Public Lab
Public Lab is a Cambridge-based non-profit founded in 2010 that built DIY environmental monitoring tools and an open civic-science community; its primary website now exists as a static, read-only archive.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
Public Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Public Lab
- Legal name
- Public Lab
- Website
- https://publiclab.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Public Lab is a Cambridge-based non-profit founded in 2010 that built DIY environmental monitoring tools and an open civic-science community; its primary website now exists as a static, read-only archive.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Public Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civic Technology & Community Science
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols) (EDAGAGAG), Virtual Labs, Remote Labs & Hands-On Practice Tools (EDAFABAH)
Keywords
Where Public Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Public Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D
Public Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Public Lab runs an online community and open civic technology platform that promotes inexpensive DIY techniques for environmental monitoring and community science. Its core activities include producing open-source hardware/software designs, facilitating collaborative knowledge sharing, and supporting grassroots environmental investigations. The current public-facing site exists as a static, read-only archive preserving the original platform's content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Public Lab
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Public Lab technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Public Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SciStarter: SciStarter is a citizen-science platform connecting volunteers with projects across environmental and scientific domains. It is a direct peer because Public Lab operates the same civic/community-science model, recruiting contributors for hands-on environmental monitoring and analysis.
- Zooniverse: Zooniverse is the largest online citizen-science platform, hosting crowdsourced research projects. It is directly comparable to Public Lab as both run community-driven scientific research programs that rely on volunteer contributors producing environmental and scientific data.
- iFixit: iFixit is a non-profit community that publishes free, open-source repair manuals and tools. It is comparable to Public Lab because both operate as open, community-edited knowledge and DIY-method platforms that empower people to do technical work themselves rather than relying on paid experts.
- Make: Magazine / Maker Media: Make: Community and Maker Media cover the broader DIY maker movement, including DIY science kits and tutorials. It is comparable to Public Lab's DIY environmental-science kits, balloon mapping, and open hardware culture, serving an overlapping hobbyist and educator audience.
Emerging players
- Adafruit Industries: Adafruit designs and sells open-source DIY electronics kits and learning hardware. It overlaps with Public Lab where DIY environmental sensors and open hardware intersect, though Adafruit is a commercial retailer focused on general electronics learning rather than environmental civic science.
- Fab Foundation: Fab Foundation runs the global Fab Lab network of community digital fabrication labs. It overlaps with Public Lab where open hardware fabrication tools and community science methods intersect, though its primary focus is digital fabrication rather than environmental monitoring.
- Earth Genome Project: Earth Genome built open-source environmental data and monitoring tools, including low-cost sensors and data platforms. It is comparable to Public Lab as both focus on open, community-contributed environmental monitoring data and tooling.
- Hackaday: Hackaday is a popular DIY hardware and open-source project community. It is comparable to Public Lab where hobbyists publish and iterate on open hardware projects, including environmental sensors and DIY lab apparatus.
Others
- Public Lab (note: subject): Placeholder reference to the subject company itself, included only to flag the canonical community-science DIY environmental-monitoring niche against which other peers are compared.
- CitizenScience.gov: CitizenScience.gov is the U.S. federal government's portal for federally-supported citizen science projects. It is an ecosystem/funder peer — not a direct competitor — but the federal citizen-science infrastructure shapes the demand and funding landscape Public Lab operates within.
Market position
Customer concentration
Public Lab social profiles
Digital presencePublic Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Public Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Public Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Public Lab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Public Lab
What does Public Lab do?
Public Lab runs an online community and open civic technology platform that promotes inexpensive DIY techniques for environmental monitoring and community science. Its core activities include producing open-source hardware/software designs, facilitating collaborative knowledge sharing, and supporting grassroots environmental investigations. The current public-facing site exists as a static, read-only archive preserving the original platform's content.
Is Public Lab a public or private company?
Public Lab is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Public Lab founded?
Public Lab was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Public Lab based?
Public Lab is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Public Lab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SciStarter, Zooniverse, iFixit and Make: Magazine / Maker Media. Emerging players are Adafruit Industries, Fab Foundation, Earth Genome Project and Hackaday. Others are Public Lab (note: subject) and CitizenScience.gov.
Does Public Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Public Lab.
What industry is Public Lab in?
Public Lab's product category is Civic Technology & Community Science. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMABAA, Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs), with a secondary code of EDAGAGAG, Scientific & Laboratory Reference (Chemistry, Biology, Physics; Methods & Protocols). Its NAICS code is 54172 and its SIC code is 8731.