssociationcoreMDS uses IDSA-compliant trading platform and data exchange infrastructure based on International Data Spaces standards.
- MobilithekcoreIntegration with Mobilithek enables access to data offerings with open data licenses. Full link established in first half of 2025. Mobilithek is the national access point for mobility data.
- acatech StiftungflagshipFounding organization and original project initiator. Steering and coordinating the conception process with over 200 stakeholders. Gründungsgesellschafter (founding shareholder) of DRM Datenraum Mobilität GmbH.
- Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV/BMDV)flagshipPrimary government funder of the Mobility Data Space. MDS goes back to a decision of the Konzertierte Aktion Mobilität from November 2019.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Mobility Data Space competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Solita: Solita is a Nordic data and digital transformation consultancy and MDS partner, focused on Smart City and Intelligent Urban Ecosystem solutions. While not a data space operator itself, Solita builds comparable mobility data integration solutions and serves overlapping municipal and enterprise customers.
Emerging players
- Manufacturing-X: Manufacturing-X is a German manufacturing data space initiative analogous to MDS but focused on industrial production data. As both operate under the Gaia-X framework and target German Mittelstand and enterprise customers, they share potential members and compete for cross-sector data exchange use cases.
- Data for Road Safety: Data for Road Safety is a pan-European partnership of OEMs and authorities (including the EU Commission) for safety-related vehicle data sharing. MDS signed a partnership with this network in February 2026, positioning them as cooperating peers rather than direct competitors.
Broad incumbents
- Bosch Mobility Solutions: Bosch is both an MDS partner and a major mobility data provider/consumer with its own data exchange initiatives. As a global Tier-1 automotive supplier, Bosch has the scale to compete with MDS directly or to become a dominant in-house data ecosystem for connected mobility.
- HERE Technologies: HERE Technologies operates one of the largest commercial location and mobility data platforms globally, serving automotive OEMs, fleets, and cities. While not a non-profit data space, HERE competes for similar data exchange and monetization opportunities in the European mobility ecosystem.
- Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud: Gaia-X is the European cloud and data infrastructure initiative under which MDS operates as a Lighthouse Project. It serves as the umbrella federation for multiple sectoral data spaces (including Catena-X, Manufacturing-X, and MDS), providing interoperability standards and policy advocacy.
Direct peers
- International Data Spaces Association (IDSA): IDSA is the standards body whose reference architecture MDS is built upon. While MDS is a member/user of IDSA standards, IDSA itself operates parallel data space initiatives across industries and shapes the regulatory and technical framework that all data spaces must comply with.
- Catena-X Automotive Network: Catena-X is the leading automotive-specific data space, founded by major German OEMs including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Bosch. It directly competes with MDS for automotive data exchange share and represents the most significant competitive threat to MDS's automotive OEM relationships.
- Mobilithek: Mobilithek is Germany's national access point for mobility data, operated by the federal government. MDS has a technical integration with Mobilithek, but the two platforms compete to some extent as data access points for public-sector mobility data, particularly for municipalities and transport authorities.
Others
- Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC): EDC is the open-source Eclipse Foundation project that provides the technical backbone for the MDS Connector. As an upstream enabling technology, EDC's evolution directly determines MDS's technical capabilities and competitive parity with other data space implementations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mobility Data Space social profiles
Digital presenceMobility Data Space compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Mobility Data Space financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mobility Data Space leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Mobility Data Space funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mobility Data Space 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 Mobility Data Space
What does Mobility Data Space do?
Mobility Data Space operates a decentralized, membership-based data sharing platform for the European mobility sector. Members—automotive OEMs, municipalities, mobility service providers, insurance firms, and startups—exchange mobility datasets peer-to-peer using EDC connectors while retaining full data sovereignty. The platform is delivered through the MDS Portal, Data Catalogue, Connector-as-a-Service, and the wider Data Sharing Community, with technical interoperability aligned to Gaia-X and IDSA standards.
Is Mobility Data Space a public or private company?
Mobility Data Space is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Mobility Data Space founded?
Mobility Data Space was founded in 2021. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Mobility Data Space based?
Mobility Data Space is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Mobility Data Space make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are public Funding and private Shareholder Contributions.
Who are Mobility Data Space's main competitors?
Solita is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Manufacturing-X and Data for Road Safety. Broad incumbents are Bosch Mobility Solutions, HERE Technologies and Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud. Direct peers are International Data Spaces Association (IDSA), Catena-X Automotive Network and Mobilithek. Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC) is listed as an others.
Does Mobility Data Space have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mobility Data Space.
What industry is Mobility Data Space in?
Mobility Data Space's product category is Mobility Data Exchange Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THADALAJ, Mobility Data Exchange & Analytics Platforms (MDM, Data Hubs, Insights), with a secondary code of HDAEABAH, Data Sharing, Data Exchange & Data Marketplace Platforms. Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7370.