PLACE

What PLACE does

PLACE is a global non-profit technology organization that creates and stewards hyperlocal mapping data in the public interest, operating through a unique UK-based endowment data trust structure. The organization collects very high-resolution optical aerial imagery at 5-10 cm Ground Sample Distance using UAVs and aircraft, alongside de-identified 360-degree street imagery at 4K resolution captured via mobile mapping platforms, with data processed through a hybrid cloud architecture on AWS and geo-tagged using carrier phase differential GNSS to 20-30 cm positional accuracy. Its product portfolio centers on PLACE Aerial, PLACE Ground, The PLACE Trust (a permanent legal endowment in the United Kingdom), and the PLACE Community Membership, which grants organization-wide access to the imagery catalog via a STAC browser, the PLACE Knowledge Hub, and participation in technical, pricing, and governance working groups.

PLACE serves national and local governments in Africa and small island states, academic and research institutions, NGOs and civil society organizations, and commercial enterprises needing affordable high-resolution geospatial data. Data is collected at no cost to partner governments under formal MoUs, with ownership transferred to the host government and a licensed copy retained in The PLACE Trust for perpetual sub-licensing to community members. Demonstrated collection scale includes 85 sq km of 5 cm imagery and 325+ km of streetview in Anguilla, 1,000+ km of street imagery plus 5 cm aerial coverage in Abuja, and 260+ km of roads with 70+ sq km of aerial imagery in Zomba, Malawi.

The business model combines annual community membership contributions (minimum $1,000 USD, with discounts for Africa-based small companies) with data licensing issued by ThisIsPlace Trading Limited under research and non-commercial terms, with commercial use licenses noted as in development. Distribution runs through direct enterprise/government engagement, AWS-backed infrastructure, and ecosystem integrations with Radiant Earth (STAC browser) and ESRI (ArcGIS StoryMaps). Funding is provided by institutional foundations including Omidyar Network, Rockefeller Foundation, Global Innovation Fund, Dovetail Impact, and Mozilla Foundation, while government collection partners include the Department of Surveys Malawi, OSGOF Nigeria, the Government of Anguilla, and the Kingdom of Tonga.

Name

PLACE

Legal name

ThisIsPlace Foundation

Website

http://www.thisisplace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PLACE is a non-profit data trust that collects very high-resolution aerial and street imagery for governments in Africa and small island states, stewarding it in a UK endowment trust and licensing access to a global community of researchers, NGOs, and enterprises via annual membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Data Services

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD), Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL), Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil) (BPAIAMAC)

Keywords

• High-resolution aerial imagery
• Street-level mapping data
• Geospatial data trust
• Urban mapping services
• Community data licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Community Membership Fees: Organizations pay annual membership contributions to access PLACE data, the Knowledge Hub, working groups, and networking benefits. Minimum annual contribution is $1000USD with requests for higher contributions based on ability.
2. Data Licensing: PLACE Trading Limited issues data licenses from The PLACE Trust to community members under research and non-commercial licenses, with commercial use licenses in development. Fees received fund the trust operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PLACE collects very high-resolution aerial imagery (5-10cm Ground Sample Distance) and 360-degree street-level imagery in African cities and small island states using UAVs, aircraft, and mobile mapping platforms. The collected data is licensed into The PLACE Trust, a permanent endowment data trust in the United Kingdom, and made available to organizations through community membership with a minimum $1,000 USD annual contribution. The organization trains government partners to continue independent data collection and supports a global community of researchers, NGOs, and enterprises in using the data for urban planning, land administration, climate resilience, and development applications.

Product overview

PLACE is a global non-profit technology organization operating a data trust model for hyperlocal mapping data. The core offerings consist of PLACE Aerial (very high-resolution optical aerial imagery with 5-10cm GSD collected via UAV and aircraft) and PLACE Ground (360-degree street-level imagery at 4K resolution). Both datasets are held in The PLACE Trust, a permanent endowment data trust based in the United Kingdom. Data is made available to members through organization-wide membership, which includes access to the imagery catalog via STAC browser, the Knowledge Hub for training resources, and participation in governance working groups. PLACE does not sell standalone software products but provides licensed access to imagery and derived data products for governments, civil society, academia, and businesses working in climate resilience, urban planning, and development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PLACE Aerial: Very high-resolution optical (RGB) nadir aerial images collected using UAV or aircraft with average GSD of 10cm (minimum 60% forward overlap, 24-bit radiometric resolution, positional accuracy of 20-30cm).
• PLACE Ground
• PLACE Trust
• PLACE Community
• PLACE Knowledge Hub

Products and services

• PLACE Aerial Very high-resolution optical aerial imagery collected via UAVs and aircraft for urban centres in Africa and small island nations. Average GSD of 5-10cm with positional accuracy of 20-30cm, delivered in JPEG format with metadata, and geo-tagged using carrier phase differential GNSS. Used by governments, researchers, NGOs, and enterprises for urban planning, building footprint identification, land administration, and machine learning.
• PLACE Ground De-identified 360-degree terrestrial street imagery collected along routes using mobile mapping platforms at 4K resolution with 2-5 meter positional accuracy. Faces and number plates are automatically blurred using an AI model for privacy. Used for road inventory, infrastructure assessment, and ground-truth reference for aerial data.
• The PLACE Trust An endowment data trust located in the United Kingdom that stores licensed copies of government mapping data in perpetuity for public benefit. Operated through a wholly owned trading company (ThisIsPlace Trading Limited) that issues research, non-commercial, and (in development) commercial use licenses to the PLACE Community under ethical use terms.
• PLACE Community Membership Organization-wide membership providing access to PLACE data (PLACE Aerial and PLACE Ground), the Knowledge Hub, network connections, working group participation, and global ethics initiatives in responsible location data use. Membership is organization-wide, meaning all staff can access and participate, with a 12-month non-refundable term and Africa small-company discounts available.
• PLACE Knowledge Hub Online repository of learning, training materials, and knowledge sharing for PLACE members, offering opportunities to inform and guide content development. Includes working groups for Technical, Pricing and Licensing, and Governance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 325+ linear km of roadway captured for streetview in Anguilla
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Global Land AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Featured member spotlight partner enabling sustainable prosperity through land governance, emphasizing local and Indigenous knowledge. Collaborates on promoting open, accessible geospatial data.
• Radiant EarthcoreTechnology or IntegrationCommunity member providing STAC browser integration for PLACE image catalog access, enabling standardized geospatial data discovery.
• ESRIcoreTechnology or IntegrationCommunity member and technology partner providing GIS software integration, with ArcGIS StoryMaps used for visualizing PLACE data stories.
• SESO GlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican startup partner using PLACE data for land rights documentation services in the region.
• Clark UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner using PLACE data for research, particularly through WorldPop group focused on high-resolution population mapping.
• ChemonicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational development consulting firm and community member working on land and rural development projects.
• Tetra TechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering consulting firm and community member supporting development projects.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for PLACE's hybrid cloud processing and data management using AWS public cloud.
• Department of Surveys, MalawicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for initial data collection in Zomba and Lilongwe; government staff trained and now independently collecting data.
• Department of Lands and Surveys, AnguillacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for aerial and street imagery collection; DLS staff created 66 Ground Control Points for data processing.
• Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGOF), NigeriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic government partner for mapping Abuja and beyond; OSGOF staff trained and continued collecting 20,000+ hectares independently after PLACE departed.
• Pacific Community (SPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for geospatial initiatives including Kingdom of Tonga mapping project in late 2025.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Radiant Earth: Non-profit that curates and distributes open geospatial training data for machine learning; overlapping membership-based access model and shared focus on Global South data scarcity. Listed as a PLACE community member and technology integration partner (STAC browser).
• Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT): Non-profit applying community-driven mapping to humanitarian and development use cases, with similar funder base and target beneficiaries in Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific geographies. PLACE addresses a higher-resolution, more structured layer than OSM.
• Cadasta Foundation: Non-profit land rights platform serving similar emerging-market and indigenous land documentation use cases; PLACE Managing Director Frank Pichel previously led programs at Cadasta, evidencing deep mission and customer overlap.
• OpenStreetMap Foundation: Community-led open geospatial data steward, with similar global community model, member licensing, and emphasis on data sovereignty. PLACE complements OSM with higher-resolution aerial and street imagery in geographies OSM does not cover.

Broad incumbents

• Maxar Technologies: Largest commercial provider of high-resolution satellite imagery (sub-30cm) and geospatial analytics; competes on resolution and coverage but is commercial-only and not structured as a public-interest data trust.
• Planet Labs: Operates the largest commercial satellite fleet with daily global revisit; overlaps with PLACE on emerging-market coverage but emphasizes cadence and scale rather than sub-10cm resolution.
• Esri: Dominant GIS platform provider and PLACE community member / partner; comparable on government and land administration customer base, but Esri sells software while PLACE stewards underlying data assets.
• Mapbox: Commercial mapping and location platform serving developer and enterprise customers; competes for downstream mapping-application use cases but lacks PLACE's non-profit data trust model and government data collection pipeline.

Emerging players

• Development Seed: Geospatial services firm focused on development, humanitarian, and environmental use cases with overlapping funder base and customer segment; competes for similar donor-funded mapping programs.
• Global Forest Watch (World Resources Institute): Public-interest geospatial platform combining satellite imagery with environmental monitoring; comparable mission framing and data trust/governance approach but focused on forests rather than urban and land-administration use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thisisplace
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thisisplace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries5 records

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 PLACE