Tiny Earth

What Tiny Earth does

Tiny Earth is a nonprofit undergraduate research initiative headquartered at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin–Madison, that crowdsources antibiotic discovery through a global network of trained partner instructors (TEPIs) and student researchers. Founded by Dr. Jo Handelsman in 2018 as an evolution of her Yale course "Microbes to Molecules," the program delivers a standardized soil-sampling curriculum (Tiny Earth Student Research Guide, distributed via Kendall Hunt), a shared data platform (Tiny Earth Discovery Database), and the Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub (TECH) research arm at UW-Madison, which houses over 4,400 soil-derived bioactive bacterial isolates and conducts metabolomic and genomic characterization in collaboration with the Joint Genome Institute. The platform reaches 18,000+ students annually across 517+ institutions in 33 countries through 900+ trained instructors.

The program operates as an academic initiative within the public University of Wisconsin System rather than a commercial enterprise, with revenue derived almost entirely from competitive grants and sponsorships — including NIH (U54 GM119023 NRMN; UL1 TR002373 NCATS), NSF, USDA NIFA (2021-67037-34618), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, HHMI, the U.S. Department of Education, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Novo Nordisk Foundation — supplemented by corporate sponsorships (Bio-Rad, Catalent, Cerillo, Exact Sciences) and nominal symposium fees ($30/student, $60/instructor). Core curriculum and TEPI training are provided at no cost; distribution runs through the partner-instructor channel, virtual TEPI training via Zoom, Kendall Hunt publishing, and annual in-person symposia at UW-Madison and Lambeau Field (Titletown Winter Symposium). Product extensions in Genomics, Chemistry, and Bioprospecting, plus the AJEDI-focused Scientific Teaching Course co-developed with Codon Learning and NIST, deepen the curriculum vertical and broaden the student demographic to include two-year and tribal colleges via the Tiny Earth Summer Research Course (TESRC).

Name

Tiny Earth

Legal name

Tiny Earth

Website

https://tinyearth.wisc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Tiny Earth is a nonprofit undergraduate research initiative at the University of Wisconsin–Madison that crowdsources antibiotic discovery through a global network of 900+ trained instructors and 18,000+ students annually across 517+ institutions in 33 countries, using standardized soil-sampling curricula and a shared 4,400+ isolate database.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Research Education Programs

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Biology & Life Science Enrichment (Biotech, Genetics, Anatomy) (EDAMABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB)

Keywords

• Undergraduate research education
• Antibiotic discovery
• STEM curriculum
• Course-based research experience
• Soil microbiology training

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Primary revenue from competitive grants and awards from government agencies and foundations supporting STEM education and antibiotic research.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Financial contributions, equipment donations, experimental kits, and fee-free or reduced-price services (such as sequencing) from pharmaceutical and life sciences companies.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Tiny Earth branded merchandise (t-shirts, mugs) through Bonfire storefront, with proceeds supporting student research symposia and instructor training.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tiny Earth is an undergraduate Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in which students collect soil samples, isolate antibiotic-producing bacteria, and contribute data to a centralized discovery database. The program delivers a standardized curriculum, instructor training (TEPI program), and a research arm (Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub) that performs genomic and metabolomic analysis on student-collected isolates to advance antibiotic discovery.

Product overview

Tiny Earth is an undergraduate research program (CURE - Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience) focused on studentsourcing antibiotic discovery. The core offering consists of the Tiny Earth Student Research Guide (curriculum and lab protocols), the Tiny Earth Discovery Database (data management), and the Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub (research analysis). The program is supported by the TEPI Training Program for instructors, the Tiny Earth Summer Research Course for intensive student research, the Tiny Earth Student Group for community building, and the Scientific Teaching Course for instructor professional development. Annual symposia and course extensions in Genomics, Chemistry, and Bioprospecting round out the modular ecosystem of educational offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub (TECH): Research arm of Tiny Earth that analyzes antibiotic-producing bacteria isolates collected by students for metabolomic and genomic profiles to advance antibiotic discovery
• Tiny Earth Summer Research Course (TESRC)
• MicroMundo
• Tiny Earth in Titletown

Products and services

• Tiny Earth Student Research Guide A comprehensive curriculum guide with content and lab protocols that guide undergraduate students in discovering antibiotic-producing bacteria from soil. Sold to institutions and instructors via Kendall Hunt publishing for course adoption.
• Tiny Earth Discovery Database A shared data management tool for students and instructors to record soil sample and isolate data from around the world, enabling aggregated analysis across the global network of partner institutions.
• Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub (TECH) A research arm at UW-Madison that stores, extracts, and analyzes soil-derived bioactive bacteria isolates collected by students. Houses over 4,400 isolates and conducts genomic, metabolomic, and chemical characterization in collaboration with the Joint Genome Institute.
• TEPI Training Program An intensive week-long training program for instructors covering Tiny Earth pedagogy, Scientific Teaching methods, and networking with the global community of over 900 Tiny Earth Partner Instructors (TEPIs). Offered in-person and virtually via Zoom.
• Tiny Earth Summer Research Course (TESRC) A 10-week intensive mentored research experience for students from two-year and tribal colleges, conducted at UW-Madison in the Handelsman Lab, focusing on antibiotic production of isolates in the TECH collection.
• Scientific Teaching Course (STC) A free, digital course for college instructors integrating AJEDI (antiracist, just, equitable, diverse, inclusive) principles with Scientific Teaching methods, developed in collaboration with Codon Learning and the National Institute on Scientific Teaching.
• Tiny Earth Symposia (Summer and Winter) Annual research symposiums where students and instructors present findings, engage in Tapas Talks and workshops, and network with researchers from around the globe, including the regional Tiny Earth in Titletown Winter Symposium at Lambeau Field.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18,000+ students conduct antibiotic discovery research annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Host organization at UW-Madison where Tiny Earth is headquartered. Houses the Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub (TECH) and Handelsman Lab.
• Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (OVCRGE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022UW-Madison research office providing institutional support for Tiny Earth operations and research programs.
• CatalentminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor providing fee-free or reduced-price services including sequencing for Tiny Earth research.
• Bio-RadminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor providing equipment donations and experimental kits for Tiny Earth classrooms.
• CerillominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor offering affordable Stratus plate readers for Tiny Earth classrooms; donates 10% of purple edition proceeds to Tiny Earth.
• Exact SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Corporate sponsor supporting Tiny Earth through financial contributions and equipment donations.
• Codon LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Digital learning platform collaborator developing and hosting the AJEDI-focused Scientific Teaching Course for college instructors.
• National Institute on Scientific Teaching (NIST)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partner in developing, evaluating, and disseminating the Scientific Teaching Course integrating AJEDI principles with Codon Learning.
• Joint Genome Institute (JGI)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Federal sequencing facility collaborating with TECH to conduct complete genome sequencing of priority bacterial isolates with biosynthetic gene clusters of interest.
• UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022UW-Madison research institute supporting translational science and research infrastructure.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HHMI Science Education Alliance – PHAGES (SEA-PHAGES): HHMI's Science Education Alliance offers a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in which students discover and characterize bacteriophages — the same pedagogical model, network structure (trained faculty delivering standardized curriculum), and discovery mission as Tiny Earth, but focused on viral genomics rather than antibiotic-producing bacteria.
• Small World Initiative: Founded by the same Dr. Jo Handelsman as Tiny Earth's precursor, the Small World Initiative is a crowdsourced antibiotic discovery education program with a parallel mission of addressing AMR through student research — directly comparable in pedagogical model and scientific goal.

Others

• CUREnet: The Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences Network is an NSF-funded umbrella organization supporting CUREs across disciplines — providing Tiny Earth peer infrastructure, best-practice sharing, and a national platform for the CURE model that Tiny Earth operates within.
• American Society for Microbiology (ASM): ASM publishes the journal mBio (where Tiny Earth published its 2021 Hurley et al. paper) and is a leading professional society supporting microbiology education and research — making it a natural ecosystem peer and credibility anchor for Tiny Earth.
• iNaturalist: iNaturalist is the largest citizen-science biodiversity platform, sharing Tiny Earth's crowdsourced-data, distributed-contributor model — though applied to ecological observation rather than antibiotic discovery — making it a structural peer in citizen-science network design.
• Zooniverse: Zooniverse is the world's largest volunteer-driven online citizen-science platform, comparable to Tiny Earth in its crowdsourced research model, distributed contributor base, and educational mission — though predominantly in astronomy and ecology rather than wet-lab biology.
• Joint Genome Institute (JGI): JGI is a DOE-funded user facility that performs genome sequencing for Tiny Earth's TECH priority isolates — a direct technical collaborator and infrastructure peer that enables Tiny Earth's downstream genomic characterization pipeline.

Emerging players

• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center: CSHL's DNA Learning Center delivers authentic laboratory-based science education experiences to students and teachers — comparable in providing hands-on molecular biology curriculum to high school and undergraduate audiences, with a parallel mission of STEM pipeline development.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TinyEarthU
• Facebookfacebook.com/tinyearthnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tiny-earth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Tiny Earth