Bentley acquires Cesium to elevate digital twin technology

Bentley Systems has announced the acquisition of 3D geospatial leader Cesium, known for its groundbreaking open platform that drives the creation of advanced 3D geospatial applications. Cesium’s 3D Tiles standard has become a global benchmark, adopted by top enterprises, governments and tens of thousands of developers worldwide. Its SaaS platform, Cesium ion, powers immersive 3D geospatial experiences across over a million active devices each month, while its open-source tools have surpassed ten million downloads.

The iTwin Platform, Bentley’s backbone for digital twin solutions used by engineering & construction firms and asset operators, is now further enhanced by Cesium’s capabilities. This integration enables developers to effortlessly synchronize 3D geospatial data with engineering, subsurface, IoT, reality and enterprise data. The result? Digital twins that offer unparalleled user experiences – scalable from vast infrastructure networks to the precise details of individual assets, spanning views from land, air, sea, outer space, and even deep underground.

Full 3D geospatial context

"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," stated Bentley CEO Nicholas Cumins.

Patrick Cozzi, CEO of Cesium, said: "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.”

Smarter decision-making

Komatsu, Japan’s largest construction equipment manufacturer and the second-largest globally, is a prime example of a company leveraging Cesium’s 3D geospatial technology. They use it to monitor construction sites worldwide, track changes over time, compare architectural plans with real-world data, and perform precise, near real-time measurements. With the integration of Cesium into Bentley, Komatsu now has access to even more advanced digital twin technology.

According to Chikashi Shike, executive officer of Komatsu’s Smart Construction Promotion Division, the collaboration between Komatsu and Cesium has transformed the construction industry by enabling more accurate visualizations, which lead to smarter decision-making. With Cesium now part of Bentley, Komatsu can enrich its Smart Construction digital twins further, incorporating engineering models, subsurface data, and other critical inputs to enhance safety and efficiency across construction projects.

Open standards

Alongside the broad use of its platform, Cesium is a pioneer in advancing open standards like 3D Tiles, which enables the visualization of large-scale 3D geospatial data and was recognized 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.”

Following the acquisition, Cozzi was appointed as Bentley’s chief platform officer, spearheading the development of the integrated Cesium and iTwin platforms, and reporting to the company’s CTO, Julien Moutte.