What Overture Maps Foundation does

Overture Maps Foundation is a nonprofit open data project, structured as a Joint Development Foundation Project under the Linux Foundation, that builds and distributes free, interoperable global map data for technology companies, government agencies, researchers, and open data communities. The foundation aggregates data from over 200 open sources (including OpenStreetMap, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Esri, TomTom, USGS, ESA, and government agencies) into a modular, extensible schema organized by themes: Base, Buildings (2 billion+ footprints), Places, Divisions, Transportation (beta), and Addresses (200 million+ features across 14-15 countries, launched alpha July 2024). The core technical differentiator is the Global Entity Reference System (GERS), which assigns stable, unique IDs to real-world entities so datasets can be linked and joined without manual reconciliation.

The platform distributes data as GeoParquet files on AWS S3 and Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, with developer access via DuckDB-based SQL queries, a Python CLI (overturemaps-py), and an interactive Overture Explorer web tool. Data is released monthly (continuously since October 2023), with schema currently at v1.17.0 as of June 2026. Data is licensed under open terms (CDLA Permissive 2.0, ODbL, CC BY 4.0, CC0).

Revenue is generated entirely through tiered organizational membership dues rather than per-use fees: Steering at $3,000,000/year (with seat on the Steering Committee and trademark rights), General at $300,000/year, Contributor at $3,000/year, and Qualified Nonprofits/Government at $0. Membership requires Linux Foundation Silver membership. The foundation employs 11-50 staff, is headquartered in San Francisco, and is governed by member working groups; it has not raised venture capital and does not disclose revenue.

Name

Overture Maps Foundation

Legal name

Overture Maps Foundation

Website

https://overturemaps.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Overture Maps Foundation is a nonprofit Linux Foundation affiliate that builds and distributes free, open global map data — covering 2 billion+ buildings, 200 million+ addresses, and POIs — using a modular schema and stable GERS IDs, serving technology companies, government agencies, researchers, and open data communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Geospatial Data Platform

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mapping & Basemap Platforms (Tiles/SDKs) (BPAMANAB), Data Platform (Unified Data & Analytics) Suites (HDAEABAD)

Keywords

• Open map data
• Geospatial datasets
• Global entity reference system
• GeoParquet data platform
• Open mapping infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Overture Maps Foundation generates revenue through membership dues at four tiers: Steering membership at $3,000,000/year requires 20 FTE and provides seat on Steering Committee; General membership at $300,000/year; Contributor membership at $3,000/year; and Qualified Nonprofits/Government at $0. Participation requires at least Silver membership in the Linux Foundation.
2. Open Data Distribution: All map data products are licensed under open licenses and made publicly available for free use. The foundation is primarily an open data project, not a commercial entity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Overture Maps Foundation provides free, open map data organized into six modular data themes (Addresses, Base, Buildings, Divisions, Places, Transportation), distributed as GeoParquet files on AWS S3 and Microsoft Azure Blob Storage. The platform's flagship capability is the Global Entity Reference System (GERS), which assigns persistent, unique identifiers to real-world entities so users can combine and reconcile map data across sources without manual effort. Supporting developer tools include the Overture Explorer web interface, a DuckDB integration for SQL queries against cloud-hosted Parquet, and the overturemaps-py Python CLI on GitHub.

Product overview

Overture Maps Foundation operates a free, open map data platform built around a modular, extensible schema architecture. The core product is the Overture Maps Data Platform, which distributes open map data as GeoParquet files on AWS S3 and Azure Blob Storage. A key differentiator is the Global Entity Reference System (GERS), which assigns persistent, unique IDs to real-world entities, enabling cross-dataset linkage and interoperability. The platform also provides Overture Explorer, an interactive web tool for visualizing map features. Data is organized into distinct themes: Addresses (200M+ global address points, in alpha), Buildings (2B+ building footprints, GA), Places (POIs, GA), Transportation (roads/networks, in beta), Divisions (administrative boundaries, GA), and Base (land cover, infrastructure, GA). Developers can access data programmatically via a DuckDB integration (querying cloud-hosted Parquet with SQL) and a Python CLI tool on GitHub. The foundation releases updated data monthly, with major schema versions quarterly.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Overture Maps Data Platform A free and open map data platform providing modular, extensible map data schemas, stable GERS IDs for global entities, and shared infrastructure for building interoperable map and AI products. Data is distributed as GeoParquet files on AWS S3 and Azure Blob Storage and is available to technology companies, government agencies, researchers, and open data communities.
• Global Entity Reference System (GERS) A reference system providing persistent, unique identifiers (GERS IDs) that link the same real-world entities across datasets, enabling users to combine data from different sources without manual reconciliation and join their own data to the world's map without ambiguity.
• Overture Explorer An interactive web-based tool for exploring and inspecting Overture map data, allowing users to view features across themes (places, buildings, transportation, addresses, divisions, base) on a visual map interface without any technical setup.
• Addresses Data Theme A data theme providing global address points to support logistics and geocoding, covering over 200 million addresses across multiple countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Canada, and Brazil.
• Buildings Data Theme A data theme covering over 2 billion building footprints worldwide, providing polygon geometries for structures to support urban planning, navigation, and AI training applications.
• Places Data Theme A data theme covering points of interest (POIs) and landmarks — restaurants, shops, attractions, and other notable locations — to support location-based services and navigation.
• Transportation Data Theme A data theme covering roads, paths, and transportation networks, supporting routing use cases with ongoing schema refinements for accuracy.
• Divisions Data Theme A data theme covering administrative boundaries, from countries to neighborhoods, providing geopolitical division geometries for mapping and governance applications.
• Base Data Theme A data theme covering infrastructure, land cover, land use, and water features, providing foundational map layers supporting broader geospatial applications.
• DuckDB Integration A DuckDB-based integration allowing users to query remote Overture GeoParquet files directly from cloud storage (AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage) using SQL, with spatial extensions for geospatial operations. Requires DuckDB v1.1.0+ with SPATIAL and httpfs extensions.
• OvertureMaps Python CLI An open-source Python command-line tool published on GitHub that enables developers to access and use Overture map data programmatically from the command line.
• Overture Maps Schema v1.0.0 (Stable Release) The first production-stable schema release for the Overture Maps platform, defining the standard data model across all themes for downstream production use.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2 billion building footprints worldwide available as open data
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• OpenStreetMapcoreTechnology or IntegrationOpenStreetMap is a complementary part of the open map data ecosystem. OSM is a worldwide community of mappers creating open map data since 2004. Overture uses OSM data along with over 200 other open data sources to produce new open map data sets formatted in a documented schema and supporting GERS. Overture data is available for use by the OpenStreetMap community under compatible open data licenses. Many Overture members are also corporate sponsors of OSMF and users of OSM data.
• EsricoreTechnology or IntegrationEsri provides data for the Buildings theme through their Community Maps contributors program. Data available under CC BY 4.0 license. Esri's authoritative mapping data enriches Overture's global building coverage.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft provides Global ML Building Footprints data (licensed under ODbL) and Places data (under CDLA Permissive 2.0) to Overture. Microsoft's building footprint data covers global areas using machine learning on satellite imagery.
• MetacoreTechnology or IntegrationMeta provides Places data to Overture under CDLA Permissive 2.0 license. Meta's Points of Interest data complements other sources in the Places theme.
• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle provides Open Buildings data (available under CC BY 4.0) for inclusion in the Buildings theme, enhancing global building coverage especially in regions with limited other data sources.
• TomTomcoreTechnology or IntegrationTomTom provides Transportation data to Overture for roads, paths, and networks. This data supports the transportation theme which is still evolving as the foundation refines data accuracy.
• geoBoundariescoreTechnology or IntegrationgeoBoundaries provides administrative boundary data for the Divisions theme, available under CC BY 4.0. Enables Overture's coverage of administrative boundaries from countries to neighborhoods.
• USGScoreTechnology or IntegrationUSGS provides 3D Elevation Program Digital Elevation Program data for buildings and terrain mapping in the Buildings and Base themes, supporting accurate elevation and topographic data.
• ESA WorldCovercoreTechnology or IntegrationESA WorldCover project provides land cover data processed from Copernicus Sentinel data (2020), available under CC BY 4.0, for the Base theme covering infrastructure, land cover, and land use features.
• OpenAddressescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpenAddresses distributes global address data from numerous sources to Overture. Their network aggregates and distributes authoritative address data from governments and other sources worldwide, facilitating Overture's Addresses theme coverage.
• Address For AllcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAddress For All distributes address data, particularly for Brazil and Chile regions, under CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licenses respectively. Contributes to Overture's Addresses theme coverage in South America.
• Linux FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOverture Maps Foundation is a Joint Development Foundation Project, an affiliate of the Linux Foundation. The Linux Foundation provides organizational infrastructure, governance framework, and administrative support. Participation in Overture requires at least Silver membership in the Linux Foundation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Esri: Esri is the dominant commercial GIS platform with ArcGIS and the Community Maps program. Esri contributes authoritative building data into Overture's Buildings theme, making it both a data contributor and a broad competitor in the GIS market.
• Google Maps Platform: Google Maps Platform is the largest commercial map API and data provider. Google contributes Open Buildings data to Overture while offering a parallel commercial ecosystem, making it both a contributor and indirect competitor.
• TomTom: TomTom is a major commercial map and traffic data provider, contributing transportation data into Overture. Its road network, geocoding, and routing products overlap directly with Overture's Transportation theme (still in beta).
• HERE Technologies: HERE is a global commercial map and location platform provider focused on automotive, logistics, and enterprise geospatial. Its transportation, addresses, and POI datasets are direct commercial competitors to Overture's open themes.

Emerging players

• Mapbox: Mapbox provides commercial map data, APIs, and SDKs for developers building location-aware applications — directly overlapping Overture's developer tooling and Places/Transportation themes, but with a proprietary licensing model.
• Geoapify: Geoapify offers commercial geocoding, routing, and POI APIs targeting developers, intersecting with Overture's Addresses and Places themes. It represents a smaller-scale commercial alternative to Overture's open data.
• Stadia Maps: Stadia Maps provides commercial map tiles, routing, and geospatial APIs as a smaller alternative to Google/Mapbox. It overlaps with Overture's developer-facing map data and routing offerings.
• Foursquare Places: Foursquare provides commercial POI and places data that competes with Overture's Places theme. Its data is licensed to enterprises for location-based services, intersecting with Overture's open POI offering.

Others

• Meta (Mapillary / Daylight Map): Meta contributes Places data to Overture and operates Mapillary for street-level imagery. While not a direct map-data competitor, Meta's ecosystem investments in mapping and AI-driven geospatial understanding are adjacent to Overture's mission.

Direct peers

• OpenStreetMap Foundation: OSM is the original open map data project, providing a community-built global map that Overture directly complements and partly depends on (Overture incorporates OSM data). Both target free, open geospatial data for developers and are governed by nonprofit foundations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OvertureMaps
• GitHubgithub.com/OvertureMaps
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/overture-maps-foundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/OvertureMaps

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Overture Maps Foundation