In 1998, five researchers - Will Schroeder, Ken Martin, Lisa Avila, Charles Law, and Bill Hoffman - founded Kitware with a singular vision: to advance science and technology through open-source software. What began as support for the Visualization Toolkit (VTK) has evolved into a global leader in advanced technical computing, artificial intelligence, and customized software solutions. Kitware's team of renowned researchers and developers has created industry-standard platforms that power scientific visualization, medical imaging, and data analysis worldwide.
Today, Kitware stands as a 100% employee-owned company with nearly 200 team members across offices in New York, North Carolina, Minnesota, New Mexico, Virginia, and France. The company's open-source philosophy drives innovation in computer vision, healthcare and life sciences, scientific visualization, and software process solutions. By partnering with government agencies, commercial enterprises, and academic institutions - including DARPA, NOAA, NASA, and leading medical research centers - Kitware delivers solutions that make the world safer, healthier, and more informed. Their commitment to collaborative development and knowledge sharing has established VTK, CMake, ParaView, and ITK as foundational tools in scientific computing.