PRESS RELEASE — (BUSINESS WIRE)–Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced it has acquired 3D geospatial company Cesium. Cesium is recognized as the foundational open platform for creating powerful 3D geospatial applications, and its 3D Tiles open standard has been widely adopted by leading enterprises, governments, and tens of thousands of application developers globally. Cesium ion, the company’s SaaS platform, brings 3D geospatial experiences to more than 1 million active devices every month, while Cesium’s open-source offerings have more than 10 million downloads.
“As infrastructure sectors become more data-centric, the importance of an open ecosystem will only increase. As the leading voice for open standards and interoperability in the geospatial community, OGC welcomes the ongoing commitment of Bentley and Cesium to solve global challenges through open, interoperable platforms.”
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Bentley’s iTwin Platform powers digital twin solutions that are used by engineering and construction firms and owner-operators to design, build, and operate the world’s infrastructure. The combination of Cesium plus iTwin enables developers to seamlessly align 3D geospatial data with engineering, subsurface, IoT, reality, and enterprise data to create digital twins with astonishing user experiences that scale from vast infrastructure networks to the millimeter-accurate details of individual assets—viewed from land, sky, and sea, from outer space to deep below the Earth’s surface.
Bentley CEO Nicholas Cumins said, “A 3D geospatial view is the most intuitive way for owner-operators and engineering services providers to search for, query, and visualize information about infrastructure networks and assets. With the combined capabilities of Cesium and iTwin, infrastructure professionals can make better informed decisions in full 3D geospatial context—all within a single, highly performant environment.”
Patrick Cozzi, CEO of Cesium, continued, “Joining Bentley marks an important milestone for Cesium as we continue our journey to create the best developer platform for the built and natural environment—founded on open standards and open-source technologies. The combined power of our two organizations and our shared commitment to openness will provide new opportunities for growth and create greater value for an already flourishing developer ecosystem that ranges from small start-ups to global enterprises.”
An example is Komatsu, the largest construction equipment manufacturer in Japan, and the second largest in the world, which uses Cesium’s 3D geospatial technology to monitor construction sites globally, track changes over time, compare architectural plans with real-world data, and run precise and near real-time measurements. With Cesium integrated into Bentley, Komatsu gains expanded access to world-leading digital twin technology.
Chikashi Shike, executive officer, Smart Construction Promotion Division, Komatsu Ltd., commented, “Komatsu and Cesium brought novel thinking to the construction industry by leveraging advanced visualizations to deliver more precise insights and enable our customers to make better, more informed construction decisions. With Cesium as part of Bentley, we can further enrich our Smart Construction digital twins with engineering models, subsurface data, and more, for safer and more efficient construction projects.”
In addition to the widespread adoption of its platform, Cesium is also a leader in promoting open standards, such as 3D Tiles for visualizing massive 3D geospatial data, which was adopted as a community standard by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) in 2019.
Peter Rabley, CEO of OGC, said, “As infrastructure sectors become more data-centric, the importance of an open ecosystem will only increase. As the leading voice for open standards and interoperability in the geospatial community, OGC welcomes the ongoing commitment of Bentley and Cesium to solve global challenges through open, interoperable platforms.”
With the acquisition, Cozzi was named Bentley’s chief platform officer, leading the development of the combined Cesium and iTwin platform offerings, reporting to Bentley’s CTO Julien Moutte.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Dechert LLP acted as legal advisor to Bentley in the transaction.
For additional executive insights, please visit the DeFi Daily News and the Bentley Insights & Inspirations blog and the Cesium blog.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the acquisition of Cesium by Bentley Systems marks a significant step towards enhancing the capabilities of digital twin solutions in the infrastructure engineering sector. By combining Cesium’s expertise in 3D geospatial technology with Bentley’s iTwin Platform, the collaboration promises to deliver innovative solutions that enable better decision-making and visualization of complex infrastructure networks and assets. The alignment of these two industry leaders underscores the importance of open standards and interoperability in driving technological advancements and addressing global challenges in the geospatial community. With a shared commitment to openness and innovation, Bentley and Cesium are poised to create new opportunities for growth and value generation, benefiting a diverse range of users from start-ups to large enterprises.
The integration of Cesium’s technology into Bentley’s ecosystem has already shown promising results, as demonstrated by Komatsu’s use of 3D geospatial solutions to enhance construction monitoring and decision-making processes. This collaboration not only enriches the Smart Construction digital twins but also paves the way for safer and more efficient construction projects globally. The industry recognition of Cesium’s open standards, such as 3D Tiles, further reinforces the importance of creating a robust open ecosystem for handling massive geospatial data.
Overall, the acquisition of Cesium by Bentley Systems represents a strategic move towards driving innovation in the infrastructure engineering sector and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to address complex challenges. With a focus on creating value for customers and improving operational efficiency, this partnership sets a new standard for collaboration in the geospatial industry. As the companies continue to integrate their capabilities and expertise, we can expect to see groundbreaking developments in digital twin solutions that revolutionize the way infrastructure is designed, built, and operated.
