![]() | This article contains promotional content .(March 2018) |
![]() | |
![]() | |
Company type | Public – NV |
---|---|
Industry | |
Founded | 1999Holsbeek, Belgium [1] | in
Founder | Dr. Lode Missiaen [1] |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | |
Website | www |
Luciad is a supplier of geographic information system (GIS) tools. Their products are intended for geospatial situational awareness. The company mainly focuses on the aviation, defence and security markets. [2] Defence customers account for about 70% of the company's business. [3]
Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, Luciad has offices in the United States, France, Germany, Mexico, and other international locations. It works with organizations such as Eurocontrol, Boeing, Airbus Defence and Space. [4]
Dr. Lode Missiaen along with his colleague, Thierry Salvant, founded Luciad on March 22, 1999, together with management company R2I (acted as business angels). Gemma Frisius Fund (GFF), a seed capital fund established in 1997 as a joint venture between the KU Leuven, KBC and BNP Paribas, provided further seed capital in September 2000. [1]
Beginning in 2008, Luciad technology has been used to support SACT's objectives of improving interoperability between NATO and national C4I systems. [5] Luciad has also been contracted by the NATO C3 Agency to deliver the software components for the visualization capability in its interim Joint Common Operational Picture. [6] [7] In 2016, Luciad announced a partnership with Sc2 Corp and IBM to develop social media analytics for US Special Operations Command. [8]
Luciad has participated with Frontex, the European Organisation for Security (EOS) and the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) on border security and border control. [9]
Luciad is one of several spin-offs of the KU Leuven. [10]
Missiaen served as Group CEO from 1999 to 2012. [11] Investment company Gimv acquired a majority stake in Luciad in 2013. [12] [13] In October 2017, Gimv and the other shareholders sold their stake in Luciad to the Swedish-headquartered Hexagon, which rendered Luciad a fully owned Hexagon subsidiary under their Geospatial division. [14] [15]
Luciad won the 2016 Geospatial World Innovation Award for LuciadRIA, its 3D situational awareness app for browsers. [16]
Luciad hosts an annual User Conference for geospatial professionals and developers in Europe, with over 200 geospatial professionals from the Aviation, Defense, Maritime, Safety & Security and Utilities & Logistics domains. [17] [18] It is hosted in Brussels.