Ontology Explained
The Carbon Arc Ontology is a semantic layer designed to unify how data is connected, queried, and interpreted across the Platform. It serves as the foundation for structured, repeatable, and entity-aware analytics.
Built on top of every integrated data asset—from credit card and receipt data to firmographics and attention signals—our Ontology connects those signals to real-world concepts: companies, brands, locations, and even abstract structures like value chains or notable individuals.
It enables users to analyze entities seamlessly across domains, accelerating discovery, interoperability, and insight generation.
What the Ontology Powers
- ✅ Cross-domain entity resolution (e.g. brand ↔ app ↔ location ↔ ticker)
- ✅ Unified schema across datasets
- ✅ Entity- and event-based queries
- ✅ Research workflows that reflect how businesses actually operate
Entity Types & Representations
Our Ontology creates two layers of structure:
| Layer | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Entity Types | Abstract classification (e.g. Company, Brand, Person) |
| Representations | Operational ID or label (e.g. Ticker, App, Website) |
This allows a single brand (e.g. Starbucks) to be tied to multiple representations like
SBUX, their mobile app, locations, and digital storefronts.
Ontology Explorer
The Ontology Explorer is a visual research tool allowing users to navigate entity relationships and attributes within the platform.
- Explore how a brand connects to locations, tickers, or websites
- Interact with entity types to see how data sources unify around the same object
- Enable fast pattern discovery and hypothesis generation
Why We Built Ontology
Our users share a common goal: turn data into decisions.
The Ontology was built to:
-
Enable Connectivity at Scale
Seamlessly link diverse datasets under a shared entity model. -
Improve Interpretability
Expose metadata and context that make datasets easier to use and more actionable. -
Support Decision Intelligence
Bring together disparate signals around core decision-making units (brands, companies, locations, people). -
Power AI/ML Models
Feed downstream systems with structured, normalized data that is interoperable and learnable.
The Carbon Arc Ontology is not just a schema — it's an operating model for insight. It brings order to complexity, and bridges the gap between fragmented data assets and decision-making workflows. By centering analysis around real-world entities, an Ontology like this powers better queries, clearer connections, and faster execution.
Need help navigating or integrating Ontology into your workflow? Reach out to support@carbonarc.co.