Cesium
Cesium is the open platform for 3D geospatial software applications. It combines open-source visualization runtimes, open standards such as 3D Tiles, curated global 3D content, data tiling pipelines, and analytics so developers can build applications and digital-twin experiences for the natural and built environment.
At a Glance
- Government and defense
- Aerospace and space
- Architecture, engineering, construction, and operations
- Infrastructure owners and operators
- +5 more
AI Tools by Cesium
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Cesium ion MCP Server
AI Tools for Geospatial Data
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Latest News
Cesium ion MCP Server launched, connecting Cesium 3D geospatial data to Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Desktop, and ChatGPT.
User story: JMT uses Cesium for Unreal to visualize TxDOT US281 highway improvements before construction.
Kayhan Space used CesiumJS-powered Satcat to investigate satellite intelligence for CNN.
October 2026 release roundup covering CesiumJS, Cesium Native, Cesium for Unreal, Cesium for Unity, 3D Tiles, and Cesium ion.
Products & Services
Cloud or self-hosted platform for tiling, optimizing, hosting, sharing, and streaming 3D geospatial data; includes curated global terrain, imagery, buildings, 3D tiling, reality modeling, reality analysis, Stories, and REST APIs.
Open-source JavaScript library for high-precision 3D globes, maps, time-dynamic visualization, analytics, and streaming 3D Tiles in browsers and across devices.
Open-source Unreal Engine plugin providing a full-scale WGS84 globe, high-fidelity rendering, and runtime streaming of massive photogrammetry and 3D geospatial content.
Open-source Unity plugin with a full-scale high-accuracy WGS84 globe, runtime 3D Tiles streaming, and support for desktop, mobile, and VR platforms.
Market Position
Cesium positions itself as an open, interoperable 3D geospatial platform rather than a closed visualization product: its distinctive advantages are the open 3D Tiles standard, high-performance streaming of massive heterogeneous datasets, precision/time-dynamic globe rendering, broad open-source runtimes, and a cloud/self-hosted data platform. It competes for developer and digital-twin workloads with proprietary geospatial visualization and digital-twin platforms, game-engine geospatial plugins, and mapping/3D-data platforms; its Bentley ownership strengthens its position in infrastructure engineering and digital twins.
Leadership
Founders
Patrick Cozzi
Computer graphics expert who led the Cesium project at Analytical Graphics, Inc. (now part of Ansys); creator of CesiumJS and 3D Tiles, co-creator of glTF, former Cesium CEO, and now Chief Platform Officer at Bentley Systems. He holds an MSE from the University of Pennsylvania and taught GPU Programming & Architecture there.
Executive Team
Patrick Cozzi
Chief Platform Officer, Bentley Systems; Founder, Cesium
Founder and former CEO of Cesium; originator of CesiumJS and 3D Tiles and co-creator of glTF. He leads the platform work connecting Cesium and Bentley iTwin.
Danny Williams
Vice President of Business Development and Sales Operations
Current Cesium team leader responsible for business development and sales operations.
Founding Story
Cesium began in 2011 as a team at aerospace software company Analytical Graphics, Inc. developing an application to visualize objects in space. Led by Patrick Cozzi, the team created a time-dynamic virtual globe and released it as open source in 2012. As 3D data collection expanded beyond aerospace, the team broadened the project into an open 3D geospatial platform; Cesium spun out as an independent company in 2019.
Business Model
Revenue Model
A mixed open-source and commercial model: CesiumJS and runtime plugins are free/open source, while Cesium ion provides paid cloud-hosted and on-premise subscriptions, SDK licensing, global 3D content licensing, and enterprise/self-hosted offerings. Cesium also engages in services and support through partnerships with commercial and government leaders.
Pricing Tiers
Individual projects, evaluation, personal and non-commercial use; 10 GB storage and 15 GB/month streaming.
Commercial use within the organization; 100 GB storage and 150 GB/month streaming; five team members for team accounts.
For projects with an established user base; 500 GB storage and 500 GB/month streaming; five team members for team accounts.
Scaled commercial plan based on requirements; self-hosted and external-integration licensing available.
Target Markets
- Government and defense
- Aerospace and space
- Architecture, engineering, construction, and operations
- Infrastructure owners and operators
- Commercial real estate
- Urban planning and smart cities
- Digital twins of infrastructure, cities, campuses, and construction sites
- Architecture, engineering, construction, and operations (AECO)
- Aerospace, satellite visualization, mission planning, and defense
- Urban planning and smart-city applications
- Commercial real estate and virtual showrooms
- Simulation, gaming, virtual and mixed reality
- Komatsu
- NVIDIA
- Unity