Entity categories
How Kernel classifies the type and role of each resolved entity
Kernel classifies each resolved entity with two fields:
Entity category
What kind of organization is this?
Company, Government, Education
Entity sub-category
What specific role does it play?
Operating, HoldCo, Business unit, Establishment
These classifications are determined through Kernel's entity resolution process. They are not static labels copied from a vendor table.
Categories and sub-categories
Used for commercial businesses, non-profits, and trade associations.
Includes corporations, partnerships, startups, NGOs, charities, unions, and state-owned enterprises operating as commercial entities.
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 or assets. They rarely sell products directly.
Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet Inc., KKR & Co.
Business unit
A unit, brand, portfolio, line, or division inside a company that is not a separate legal entity.
Jell-O under Kraft Heinz; Amazon Music under Amazon
Establishment
A specific physical site tied to a company, not a separate corporation and not independently legally responsible.
McDonald's Store #1234; Lloyds London Bridge branch
Used for public administration bodies.
Includes national, regional, and local government bodies, ministries, departments, agencies, regulators, and armed forces.
Agency / Department
Executive bodies, ministries, regulators, and authorities.
National Government
The central or federal government of a sovereign state.
Subnational Government
First administrative level below the country, such as states, provinces, regions, or cantons.
Local Government
Municipal tiers such as cities, towns, councils, and boroughs.
Intergovernmental Organization
Polities formed by sovereign states, such as the EU, ASEAN, or UN.
Judiciary
Courts and judicial councils at any level.
Used for teaching and academic research institutions.
Includes universities, colleges, business schools, K-12 schools, and research institutes.
Higher-Education Institution
Degree-awarding tertiary providers, such as universities, colleges, and polytechnics.
Academic Unit
A department, faculty, or school inside a higher-education institution.
Pre-tertiary school
K-12, high schools, primary schools, and international schools.
Education System
A governing body that controls multiple schools or institutions.
Research Institute
Organizations focused on research or vocational training that do not award degrees.
A corporate tree can span multiple entity categories. For example, a government body may own a holding company, which owns an operating company.
Operating vs HoldCo / Investment
Within the Company category, the split that drives corporate-tree behavior is Operating vs HoldCo / Investment.
Primary function
Sells goods or services to external customers and runs its own P&L.
Owns or controls other companies or financial assets. Revenue comes from what it owns, not from direct operations.
Typical signals
An independently established business trading under its own brand.
Name often contains "Group", "Holdings", or "Partners"; owns subsidiaries or portfolio companies; appears as a parent/holding entity in filings; funds, trusts, and investment vehicles.
Examples
Salesforce, Heineken
Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet Inc., KKR
Operating is the default. Kernel classifies an entity as HoldCo / Investment only when the evidence shows its main role is ownership rather than operations.
Why this split matters
This is the classification Kernel uses to separate the top parent from the top operating parent:
Top parent is the ultimate owner at the very top of the tree - even if that owner is a holding company or an equity investor.
Top operating parent is the highest Operating company. Kernel climbs the tree and skips every HoldCo / Investment entity, stopping at the highest operating business.
The main use is federating ownership down to the operating business. For most GTM, routing, and reporting workflows you do not want an account to roll up to a passive holding company or a private-equity / investment owner - you want the operating company that actually runs the business. Top operating parent gives you that operating anchor, while top parent still records the full legal top of the tree.
Kernel also exposes a Skip holdco parents cleaning rule, so hierarchy actions attach a child to its operating parent instead of a holding-company parent.
See Kernel Account object reference for the full field list.
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