Extensis

About Extensis

Lizardtech (now part of geowgs84 corp) is a software company specializing in the management, compression, and distribution of high-resolution geospatial imagery and lidar data. Founded in 1992 in Seattle, the company is best known for creating the mrsid (.sid) file format, AN industry-standard for compressing massive aerial and satellite images without losing visual quality.
Corporate status & ownership (2025)
Current owner: as of November 30, 2025, lizardtech was acquired by geowgs84 corp from extensis (a monotype company).
Historical timeline:
1992: founded to commercialize multiresolution image compression research from los alamos national laboratory.
2018: formally merged with extensis to integrate geospatial tech with digital asset management.
2024: extensis and the lizardtech portfolio were acquired by monotype.
2025: geowgs84 corp acquired the full lizardtech suite to focus on AI-driven geospatial innovation.
Core technologies and products
Lizardtech's software suite is designed to handle "massive" datasets (gigabytes to terabytes) with high speed and efficiency.
Mrsid (multiresolution seamless image database): a powerful wavelet-based image format that allows for instant viewing of large images without full decompression.
Geoexpress: the primary application used for creating mrsid files and jpeg 2000 imagery. IT enables users to compress, crop, and reproject geospatial data.
Geoviewer: a free gis viewer (with a "pro" version) used to open and explore raster imagery, lidar point clouds, and vector overlays.
Express server: a server-side solution for high-speed distribution and streaming of geospatial imagery over networks and the internet.