# About Us ## Easy, affordable, worldwide geocoding and geosearch using open data. ### Company details of OpenCage GmbH | **Firmensitz** Registered Address | OpenCage GmbH Pappelallee 78/79 10437 Berlin Germany | | **Email** | support @ opencagedata.com or use our [contact form](https://opencagedata.com/contact) | | **Registereintrag** Commercial Registration Number | Berlin (Charlottenburg) HRB 272249 | | **Umsatzsteuer-ID** German VAT number | DE323788688 | | **Vertreten durch** | Marc Tobias Metten | | **Verantwortlich für den Inhalt nach § 55 Abs. 2 RStV** | Edward Freyfogle | | **Datenschutzbeauftragter** Data Protection Officer | dataprotection @ opencagedata.com | | **Registered Trademark** | EU Trademark 018592333 | ### Independent, self-funded, and profitable We’re proud to be a profitable, sustainable, self-funded company. We have no external investors pushing us to do things that don't make sense. We take a long-term view. Our money comes from satisfied customers. [! [OpenCage team lunch 2022](https://assets.opencagedata.com/assets/opencage-teamlunch-882ab7df88d7d795cfdb53b2a37eba6c1d198941f9f64019e298e82809e57309.jpeg "OpenCage team lunch 2022") ](https://opencagedata.com/about) _The OpenCage team (with advisors) at lunch, March 2022_ ### Our story OpenCage started in 2013 as a project within a London-based company called Lokku Ltd. Lokku's primary product was Nestoria, a real estate search engine. In building Nestoria, first for the UK and then for 9 other markets, we learned a lot about the challenges of geocoding data from around the world. We also implemented [the first ever commercial use of OpenStreetMap](https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2006/10/20/first-commercial-osm-usage/) (all the way back in the internet dark ages of 2006!), and were [one of the first companies to use OpenStreetMap maps instead of Google maps](https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2011/12/26/nestoria-switches-to-openstreetmap/). In 2015 Lokku was [acquired by Mitula Group](https://tech.eu/brief/mitula-lokku-nestoria-acquisition/). The OpenCage project was spun out as a stand-alone business, and has run independently ever since. Prior to July 2019 we operated as a UK limited company before becoming a German GmbH. Details of that transition [can be found on our blog](https://blog.opencagedata.com/post/made-in-germany). ! [Danielle and Marc answering support requests](https://assets.opencagedata.com/assets/opencage-berlin-20260225-f20ee89e0f4f2af8f3adf4e6ed1f274c8e0d6542c35705a57593f7f65ef489d1.jpeg "Danielle and Marc answering support requests") _Danielle and Marc answering support requests_ ### Supporting geo-innovation and the geospatial community Our service is built with open source software and on open data (read about [the benefits of open data](https://opencagedata.com/why-use-open-data)), and would not be possible without thousands of people and organisations worldwide who have contributed to [the various open geodata projects](https://opencagedata.com/credits) we build upon. Thank you! We're pleased that the business is able to give back to the communities we rely on. ##### Corporate Memberships - [the OpenStreetMap Foundation](https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Main_Page) - [Association for Geoinformatics, GeoIT and Navigation e.V.](https://geoit.org) - [FOSSGIS e.V.](https://www.fossgis.de) - [OpenStreetMap United Kingdom CIC](https://osmuk.org) ##### Sponsorships We have [a long-standing tradition of sponsoring OpenStreetMap related events and projects](https://blog.opencagedata.com/tagged/givingback), including [supporting the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team through annual financial donations](https://blog.opencagedata.com/tagged/hotosm). We sponsor (and contribute code to) the development of [Nominatim](https://nominatim.org). In addition, we provide [monthly donations to financially support the development of libpostal and OpenAddresses](https://opencollective.com/opencagedata). ##### Our software [Much of our own source code is open-source](https://github.com/opencagedata), we welcome your contributions. As a convenience for the geospatial community we operate [FlipCoords](https://flipcoords.com/#52.5432379,13.4142133), a tool for reformatting coordinates, and [UN/LOCODE Lookup](https://unlocode-lookup.com), a fast way to lookup UN/LOCODEs. ##### One more thing ... Last, but certainly not least, we proudly support the delightful [Vaguely Rude Places Map](https://www.vaguelyrudeplacesmap.com) by providing the hosting for the service. ### Our event and podcast: Geomob [! [Geomob](https://assets.opencagedata.com/assets/geomob-v2-2c88b7cb7e9c7a69223152f9e76296c1bf179a739a7d70fcd1552bee38484bb3.png) ](https://thegeomob.com) [Geomob](https://thegeomob.com) is a forum to highlight geo-innovation in all forms, be it for fun or profit. ##### Events Together with others we organise an event series in various European cities/regions (London, Berlin, Barcelona, Lisbon, Edinburgh, and more). The events provide a relaxed forum for speakers from across the full spectrum of geospatial start-ups, global giants, academia, government, NGOs, and hobby projects to share their learnings. Talks are followed by informal discussion and networking over drinks. [! [At the pub following the talks at Geomob London](https://assets.opencagedata.com/assets/geomob-pub-3001ab20012d368cc0053027a59f314d8448b0816b937c69efd68042926d47d2.jpg "At the pub following the talks at Geomob London") ](https://thegeomob.com) _At the pub following the talks at Geomob London_ ##### The Geomob Podcast On [the Geomob podcast](https://thegeomob.com/podcast/), every week we discuss themes from the geospatial industry, interview Geomob speakers about their projects, and provide occasional updates about OpenCage. Popular podcast episode categories include - [OpenStreetMap](https://thegeomob.com/podcast/tags/openstreetmap) - [open-source geospatial software](https://thegeomob.com/podcast/tags/osgeo) - [geospatial start-ups](https://thegeomob.com/podcast/tags/startup) - [cartography / maps as art](https://thegeomob.com/podcast/tags/mapping) - [Earth observation](https://thegeomob.com/podcast/tags/earthobservation) ##### Stay informed Sign up for [the monthly Geomob newsletter](https://thegeomob.com/mailing-list), and/or you can follow Geomob [on Mastodon](https://mapstodon.space/@geomob), or [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/thegeomob). We hope to see you at a future Geomob! ### Our environmental commitment ##### Carbon removal To mitigate the threat of climate change, [the majority of climate models agree](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aabf9f) that the world will need to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on the scale of approximately 6 gigatons of CO2 per year by 2050. The world is not on track to achieve this. Recognizing this challenge, we've decided to [commit 1% of our gross revenue](https://blog.opencagedata.com/post/one-percent-of-revenue-to-carbon-removal) to support next-generation carbon removal technologies. This is in partnership with Stripe (our payment processor), through their Climate product. Our contribution is being allocated to the projects [they've selected here](https://stripe.com/blog/first-negative-emissions-purchases), which will expand over time. ##### Renewable energy The servers that run our API are hosted with Hetzner, and [100% powered by renewable energy](https://www.hetzner.com/unternehmen/umweltschutz/). ### Management Team OpenCage is run by Ed Freyfogle - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfreyfogle), [OSM](https://openstreetmap.org/user/freyfogle), [Mastodon](https://mastodon.social/@freyfogle), and Marc Tobias - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-tobias), [OSM](https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/mtmail), [Mastodon](https://mastodon.social/@mtmail), [Github](https://github.com/mtmail). ! [OpenCage founders](https://assets.opencagedata.com/assets/founders-fd4ec2b3dd20f2e9d1151a3a7b2364fac54a24ff491017aa7ce8151580cce2be.jpg "OpenCage founders") _Ed and Marc_ Prior to OpenCage, Ed was co-founder of Lokku, the company that OpenCage spun out of (see above for our story). He started his career in the early days of the internet as the first developer at yahoo.de. He has an MBA from MIT, a degree in engineering from Duke University, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Weimar, Germany. Marc Tobias is based in Münster, Germany. Before OpenCage he was the first employee at Lokku, before that he worked at Yahoo! in Silicon Valley and Munich. Prior to that he was one of the earliest members of the technical team at amazon.de. When not on the keyboard you can usually find him on a bike in the woods. ### Where does the name OpenCage come from? ! [OpenCage](https://assets.opencagedata.com/assets/opencage-logo-77a6e113a3560df6176dadc934b83e0666c39a7ed7e2c3a356577c8925afd45a.svg "OpenCage") Open data is amazing but sometimes it's also wrapped up in a metaphorical technical cage that you need to be a bit of an expert to unlock. We're doing our best to open up that cage for you by making a very simple to use geocoder. If you have suggestions about how we can make it even simpler please let us know. If you are looking for logos please see [our branding resources page](https://opencagedata.com/branding). ### Stay informed The best way to stay up to date on what we're up to generally is by [reading our blog](https://blog.opencagedata.com) or [following us on Mastodon](https://en.osm.town/@opencage). To keep up to date on technical changes to our geocoding API please see our [Change Log on GitHub](https://github.com/OpenCageData/opencagedata-misc-docs/blob/master/CHANGES.md).