Partnerships and ideas move spatial intelligence forward at Vantor Fusion

Vantor Fusion 2026 brought nearly 250 customers, partners, and industry leaders from 30 countries together to explore how to turn spatial intelligence into real-world impact.

Vantor Fusion 2026 demonstrated what becomes possible when trusted data, technology, human judgment, and partnerships come together. The third year of this event brought together commercial customers, ecosystem partners, and industry leaders around a shared question: How can spatial intelligence help organizations understand the physical world, respond to change, and make better decisions?

Under the theme “Where ideas and partnerships move forward,” Fusion explored the technologies, customer challenges, and relationships shaping the next era of spatial intelligence.

It’s a place where ideas come together, where data becomes understanding, and where spatial intelligence moves from possibility to real-world impact.”

—Todd Surdey, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise and Global Ecosystem at Vantor

A community built around the problems worth solving

Commercial customers and channel partners are focused on keeping maps, models, and operations connected to the physical world as it changes. It means turning spatial data into decision-ready intelligence that people and machines can use.

It also means recognizing that no single organization can solve every problem alone.

• Customers understand the industries and workflows where change matters most.
• Partners bring specialized technology, expertise, and reach.
• Vantor provides the spatial foundation and platform capabilities that help bring those strengths together.

The result is a more practical model for innovation—one grounded in real customer needs and built to move from concept to application.

From strategic vision to practical application

The first day of Fusion moved from the broader forces shaping the industry to the technologies and workflows that are making spatial intelligence more useful.

Jack Dangermond, President of Esri, explored the role of the modern map as an operating system for decisions. His presentation connected how geographic information system technology, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and collective human intelligence can help solve the challenges facing organizations and communities around the world: “It’s not just measuring, modeling or analytics. It’s about integrating all of our knowledge—creating a kind of nervous system for our planet—so we can have shared understanding... I think creating this intelligent world is actually possible. We can both advance civilization and create a more sustainable future.”

Brian McClendon, Chief Technology Officer at Niantic Spatial, examined why world models need maps. His presentation showed how 3D geospatial models can provide context for systems operating across ground, air, and space—including autonomous systems that need to understand their position and surroundings: “For 25 years, I have built maps for humans. But in this new world, the audience is not just humans—it is robots and AI. We have to figure out how to build a map that is clear enough, accurate enough and understandable enough.”

Vice Admiral Robert D. Sharp, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Chief Maritime Intelligence Officer at Windward Maritime AITM, showed how maritime signals and satellite imagery can be combined to create a more complete understanding of activity at sea. The discussion reinforced that detecting an object is only the beginning; operators also need to understand identity, behavior, and risk.

Kel Markert, Ph.D., Cloud Geographer at Google, presented the next generation of geospatial AI, including satellite embeddings, remote sensing foundation models, and agentic GIS. These capabilities can help users search, classify, measure, and detect change across large areas with less manual preparation.

Jon Lipinski, Co-founder and President of Ecopia AI, showed how Vantor imagery and Ecopia’s artificial intelligence models can support the creation of global vector maps. The examples ranged from insurance risk assessment to logistics and consumer mapping, demonstrating how current spatial data can become a foundation for digital twins and industry-specific applications.

Dan Smoot, Vantor’s CEO, described spatial intelligence as a core business capability for organizations that need to move faster and make decisions with greater confidence: “The combination of machine speed with human judgment on a common platform will define the next era of commercial advantage.” His remarks also emphasized the role of customer insight and channel partnerships in extending spatial intelligence into specialized markets.

Matt Jenkins, Chief Space Systems Officer at Vantor, outlined how Vantor’s expanding constellation, including Vantage and Pulse, will deliver more powerful tipping and cueing capabilities with frequent revisits and sharper imagery. His presentation showed how greater persistence and precision can help customers see change sooner and understand what matters most.

Peter Wilczynski described Tensorglobe as a modular, end-to-end platform that unifies sensors, data, software, and AI. His presentation showed how a trusted spatial foundation can help people and machines move from perception to action.

Vantor’s product team showcased the latest updates to the company’s flagship products that have a connected path from collection and fusion to analysis, decision-making, and action. Clockwise from the top left: Vicki Bassett, Cade Spikes, Mark Wear, Jen Templeton, and jC Clark.

Customer perspectives on applying spatial intelligence

The Enterprise track brought the conversation directly into customer workflows through two panels focused on how organizations are applying spatial intelligence across industries.

The “Monitoring at the pace of change” panel brought together leaders from energy, insurance, agriculture, and mining (left to right): Mark Coffman (Vantor), Ashley Reade (Pix4D), Peter Thompson (TomTom), Lee Nickels (TC Energy), and Andrea Krupa (PhotoSat).

The first panel’s discussion focused on a common challenge: Organizations need to monitor distributed assets and changing conditions, but information is often fragmented across geographies, systems, and data sources.

Across the industries represented, spatial intelligence can help teams identify change, assess its significance, and connect observations to business decisions. Whether the application involves infrastructure, property risk, agricultural conditions, or mining operations, the value comes from making physical change visible and easier to act on.

The “Maps built for the mission” panel featured (from left to right): Chris Orndorff (Vantor), Jon Spinney (HERE Technologies), Emma Haggerty (MapTiler), and Nick Hubing (Land Info Worldwide Mapping).

This second panel explored how companies are building specialized maps for specific operational and commercial needs. Automotive navigation, mapping platforms, and environmental applications each require different levels of currency, detail, coverage, attributes, and workflow integration.

The panel reinforced a central Fusion theme: A spatial foundation becomes more valuable when it is designed around the decisions and missions it supports.

Recognizing the partners moving spatial intelligence forward

The Partner Awards recognized performance during the 2025 calendar year, as well as contributions to customer outcomes and shared business success.

Regional Sales Awards

Europe, Middle East, Africa: Geoconsult International was recognized for helping establish Vantor’s presence in new countries and emerging markets, while supporting civil government and United Nations mapping needs.

Asia Pacific: Japan Space Imaging was recognized for expanding defense-community channels and contributing to regional cooperation, interoperability, and security.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation: Adepto was recognized for business growth, strong customer engagement, and its work supporting geospatial solutions and Make in India standards.

North America: MDA was recognized for strengthening civil government opportunities and supporting customers including Natural Resources Canada and maritime illegal-fishing initiatives.

South America: Space Imaging Brasil was recognized for strong customer outcomes, measurable regional business results, and continued commitment to customer missions.

Central America: GEOINN Innovations Geospatial S.A. was recognized for strong 2025 results, adapting alongside Vantor, and maintaining a focus on customer success.

Vantor Value Awards

Vantor Excellence Champion Award: Ecopia AI received Vantor’s highest partner recognition for excellence across the partnership. The success of Vivid™ Features reflects the company’s customer commitment, innovation, accountability, and collaboration.

Mission Impact Award: SkyFi was recognized for delivering a significant customer mission outcome, creating measurable value, and supporting critical objectives with Vantor’s U.S. Government team in new verticals.

Collective Strength Award: PhotoSat was recognized for collaborating with Vantor’s operations team on WorldView Legion stereo-pair calibrations that helped improve accuracy and reliability.

Rising Star Award: SCCON was recognized for strong momentum, initiative, and commitment to growing the Vantor business in Brazil’s government market.

The conversations continue into the future

The value of Fusion extended beyond the formal program.

Over meals and between sessions, customers and partners compared challenges, shared feedback, and explored new opportunities. Those conversations are where ideas become partnerships, challenges become solutions and possibilities begin to take shape.

The best part of Fusion has never been what happens on this stage. It’s what happens after we leave it.”

—Todd Surdey, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise and Global Ecosystem at Vantor

The conversations that began in Boulder will continue through the work customers, partners, and Vantor build together.