RhinoTerrain
RhinoTerrain SAS, founded in 2008 in Nancy, France, develops 3D GeoModeling software plugins for the Rhinoceros 3D engine — covering digital terrain modeling, automatic 3D building reconstruction, photogrammetric capture, and solar analysis — for governments, geospatial firms, AEC practices, and academic institutions worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersFléville-devant-nancy, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What RhinoTerrain does
RhinoTerrain SAS, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Nancy, France (51 rue Stanislas, 54000 Nancy), develops 3D GeoModeling software plugins for the Rhinoceros 3D engine from Robert McNeel & Associates. The company was founded by specialists in geomatics and 3D imaging and was a national winner of the iLAB innovation competition in 2008. Its product suite comprises five interconnected plugins — rhinoTerrain (digital terrain modeler), rhinoCity (flagship 3D building modeler and texturing solution), rhinoCapture (computer-assisted photogrammetric 3D capture), rhinoSolar (solar potential and urban heat island analysis), and Oxalis (native stereoscopic viewing) — built exclusively in C++ for 64-bit platforms and leveraging NURBS-based mathematics, an in-house constrained triangulation algorithm capable of processing tens of millions of points with unlimited break lines, and a boolean extrusion engine for automatic 3D building reconstruction. The unified capture-to-DTM-to-city workflow supports CityGML output at LOD1/LOD2/LOD3, 3D Tiles export with Draco compression, and integration with ESRI, Cesium, PostgreSQL, and OGC-based infrastructure. RhinoTerrain is a recognized CityGML specialist and a founding member of the 3D OK group.
The company sells to government and public-sector agencies (Grand Lyon, CGIS Qatar, Géo Vendée, Dunkerque, the 28th Geographical Group of the French Armed Forces, IGN), geospatial and photogrammetry firms (Eurosense, AEROWEST, Aeromap), AEC practices (Sasaki Associates, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Vinci, ENGIE), and academic institutions (Harvard GSD, University of Washington, ENSA Lyon, Université de Montréal). Revenue is generated through software licenses and an annual maintenance-and-support subscription contract required for downloads, with Education and Laboratory pricing tiers offered to academia. Licensing is being migrated from LM-X to McNeel's Cloud Zoo platform in 2026 alongside Lan Zoo and USB dongle alternatives. All sales go through a network of 17 authorized resellers across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, with four Gold partners (AEC Informatique, IGO Nîmes, Novedge, and 3D Geokosmos).
Recent strategic activity is concentrated on a platform refresh: full Rhino 8 compatibility delivered in February 2025, a new product graphic identity in 2025, the announcement of Oxalis in July 2025, the CGIS Qatar 218 km² reference-model delivery in 2025, selection into the CNES/Airbus Pléiades Neo Applications Campus in October 2025, the end-of-line announcement for Rhino 7 in November 2025, and the Cloud Zoo migration in January 2026. The 2024 'AS USED BY THE FRENCH ARMED FORCES' label for RhinoCity and ongoing marketing through GEOData Days, INTERGEO, GITEX Africa, and BATIMAT reinforce the company's positioning in defense-grade and public-sector 3D urban data production.
RhinoTerrain firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- RhinoTerrain
- Legal name
- RhinoTerrain SAS
- Website
- https://rhinoterrain.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- RhinoTerrain SAS, founded in 2008 in Nancy, France, develops 3D GeoModeling software plugins for the Rhinoceros 3D engine — covering digital terrain modeling, automatic 3D building reconstruction, photogrammetric capture, and solar analysis — for governments, geospatial firms, AEC practices, and academic institutions worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where RhinoTerrain is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fléville-devant-nancy
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
RhinoTerrain business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Licenses and Maintenance: RhinoTerrain sells its software as plugins for Rhinoceros. Downloads require a maintenance contract subscription. The company provides various licensing options including Education and Laboratory licenses for academic institutions
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Maintenance & Support Contract |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
RhinoTerrain product offering
Product offeringCore offering
RhinoTerrain SAS develops and sells a suite of 3D GeoModeling software plugins that run inside the Rhinoceros 3D environment. The products — rhinoTerrain (digital terrain modeler), rhinoCity (3D building modeler with automatic texturing), rhinoCapture (computer-assisted photogrammetric 3D capture), rhinoCapture STEREO, rhinoSolar (solar potential analysis) and Oxalis (stereoscopic viewing) — are sold as software licenses with a required annual maintenance contract. Customers include government geospatial agencies, urban planning authorities, AEC firms, photogrammetry companies and academic institutions.
Product overview
RhinoTerrain SAS develops a suite of 3D GeoModeling plugins for Rhinoceros, consisting of a unified product portfolio built on a single platform. The core products include rhinoTerrain (digital terrain modeler), rhinoCity (flagship 3D urban data production and texturing), rhinoCapture (computer-assisted 3D capture), and rhinoSolar (solar potential analysis). Supporting products include Oxalis (stereoscopic viewing), RhinoCapture STEREO (combined capture and stereo viewing), and licensing solutions (Cloud Zoo, Lan Zoo, USB Dongle). All software operates as plugins within Rhinoceros 3D environment, with rhinoTerrain functionality also included within rhinoCity. The products are developed exclusively in C++ for 64-bit platforms and can be combined to form a complete workflow for 3D data production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- rhinoTerrain: Digital terrain modeler software for calculating and editing Digital Terrain Models (DTM) based on constrained triangulation algorithm.
- rhinoCity
- rhinoCapture
- rhinoSolar
- Oxalis
- rhinoCapture STEREO
Products and services
- rhinoTerrain Digital Terrain Modeler plugin for Rhinoceros that calculates and edits Digital Terrain Models (DTM) using a constrained triangulation algorithm, processing very large datasets including tens of millions of points and unlimited breaklines. Targeted at geospatial professionals, government agencies and AEC firms producing terrain data for urban modeling.
- rhinoCity Flagship 3D GeoModeling solution that produces, edits, analyzes and textures 3D urban data, featuring a 3D building modeler with automatic modeling and extensive automatic texturing from aerial images, outputting CityGML-format data. Targeted at government agencies, urban planners and photogrammetry firms building textured 3D city models.
- rhinoCapture Computer-assisted 3D capture plugin that gives photogrammetrists assisted capture tools, including parametric roof models, automatic 2D/3D snapping, azimuth and flatness controls, and shape assistants that produce topologically accurate geometric data complying with coplanarity and orthogonality constraints. Targeted at photogrammetry professionals and geospatial service providers.
- rhinoCapture STEREO Variant of rhinoCapture that bundles stereoscopic image viewing with assisted capture tools, turning Rhinoceros into a complete photogrammetry station for 3D data acquisition from aerial imagery. Targeted at photogrammetry operators needing an integrated stereo-capture workflow.
- rhinoSolar Solar potential analysis plugin that calculates direct, diffuse and reflected irradiance and sunshine duration on a complete 3D model (terrain, vegetation, buildings, masking elements), supporting solar cadastre production and urban heat island (UHI) analysis. Targeted at local authorities, energy companies and urban planners.
- Oxalis Stereoscopic viewing plugin for Rhinoceros that displays stereoscopic image pairs directly inside Rhinoceros, enabling 3D vision of aerial images with overlay of images and vectors for precision photogrammetric work. Targeted at photogrammetrists and 3D data acquisition specialists.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5 million+ buildings modeled worldwide using RhinoCity
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use RhinoTerrain
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
RhinoTerrain technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature7 records
RhinoTerrain partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.
- CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales)coreRhinoTerrain selected among projects supported by Pléiades Neo Applications Campus initiative. CNES is the French space agency that leads this program to foster cutting-edge geospatial applications using satellite data.
- Airbus GeospatialcoreAirbus, through its Pléiades Neo Applications Campus initiative, supports RhinoTerrain's advanced geospatial service development using Pléiades Neo satellite data for 3D urban modeling applications.
- Vexcel ImagingstrategicVexcel Imaging provided the UltraCam Osprey 4.1 camera and UltraMap software for the CGIS Qatar project. The production chain combined Vexcel aerial acquisition solutions with RhinoTerrain's 3D data production software.
- Aeromap Technology SystemsstrategicLocal representative and distributor of RhinoTerrain solutions in Qatar who performed the 3D modeling of Doha using RhinoCapture and RhinoCity.
- AERODATA FrancestrategicCollaboration on Dunkerque digital twin project in partnership with Esri, using RhinoCity for 3D modeling integrated into GIS.
- Robert McNeel & AssociatescoreMcNeel is the developer of Rhinoceros 3D engine on which all RhinoTerrain plugins are built. This is a foundational technology partnership - RhinoTerrain develops exclusively as plugins for Rhinoceros platform, leveraging its NURBS-based mathematics and 3D modeling capabilities.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
RhinoTerrain competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Trimble: Trimble's geospatial portfolio (eCognition, Trimble Business Center, Cityworks) competes for the same government mapping and photogrammetry buyers as RhinoTerrain. Trimble operates as a broad incumbent across surveying, mapping, and AEC rather than a focused 3D city modeling specialist.
- Esri: Esri is the dominant GIS platform with ArcGIS Pro 3D capabilities and ArcGIS CityEngine for procedural 3D city modeling. RhinoTerrain was integrated with Esri in the Dunkerque digital twin project — Esri is a broad incumbent with adjacent rather than identical specialized offerings.
- Hexagon Geospatial: Hexagon Geospatial (HxGN SDx, ERDAS IMAGINE, M.App Enterprise) is a broad incumbent in geospatial imagery exploitation and 3D urban analytics. It competes with RhinoTerrain for institutional customers in mapping, defense, and urban planning, but as part of a much wider portfolio.
Direct peers
- Bentley Systems: Bentley Systems offers ContextCapture for photogrammetry-based reality modeling and OpenCities for 3D city modeling, the most direct enterprise-grade competitor to RhinoTerrain's rhinoCapture and rhinoCity stack. Both target government, AEC, and digital-twin use cases with overlapping CityGML and 3D Tiles outputs.
- Pix4D: Pix4D provides photogrammetry software (PIX4Dmapper) for converting aerial and drone imagery into 3D models and point clouds. It is a direct competitor to rhinoCapture in photogrammetry-assisted 3D capture and overlaps with rhinoTerrain on the downstream terrain-modeling use case.
- Agisoft: Agisoft Metashape is a leading photogrammetry platform that produces 3D spatial data (dense point clouds, textured models, DSM/DTM) from images. It directly competes with rhinoCapture and rhinoTerrain for photogrammetry-driven 3D data production across professional and academic users.
Others
- Vexcel Imaging: Vexcel Imaging provides the UltraCam aerial camera systems and UltraMap photogrammetry software used in the CGIS Qatar project alongside RhinoTerrain. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant — a sensor and data-processing provider rather than a direct competitor in 3D city modeling software.
- Safe Software: Safe Software's FME is the de facto data integration platform for geospatial formats, including CityGML and 3D Tiles. It is an enabling technology adjacent to RhinoTerrain rather than a competitor — customers frequently use FME alongside RhinoTerrain to move 3D urban data between systems.
- Cesium: Cesium created and maintains the 3D Tiles open specification that RhinoCity exports to, and provides the CesiumJS / Cesium ion platform for streaming 3D geospatial content on the web. It is a complementary ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor in photogrammetry-based 3D city modeling.
Emerging players
- nFrames: nFrames develops SURE, a photogrammetry and 3D reconstruction engine used to produce large-scale 3D city models from aerial imagery. It overlaps meaningfully with rhinoCapture and rhinoCity but is positioned as a more software-engineering-friendly pipeline rather than a Rhinoceros plugin workflow.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
RhinoTerrain social profiles
Digital presenceRhinoTerrain compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
RhinoTerrain financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
RhinoTerrain leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
RhinoTerrain funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
RhinoTerrain 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 RhinoTerrain
What does RhinoTerrain do?
RhinoTerrain SAS develops and sells a suite of 3D GeoModeling software plugins that run inside the Rhinoceros 3D environment. The products — rhinoTerrain (digital terrain modeler), rhinoCity (3D building modeler with automatic texturing), rhinoCapture (computer-assisted photogrammetric 3D capture), rhinoCapture STEREO, rhinoSolar (solar potential analysis) and Oxalis (stereoscopic viewing) — are sold as software licenses with a required annual maintenance contract. Customers include government geospatial agencies, urban planning authorities, AEC firms, photogrammetry companies and academic institutions.
Is RhinoTerrain a public or private company?
RhinoTerrain is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was RhinoTerrain founded?
RhinoTerrain was founded in 2008. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is RhinoTerrain based?
RhinoTerrain is headquartered in Fléville-devant-nancy, France, in the Europe region.
How does RhinoTerrain make money?
One revenue line is on record: software Licenses and Maintenance.
Who are RhinoTerrain's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Trimble, Esri and Hexagon Geospatial. Direct peers are Bentley Systems, Pix4D and Agisoft. Others are Vexcel Imaging, Safe Software and Cesium. nFrames is listed as an emerging player.
Does RhinoTerrain have an API?
No public API is recorded for RhinoTerrain.