OpenForests

What OpenForests does

OpenForests is a Krefeld-registered, fully remote German company that builds and operates explorer.land, a web-based geo-transparency platform for nature-based solutions projects. The platform enables restoration and conservation projects to map their boundaries, monitor ecological change via satellite and field data, and publish verifiable, geo-anchored evidence for funders, partners, and the public. Core technical components include an Interactive Project Map, Map Embed widget (iframe-based deployment into customer sites), a geo-analytics dashboard for deforestation and fire detection, a Satellite Timeline drawing on a 2015-present archive via NICFI PlanetLabs and ESRI Wayback, 30+ thematic data layers (forest cover change, fire alerts, biodiversity intactness, carbon, soil), a Theory of Change tool linked to spatial evidence, and an API for integration with donor reporting and certification systems. The platform hosts 2,000+ projects from 900+ organizations and targets four primary customer segments: restoration and conservation NGOs, corporate ESG teams, foundations and funders, and business coalitions/alliances.

The company operates a hybrid SaaS-plus-services business model. Platform access is sold in four tiers: a Free tier (1 project), Starter at €49/month per project, Pro at €99/month, and Enterprise with custom multi-year contracts. Beyond self-serve subscriptions, OpenForests generates revenue through professional consultancy engagements organized into three phases—Assess & Design, Build & Implement, and Monitor & Report—covering solution architecture, custom software development, integrations, data onboarding, MEL consultancy, and geospatial/remote sensing analysis. Custom solutions (e.g., embedded maps, custom dashboards, registry infrastructure) are built for specific client needs and contribute a project-based revenue stream. Distribution is multi-channel: PLG onboarding via the free tier, embedded map distribution into partner websites (white-label/OEM), direct enterprise field sales, and partnership-driven reach through technology integrators.

Founded in 2011 by Alexander Watson (CEO/CFO), Stefan Haas (Chief Solution Architect), and Dr. Patrick Ribeiro (Chief Product Officer) as a forestry consultancy, OpenForests launched the explorer.land platform in 2018 and converted it to a SaaS model in 2020. The company is privately held, self-funded through operating revenue, and reports no institutional investment rounds in the available material. Headcount stands at approximately 25 full-time employees distributed globally across multiple time zones. Operations span EMEA (Germany, Switzerland), LATAM (Mexico), and a global remote footprint.

Name

OpenForests

Legal name

OpenForests UG (haftungsbeschränkt)

Website

https://openforests.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OpenForests operates explorer.land, a SaaS geo-transparency platform that helps conservation NGOs, corporate ESG teams, foundations, and business coalitions map, monitor, and report verifiable impact for nature-based restoration and carbon projects across 2,000+ mapped sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental monitoring and nature-based solutions transparency software

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

Keywords

• Geospatial transparency platform
• Forest restoration mapping
• Satellite impact monitoring
• Nature-based solutions software
• Environmental monitoring consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Krefeld

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Platform Subscriptions: Tiered subscription model for explorer.land platform: Free (1 project), Starter (49€/month/project), Pro (99€/month). Enterprise custom pricing. Revenue recurs monthly as organizations scale their project portfolios.
2. Professional Services & Consultancy: Expert consultancy across three phases: Assess & Design, Build & Implement, Monitor & Report. Includes solution architecture, custom software development, integration, data onboarding, MEL consultancy, and geospatial consultancy. One-time and retainer engagements.
3. Custom Solutions: Fully tailored software solutions for organizations with unique needs. Includes custom embedded maps (Wyss Academy case study), custom dashboards, and specialized digital infrastructure. Project-based pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

OpenForests sells the explorer.land SaaS platform, a web-based geo-transparency system that lets nature-based projects create interactive maps, monitor impact via satellite and field data, and generate stakeholder and compliance reports. It also provides expert consultancy (Assess & Design, Build & Implement, Monitor & Report) and fully tailored custom software solutions for organizations with unique transparency, monitoring, and reporting needs.

Product overview

OpenForests operates a platform-plus-services model built around its core SaaS platform explorer.land, which offers three integrated capability areas: Map (Interactive Project Map, Map Embed, Public Project Directory, Sponsor Portal, Geo-analytics), Monitor (Impact Monitoring, Theory of Change Tool, 30+ Data Layers, Satellite Timeline), and Report (stakeholder reporting aligned with TNFD, CSRD, and EUDR). The platform is available in four pricing tiers: Free, Starter (€49/month), Pro (€99/month), and Enterprise. Alongside the self-serve SaaS platform, OpenForests provides Custom Solutions and Consultancy Services organized across three phases — Assess & Design, Build & Implement, and Monitor & Report — covering solution architecture, software development, integrations, data onboarding, MEL consultancy, remote sensing, and geospatial consultancy. The company also develops tailored custom solutions for specific client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• explorer.land: A digital landscape platform for forest and conservation projects to map their work, monitor impact using satellite data, and share transparent reporting. Launched in 2018, transitioned to SaaS in 2020. Hosts 2,000+ projects from 900+ organizations.

Products and services

• explorer.land Platform Web-based geo-transparency SaaS platform that combines interactive project mapping, satellite-based monitoring (NICFI PlanetLabs and ESRI Wayback timeline), 30+ thematic data layers, geo-analytics with deforestation and fire alerts, Theory of Change-linked reporting, and embeddable white-label maps. Available in Free, Starter (€49/month/project), Pro (€99/month), and Enterprise tiers; used by NGOs, corporate ESG teams, foundations, and multi-stakeholder coalitions to demonstrate verifiable nature-based impact.
• Consultancy Services (Assess & Design, Build & Implement, Monitor & Report) Three-phase expert consultancy offering for nature-based project implementers, corporates, and funders. Assess & Design covers solution architecture, audit, Theory of Change, and data mapping; Build & Implement covers software development, integrations, and data onboarding; Monitor & Report covers impact monitoring, MEL consultancy, remote sensing, and geospatial consultancy. Delivered as one-time and retainer engagements.
• Custom Solutions Fully tailored software solutions for organizations with unique transparency, monitoring, and reporting needs, including custom embedded maps, custom dashboards, data pipelines, and platform extensions. Delivered as project-based engagements, with reference deployments including the Wyss Academy embedded map and other coalition-specific builds.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,000+ projects geo-anchored, monitored, and visible
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• biometrio.earthsupportingTechnology or Integration · 28 October 2025Partnership announced October 2025 to enhance biodiversity monitoring capabilities on the explorer.land platform.
• EcoRegistrycoreTechnology or Integration · 3 October 2024Partnership to boost transparency in nature-based carbon markets. United to create a more transparent carbon ecosystem.
• GlobhecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 October 2024Partnership announced October 2024 for drone data integration into explorer.land platform.
• GlobhecoreTechnology or IntegrationGlobal Drone Data provider for digital twins and AI. Partnership enables integration of drone data into explorer.land monitoring workflows for enhanced field verification.
• NadarsupportingTechnology or IntegrationSatellite- and AI-powered insights on natural ecosystems, deforestation, and carbon stocks. Provides analytical data layers for platform monitoring.
• VardacoreTechnology or IntegrationField ID technology for supply chain traceability and regulatory compliance. Partnership announced October 2024 to revolutionize global supply chain transparency.
• ReWild AfricasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroundtruth with film and photography. Partnership enables visual storytelling connected to project locations on explorer.land.
• ChangeNOWsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerNature Positive Consortium contributor. Selected for ChangeNOW 2025 to join Paris event for climate solutions.
• Nature Data AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributing to Nature Positive Consortium. Alliance focused on nature data standards and transparency.
• EMMA4EUsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributing to Nature Positive Consortium. Partner for deforestation-free supply chain management training and standards.
• Global Forest WatchsupportingTechnology or IntegrationUsed as reference point in company's evolution. Inspired expansion from consulting to platform scale after seeing deforestation visualization at scale.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Restor: PLG web platform for mapping and monitoring ecological restoration projects. Comparable because it competes directly for the same NGO and coalition customers, uses a freemium model with paid tiers, and overlays project-level geospatial data on global basemaps.
• Global Forest Watch: World Resources Institute's open platform for deforestation and forest-cover monitoring. Comparable because it offers satellite-driven forest transparency dashboards at no cost - the same problem space OpenForests targets with a paid, project-anchored SaaS.
• LandScale: An assessment framework and platform for landscape-level sustainability outcomes. Comparable because it operates upstream - LandScale is even shown as an OpenForests customer logo - and provides the kind of integrated impact-rating layer OpenForests couples with geo-anchored monitoring.
• EcoRegistry: Carbon registry infrastructure provider that OpenForests has a Core partnership with. Comparable because both target transparent, audited nature-based carbon projects and compete for the same NGO/corporate carbon-market stakeholders.

Emerging players

• Sylvera: Carbon-credit ratings and monitoring business focused on verifying forest carbon projects. Comparable because it overlaps with the MRV and carbon-transparency layer of explorer.land while building toward enterprise buyers in voluntary carbon markets.
• Pachama: Carbon credit marketplace combining satellite data with on-the-ground verification. Comparable because it monetizes nature-based carbon transparency through a tech platform competing for the same corporate carbon buyers and forest-project operators.
• Terrastories: Open-source, place-based storytelling and mapping app mentioned directly in an OpenForests testimonial. Comparable because it covers community-led, geo-located storytelling for nature and cultural-heritage projects - an adjacent niche to explorer.land's geo-located updates.
• Upstream Tech: Nature-based solutions analytics platform using satellite and environmental data for carbon and water impact. Comparable because it focuses on the same corporate ESG / nature-tech buyer and uses similar remote-sensing + GIS stack to deliver program-level reporting.

Broad incumbents

• DroneDeploy: Aerial data capture and mapping platform across industries including agriculture, forestry, and construction. Comparable because it sells enterprise-grade geospatial monitoring and analytics with similar real-world visualization capabilities, just at much larger scale and contract sizes.
• Esri (ArcGIS): Dominant GIS platform with imagery services (ArcGIS Online, Wayback Imagery) that OpenForests already integrates with. Comparable because Esri powers much of the underlying mapping and spatial analytics ecosystem OpenForests sells on top of, and competes at the high end of the geospatial market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeopen.spotify.com/show/0QZpE6XfKu1IJ8YZijV3eM?si=9fb7dc125a2a455d
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/openforests
• Facebookfacebook.com/openforests

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 OpenForests