Mapbox
Verified“US-incorporated maps platform, SoftBank-backed, AWS-US by design.”
- Founded
- 2010
- Ownership
- Private
- Lead investor
- SoftBank 🇯🇵
- Data hosting
- AWS-US 🇺🇸
12 = midpoint of Control 11 & Data 12
Sovereignty Quadrant
Control ↑ who owns & governs the company · Data → where your data lives. Every dot is a company — click to open it.
Every number below traces to 16 sourced facts across 9 independent sources, last verified 2026-06-12. 4 open questions hold confidence at 85% — they lower confidence, never the score.
Control ↑
Who legally and economically controls the company
Legal & Jurisdiction
12
Mapbox Inc. is a US company; the entity certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework is explicitly 'Mapbox Inc. and its U.S. subsidiaries,' subject to US FTC investigatory and enforcement powers. EU reach is contractual (DPF + 2021 SCCs), not jurisdictional over the parent. An EU subsidiary (Mapbox GmbH, Germany) exists but does not change where the controlling entity sits. Scores in the 'incorporated & run outside the EU' band.
Why 12? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
DPF-certified legal entity
Mapbox Notice of Certification (Data Privacy Framework) · as of 2026-06-12
EU transfers handled via
Mapbox DPA / Data Privacy & Security FAQ · as of 2026-06-12
Control & Ownership
10
Private company; no EU voting or economic majority. Control sits with US founders/management plus Japan's SoftBank, which led the 2017 Series C (~$164M) and the 2023 $280M Series E, valuing Mapbox at ~$1.3B with ~$507M raised total. Other backers (DFJ Growth, Foundry, DBL, Thrive) are US funds. No EU investor of record at the control level. Foreign-controlled relative to the EU.
Why 10? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
Data →
Where your data lives and who can reach it
Data & Infrastructure
8
Mapbox hosts on Amazon Web Services with a primary region in the United States, and explicitly states it cannot restrict storage/serving to the EU or any single region. Data is cached/served via AWS CDN in various regions globally. This is US-hyperscaler hosting with a US primary region and CLOUD Act exposure — bottom band. The on-prem 'Atlas' option exists but is not the default SaaS path.
Why 8? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
Primary data hosting
Mapbox Data Privacy & Security FAQ / DPA · as of 2026-06-12
Can processing be EU-only?
Mapbox Data Privacy & Security FAQ · as of 2026-06-12
Self-hosted alternative exists
Mapbox Data Privacy & Security FAQ · as of 2026-06-12
Operations & People
18
US-centered operations: CEO Peter Sirota (ex-AWS, appointed March 2021) based in the US, dual SF/DC headquarters, ~650+ employees historically US-weighted, USD reporting. Modest EU footprint via Mapbox GmbH and new Berlin/London offices opened in 2025-26, which lifts the score slightly above the floor but does not shift the operational center of gravity out of the US.
Why 18? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
Aligned to the EU Commission’s official Cloud Sovereignty Framework (SEAL, Jun 2026) →
What we don’t know
4 open questions — they lower confidence, never the score
- ?
What is SoftBank's exact equity percentage and does it hold board control?
Determines whether ownership is US-management-controlled or effectively Japanese-influenced; the Series E announcement does not disclose stake or board seats.
- ?
How large is the EU headcount in Berlin/London relative to US staff?
Would refine the operations score; current evidence treats EU offices as small satellites but exact ratio is unverified.
- ?
Is the EU 'data residency' achievable for any product tier, or only via self-hosted Atlas?
If a managed EU-region offering exists, the infra score could rise; current FAQ says SaaS source data sits in a US AWS primary region.
- ?
State of incorporation (Delaware vs. other)?
Confirms the precise US legal home; sources confirm US incorporation but did not pin the exact state.
EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework lens
SEAL framework targets cloud service providers; this is an analogous sovereignty mapping for a maps/location-data platform, not a certification.
Strategic
US-controlled with Japanese (SoftBank) strategic backing and AI/automotive direction; EU has no strategic leverage over direction.
Legal & jurisdictional
Mapbox Inc. is US-incorporated and FTC-supervised; EU reach is contractual via DPF + SCCs, not enforceable over the parent.
Data & AI
Source data hosted in an AWS primary region in the US; Mapbox states it cannot restrict processing to the EU. CLOUD Act exposure applies.
Operational
US-based CEO and dual SF/DC HQ; small Berlin/London offices and Mapbox GmbH do not shift the operational center to the EU.
Supply chain
Subprocessor list published, but full upstream dependency mapping not verified in this review.
Technological
Core platform runs on a US hyperscaler (AWS); self-hosted Atlas exists but is not the default managed path.
Security & compliance
Maintains DPF certification, a DPA with 2021 EU SCCs, and a published security/privacy posture — compliance scaffolding exists even though jurisdiction is US.
Environmental sustainability
No EU-specific environmental/sustainability data verified in this review.
EU alternatives
EU-headquartered (Amsterdam) location-platform; owned by a consortium incl. Audi/BMW/Mercedes plus non-EU stakes — strong EU footprint but mixed ownership.
Swiss-based maps/vector-tile platform, a direct Mapbox-style alternative; Switzerland is European but not an EU member state.
French maps/tiles provider built on OpenStreetMap with EU hosting; smaller scale but EU-incorporated, EU-operated, and EU-hosted.
How the method works
Methodology v2 (provisional): the score is the midpoint of two axes — Control (who owns and governs the company) and Data (where your data lives and who can reach it). Each axis is scored only on verified evidence; unknowns reduce confidence, never the score. Every input below is sourced; the weights and judgments are open to challenge.
Spotted an error? Every claim is sourced — challenge it and we correct the record.
- 2026-06-12 — Initial golden profile, authored from primary sources (human + AI review).
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Verified 2026-06-12 · Human + AI joint review (sources independently checked) · Methodology