Cyan Planet

What Cyan Planet does

Cyan Planet UG is a German immersive media studio founded in 2018 and headquartered in Germering, near Munich, that develops virtual reality (VR) experiences, 360° films, interactive media, and games with a thematic focus on marine ecosystems — dolphins, sharks, cetaceans, and coral reefs. The portfolio comprises seven documented projects: the flagship "How is the Water" dolphin and shark VR experience, the browser-based "SpongeSpace" virtual blue space, the "Coral City" coral restoration video game, "Amigo sa mga Iho" thresher shark 360°, "Sea with Sounds" pilot whale VR, "One day as a Researcher" Montenegro dolphin research VR, and the "Seychelles Coral Reef Restoration" VR experience. Core technology stacks VR, 360° video, interactive 360° storytelling, and AR, delivered across VR headsets, computers, and phones, with SpongeSpace additionally distributed through Mozilla Hubs for browser-based access.

The company's distinguishing technical component is a proprietary impact-linked framework that maps in-game and in-VR user actions to real-world marine conservation outcomes, allowing partner NGOs to convert engagement into measurable conservation activity rather than purely entertainment output. Production combines in-house creative direction with scientific partnerships that supply research footage, location access, and review — a workflow that has yielded festival recognition at Biennale College Cinema VR 2019, Cannes XR Development Showcase 2020, NewImages Festival 2020, XR4ALL Stars 2020, Stereopsia 2020, and Medientage München 2020.

Cyan Planet runs a five-stream revenue model: (1) one-time licensing of VR experiences, (2) grant funding from programs including the Bavarian Film Fund and XR Hub Bavaria, (3) crowdfunding via Kickstarter, (4) donations collected through the Coral City game, and (5) B2B professional services producing custom VR content for marine conservation organizations. The primary customer segment is marine conservation NGOs — with a documented partner roster exceeding 50 organizations — and secondary segments include educational institutions, ocean advocates, and policymakers reached through the festival circuit and marine conservation conferences. The company is structured as a German UG (limited liability), operates with 11–50 employees on a distributed team, and is led by CEO & Creative Director Michal Lovecky and COO Ninja Müller.

Name

Cyan Planet

Legal name

Cyan Planet UG

Website

https://cyanplanet.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cyan Planet is a German immersive media studio developing VR experiences and games that connect audiences with marine conservation. The company serves marine NGOs, educational institutions, and ocean advocates through empathy-driven virtual experiences linked to real-world conservation actions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Immersive Media for Marine Conservation

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

VR/AR Gaming Platforms (BPAMAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine Conservation & Citizen-Science Experiences (reef monitoring, turtle walks) (THAAAIAH), Whale Watching & Marine Mammal Tours (THAAAIAC), Underwater Photography & Videography Tours/Workshops (THAAAIAK), Guided Diving & Snorkeling Excursions (boat/shore trips) (THAAAIAB)

Keywords

• Immersive media production
• Marine conservation VR
• 360 video experiences
• Virtual reality games
• Ocean education software

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. VR Experience Sales: Selling/distributing VR experiences (How is the Water) through platforms, Kickstarter campaigns, and partnerships with marine organizations
2. Crowdfunding (Kickstarter): Funding development of VR projects through Kickstarter campaigns with early bird rewards and community involvement
3. Coral City Game Donations: Web-based game generating donations for Reef Life Foundation to deploy real IntelliReefs coral restoration structures. Proceeds fund real-world underwater deployment and monitoring
4. Corporate/B2B Partnerships: Partnering with marine organizations to create custom VR experiences, workshops, and training tools for outreach, education, and fundraising
5. XR Hub Bavaria Funding: SpongeSpace was funded by XR Hub Bavaria as part of Dream your Virtual Spaces competition

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cyan Planet produces and licenses immersive virtual reality experiences and games for ocean protection and marine conservation. Users can become dolphins, sharks, or researchers to explore marine ecosystems through VR and 360° video, with in-game actions linked to real-world conservation outcomes such as coral reef restoration. The company also delivers custom VR projects for marine NGOs, educational institutions, and policy stakeholders.

Product overview

Cyan Planet is a social enterprise building a global creative platform that connects people with the ocean through immersive media experiences. The portfolio consists of VR experiences (How is the Water, One day as a researcher, Seychelles Coral Reef Restoration, Amigo sa mga Iho, Sea with Sounds), virtual spaces (SpongeSpace), and gamification (Coral City video game). These products work together to evoke empathy for marine life and convert emotional connections into real-world conservation action through partnerships with marine NGOs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• How is the Water Flagship immersive VR experience where users become a dolphin or a shark to explore the underwater world, combining entertainment with real-world marine conservation outcomes through partnerships such as Marine Connection, IntelliReefs, and Digital Life 3D.
• SpongeSpace Free-to-use Mozilla Hubs-based virtual blue space for conferences, workshops, networking, and marine conservation exhibitions; supports mental health and psycho-social well-being through immersion in marine-themed environments.
• Amigo sa mga Iho 360° video experience documenting the bond between the Malapascua community and thresher sharks, created in collaboration with the Thresher Shark Research and Conservation Project to support shark protection data gathering.
• Sea with Sounds Audio-focused interactive animated VR experience following a lost pilot whale calf searching for its family, combining violin melodies with whale vocalizations in partnership with Ocean Sounds.
• Coral City World's first coral restoration web-based video game allowing players to build habitat-enhancing virtual coral cities, with proceeds funding real-world IntelliReefs coral reef deployments by Reef Life Foundation.
• One Day as a Researcher Interactive VR experience that educates about marine research by placing users in the role of a researcher in the Montenegro Dolphin Research / DMAD project, training scientific skills through hands-on tasks.
• Seychelles Coral Reef Restoration VR experience taking users underwater to discover Seychelles' coral reefs and wildlife, illustrating the impact of global warming and coral bleaching and the restoration work of Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS).

Quantifiable outcome

• One youth without access to the sea receives VR experience per copy sold of How is the Water
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Montenegro Dolphin Research / DMADcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2019Partnership for One day as a researcher VR experience. DMAD (Marine Mammals Research Association) works on dolphin research in Montenegro. Since September 2016, they've completed over 500 land surveys and 100+ boat surveys. Experience used for training volunteers and school presentations.
• Marine ConnectioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to spread the word about How is the Water VR project. Marine Connection's mission is to inspire the global community to help create a better, safer world for cetaceans. The partnership helps ensure VR experiences impact not just players but also the ocean by linking to real-world whale and dolphin conservation projects.
• Reef Life FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloping the world's first coral city building video game (Coral City). Funds generated go directly to development and launch of the game, and proceeds translate into real-life deployment by Reef Life Foundation of IntelliReefs artificial coral reef structures. Ongoing revenue also funds documentation and monitoring of new IntelliReefs.
• IntelliReefscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHow is the Water enables players to tend their own coral garden while supporting coral reef restoration with IntelliReefs. Coral City game will deploy real-life IntelliReefs structures based on game-created cityscapes. IntelliReefs fosters new coral growth, increases fish abundance, and enhances biodiversity.
• Digital Life 3DcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to digitally preserve the ocean for future generations within How is the Water VR experience. Digital Life creates high-quality and accurate 3D models of living organisms to preserve the heritage of life on Earth.
• Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Seychelles Coral Reef Restoration project. MCSS promotes conservation through education, research, and implementation of monitoring programmes including coral restoration and marine protected areas.
• Thresher Shark Research and Conservation ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based research organization working in Malapascua to help protect thresher sharks. Collaboration on Amigo sa mga Iho project to produce 360° video documenting their work and gathering data for protection.
• Ocean SoundscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Sea with Sounds project. Ocean Sounds is dedicated to giving voice to whales and dolphins, studying vocal and social behavior and monitoring human impacts. They create bridges between research and public interest through creative collaborations.
• WDC Whale and Dolphin ConservationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading charity dedicated to protection of whales and dolphins. Their vision is a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.
• Deutsche MeeresstiftungminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Ocean Foundation that brings players from maritime economy, politics, research and society together for sustainable protection of seas.
• XR4ALLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Commission initiative under Horizon 2020 to strengthen European XR industry. Over 1000 members from 50+ countries. Cyan Planet is member of XR4ALL workgroup 'XR for a sustainable future'.
• The Marine DiariesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital media organization using stories to bridge gap between scientific community and public. Contributed article on kelp forests for carbon capture published on Cyan Planet news.
• SciaenaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortuguese NGO promoting marine conservation through education, political intervention and science communication. Organized Mar Motto exhibition where Cyan Planet led VR workshop.
• Tamiko ThielminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist who created SpongeSpace Trash Takeover - virtual reality art installation raising awareness for plastic pollution in oceans. Featured at Medientage München 2020.
• Anna PavelkováminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung architect who collaborated on SpongeSpace within Dream your Virtual Spaces competition. Experience from studying in Milan, Prague, and Delft.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Baobab Studios: VR animation studio behind Emmy-winning immersive shorts (Invasion!, Asteroids!) that combine entertainment with social/emotional themes. Comparable as a mission-driven immersive content creator targeting headset platforms and global audiences.
• Atlas V: Award-winning immersive-content studio producing narrative VR/AR experiences with social and environmental themes (e.g., Gloomy Eyes, Battlescar). Directly comparable to Cyan Planet in terms of festival-circuit-driven distribution, narrative-led VR, and impact-oriented storytelling.
• Encounter Edu: Immersive media company producing VR/AR content focused specifically on ocean literacy and marine science education for schools. Closest functional peer: targets the same marine-education niche with VR and 360° content for educational institutions.
• Innerspace VR: European VR studio specializing in educational and cultural immersive experiences, often collaborating with museums, NGOs and public institutions. Highly comparable on format, target customers (NGOs, public sector), and B2B project model.

Broad incumbents

• Conservation International: Major global conservation NGO using VR/immersive media (e.g., 'Valen's Reef') for fundraising and awareness. Comparable as a marine-conservation communications buyer/partner, though at much larger scale and with in-house production capacity.
• WWF (World Wildlife Fund): Global conservation organization that deploys VR/AR for ocean and wildlife storytelling and education. Comparable as a high-profile potential customer/partner for marine-themed immersive content; not a direct competitor but a major buyer in the same space.
• OceanX: Large-scale ocean-exploration and media organization producing high-production-value ocean documentaries and immersive content in partnership with major broadcasters. Overlaps with Cyan Planet on mission and ocean storytelling, but with vastly larger production and funding scale.
• Within (by Meta): Major VR-content distribution platform and original producer, now part of Meta. Comparable as a distribution channel and creator of narrative VR content; competes for the same end-user attention on VR headsets.

Emerging players

• The Hydrous: Non-profit ocean literacy organization using immersive 3D and VR to communicate coral reef science (e.g., 'Immerse' coral reef experiences). Comparable on mission, marine-domain focus, and use of immersive tech for conservation impact.

Others

• Mozilla Hubs: Open-source, browser-based social VR platform on which Cyan Planet's SpongeSpace is built. Included as the underlying platform/infrastructure provider — a critical dependency rather than a competitor, but defining for the SpongeSpace product line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cyanplanet.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cyan-planet
• Instagraminstagram.com/cyanplanet_org
• Xx.com/cyan_planet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cyan Planet