Satellite and geo

MBZUAI TerraFM

A compact research model for satellite imagery, trained on both optical (Sentinel-2) and radar (Sentinel-1) data. Narrower in scope and community than Prithvi and TerraMind.

Developer
MBZUAI, UAE
First release
Jun 2025
Latest release
Jun 2025
Sizes
TerraFM-B (ViT-Base)
License
Commercial use allowedApache 2.0
Running
On your own serverNeeds a GPU
Industries
Science and research, Manufacturing and logistics, Public sector
Deploy on your server Hugging Face GitHub

What it does

  • Classification and segmentation of satellite imagery after fine-tuning
  • A base for a land monitoring prototype

Where it is used

Research groupsGeospatial analytics teams

Hardware requirements

LaptopLaptop or regular PC, up to 8 GB of VRAM — smaller versions
fits
1 GPUOne GPU with 16–80 GB — mid-size versions
no versions
ClusterServer with several GPUs — flagship versions
no versions

Versions

  1. TerraFM-B

How to run it

On your own serverWeights are downloaded from Hugging Face and served with vLLM (load and API) or llama.cpp (modest hardware). The model then runs in a closed network with no per-request fees.Hugging Face
How much hardware you needCalculate the VRAM for the model size, context length and number of concurrent requests.Open the hardware calculator

I can set this up end to end: pick the model size, deploy it on your server and connect it to your systems.

Frequently asked questions

Can MBZUAI TerraFM be used in a commercial project?

Yes. License: Apache 2.0. It allows commercial use, but it is still worth having a lawyer review the license before launch.

What hardware does MBZUAI TerraFM need?

At minimum: Laptop or regular PC, up to 8 GB of VRAM — smaller versions. Without a GPU the model is not practical. You can calculate the exact VRAM for your model size and context in the hardware calculator.

Does MBZUAI TerraFM support Russian?

Language does not matter for this model: it does not work with text.

Where can I download MBZUAI TerraFM and what does it cost?

The MBZUAI TerraFM weights are open and free to download. You only pay for the hardware it runs on and for the setup. Source links are at the bottom of this page.

How I deploy it for clients

  1. SelectionI pick the model size for your task and hardware and test it on your examples.
  2. DeploymentI deploy it on your server or in a closed network and provide an API.
  3. Fine-tuningI fine-tune it on your data (LoRA) or connect a knowledge base — whichever is cheaper for the task.
  4. IntegrationI connect it to your CRM, ERP, bot, website or team chat and set up monitoring.

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Details

Source: huggingface.co/api/models/MBZUAI/TerraFM. Data checked against the model card on 22 Sep 2026. Have a lawyer review the license before commercial launch.