Entity data

In addition to the core fields that accompany a KERN ID, Kernel's entity database also includes the following data points across all entities and all corporate hierarchies

1. Entity category & sub-category

2. Operational status

3. Regional subsidiary flag & regional scope

1. Entity category & sub-category

The entity category field classifies the organization into one of three main categories based on its primary function and legal nature.

Company: Used for commercial businesses, non-profits, and trade associations.

• Includes: Corporations, partnerships, startups, NGOs, charities, unions, and state-owned enterprises operating as commercial entities (e.g., national airlines).

Government: Used for public administration bodies.

• Includes: National, regional, and local government bodies, ministries, departments, agencies, regulators, and armed forces.

Education: Used for teaching and academic research institutions.

• Includes: Universities, colleges, business schools, K-12 schools, and research institutes.

Company sub-categories

Sub-Type	Definition	Examples
Operating	Companies that sell goods or services directly to external customers under their own brand.	Salesforce, Frito-Lay, Heineken
HoldCo / Investment	Entities that primarily exist to own or control other companies/assets. They rarely sell products directly.	Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet Inc., KKR & Co.
Business unit	A unit (brand/portfolio/line/division) inside a Company that is not a separate legal entity. It packages offerings for customers but contracts through a parent Operating entity.	Jell‑O (under Kraft Heinz); Amazon Music (under Amazon)
Establishment	A specific physical site (branch, office, store, hotel, warehouse, plant, etc.) tied to a company, not a separate corporation and not independently legally responsible; generally shares the legal business name of its HQ/parent but represents a distinct address-level location.	McDonald’s Store #1234; Lloyds - London Bridge branch; Conopco, Inc. – Jefferson City plant

Education sub-categories

Sub-Type	Definition
Higher-Education Institution	Degree-awarding tertiary providers (Universities, Colleges, Polytechnics).
Academic Unit	A specific department, faculty, or school inside a Higher-Ed institution (e.g., Harvard Business School).
Pre-tertiary school	K-12, High Schools, Primary Schools, and International Schools.
Education System	A governing body that controls multiple schools/institutions (e.g., University of California System).
Research Institute	Organizations focused on research or vocational training that do not award degrees (e.g., Max Planck Institute).

Government sub-categories

Sub-Type	Definition
Agency / Department	Executive bodies, ministries, regulators, and authorities (e.g., Ministry of Finance).
National Government	The central/federal government of a sovereign state.
Subnational Government	First administrative level below the country (States, Provinces, Regions, Cantons).
Local Government	Municipal tiers (Cities, Towns, Councils, Boroughs).
Intergovernmental Organization	Polities formed by sovereign states (e.g., EU, ASEAN, UN).
Judiciary	Courts and judicial councils at any level.

Hierarchy Example: A corporate tree can span multiple Entity Types. For example, a Government body may own a Holding Company, which owns an Operating Company.

• Government of Singapore (Gov — National)

  • └── Ministry of Finance (Gov — Agency)

    • └── Temasek Holdings (Company — HoldCo)

      • └── Singapore Airlines (Company — Operating)

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2. Operational Status

Classifies the current "Go-To-Market" reality of the entity.

Status	Definition	Scenario
Active	The company operates today under its own brand.	Slack is owned by Salesforce, but the brand is still live and selling.
Absorbed	The original brand is retired, but operations continue under the parent's brand.	ExactTarget was acquired by Salesforce and rebranded (Marketing Cloud).
Out of Business	Operations have ceased. No active selling or support exists.	Quibi shut down completely.

3. Regional Subsidiary flag

We identify specific child entities that act as primary regional operating arms using two related data points.

Regional Subsidiary Flag

A boolean (True/False) indicator identifying if the entity is a verified regional branch. A record is marked as True only if it meets all of the following criteria:

1. Verified Existence: It is a real legal entity (e.g., "Salesforce UK Ltd"), not just a generic marketing term.

2. Brand Identity: It operates under the same core brand as the parent (e.g., Sony → Sony Europe).

3. Explicit Naming: The name contains a specific geographic term (e.g., "UK", "France", "EMEA", "APAC", "West Coast").

4. Market Scope: The entity operates in a specific market that is a subset of the parent's global scope.

Regional Scope

A text field defining the specific geographic market served by the subsidiary.

• Value: The core geographic area (e.g., "United Kingdom", "Western Europe", "New York Metro", "Japan").

• Availability: This field is only populated when the Regional Subsidiary Flag is True.

Note: Product divisions (e.g., "Google Cloud Japan") are not classified as Regional Subsidiaries unless they are the only legal entity representing the parent in that region. "Google Japan Inc", however, is a regional subsidiary.