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Vexcel is multinational geospatial technology company that develops aerial-imaging sensors, publishes large-scale imagery and 3-D data, and provides location-based artificial-intelligence services. Founded in Graz, Austria, in 1992, the firm has grown into a global group headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with additional hubs in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.[1][2]
Vexcel’s hardware division, Vexcel Imaging, manufactures the widely adopted UltraCam digital camera line, while its Vexcel Data Program (VDP) operates what industry analysts describe as one of the world’s largest aerial-imagery libraries, refreshed annually across more than 40 countries.[3]
The company is also the operations partner for the insurance-oriented Geospatial Insurance Consortium (GIC), supplying post-catastrophe imagery to dozens of insurers and emergency agencies.[4]
Professor Franz W. Leberl established Vexcel Imaging GmbH in Graz in 1992 to commercialise digital photogrammetry research.[1][2] Earlier, Leberl had founded Vexcel Corporation in Boulder in 1985 to focus on radar and satellite ground-station systems.[5]
On 4 May 2006 Microsoft announced the purchase of Vexcel Corporation to strengthen its Virtual Earth (later Bing Maps) platform.[6] Under Microsoft ownership the UltraCam camera family continued to advance and supplied imagery for Bing Streetside and partner programmes.[7]
Microsoft exited the hardware and data lines in the mid-2010s; a management-led group retained the Vexcel name and relocated global headquarters to Colorado while maintaining R&D in Austria.
In January 2020 Vexcel signed a definitive agreement with Verisk Analytics to acquire the imagery-sourcing unit of Verisk’s Geomni business, including Philadelphia-based Keystone Aerial Surveys.[8][9]
The VDP maintains a continuously refreshed library covering urban and rural areas in more than 40 countries, including full nationwide coverage of the contiguous United States at 7.5–15 cm resolution.[3] Independent analyses describe it as “one of the world’s largest aerial-imagery programmes”.[10]
The Austrian R&D arm designs and manufactures the UltraCam series of large-format digital aerial cameras and the UltraMap photogrammetry suite. By 2023 more than 450 UltraCam systems had been sold worldwide, making it the market’s most widely deployed large-format platform.[11] In 2024 the division introduced UltraCam Merlin hybrid camera–LiDAR systems, marking Vexcel’s entry into aerial lidar.[12]
Founded in 1963 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Keystone operates fixed-wing and UAS platforms across North America. The firm now functions as Vexcel’s on-demand collection arm.[13]
Geospatial Insurance Consortium (GIC) – Vexcel has been the imagery and analytics provider to the insurer-funded GIC since 2017, supplying ultra-high-resolution “Gray Sky” imagery within 24 hours of major U.S. catastrophes.[14]
Elements AI – Launched in 2023, the Elements suite applies machine-learning models to VDP imagery to extract more than 80 building- and parcel-level attributes for use in insurance, telecom and smart-city applications.[15]
