NEON Program

What NEON Program does

NEON Program (the National Ecological Observatory Network) is a U.S. National Science Foundation major facility operated by Battelle Memorial Institute to collect, process, and publish standardized continental-scale ecological data over a 30-year program horizon. It maintains 81 field sites across 24 states and Puerto Rico, organized into 20 NEON Domains spanning Alaska, Hawaii, and the continental United States, and employs 500+ personnel to run three integrated collection systems: an Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) using imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR, automated ground-based Instrument Systems (IS) for soil and atmosphere monitoring, and an Observational System (OS) staffed by field scientists conducting biological sampling. A cyberinfrastructure layer processes, quality-checks, stores, and publishes 180+ free, open data products, while the NEON Biorepository at Arizona State University houses 1M+ occurrence records and 700,000+ physical specimens with rich associated metadata.

The program serves a horizontal scientific community — academic and government researchers, students, federal and state agencies, and conservation organizations — by providing free, open-access ecological data and physical samples. GTM is community-led rather than commercial: engagement runs through the NEON Data Portal, Biorepository Sample Portal, Data API and GraphQL endpoints, the Learning Hub, Code Hub (with neonUtilities R/Python packages and a GitHub presence), NEON Ambassador Program, Technical Working Groups (e.g., Mosquito TWG), advisory committees (STEAC, IAC), and partnerships with universities and federal entities. Recent product launches include a Canopy Nitrogen Data Product built on Random Forest regression models and an interactive Surface-Atmosphere Exchange Visualization Tool, signaling an evolution from raw observational data toward ML-derived products.

NEON's revenue model is structurally unique: it is entirely funded by NSF as a major research facility under Battelle's operating contract, with no commercial revenue streams, no priced subscriptions, and no advertising. All 180+ data products are provided free of charge, and starting June 30, 2026, will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, with downloads requiring a NEON account or API token. This makes NEON effectively a public-good infrastructure program rather than a commercial entity — its financial sustainability is a function of federal appropriations and the 30-year NSF mandate rather than market demand or pricing strategy.

Name

NEON Program

Legal name

National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)

Website

https://neonscience.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

NEON Program is a U.S. National Science Foundation major facility operated by Battelle that collects, processes, and publishes free, standardized continental-scale ecological data and physical specimens from 81 field sites across the U.S. to serve academic researchers, students, and federal and state government agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (NSF): NEON is fully funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) as a major facility. The program provides all data products free of charge to users. NEON is operated by Battelle under NSF funding for a 30-year program to collect and provide open continental-scale ecological data.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NEON is a continental-scale ecological observatory that collects standardized environmental and biological data from 81 field sites across 20 domains in the U.S. using three integrated systems: the Airborne Observation Platform (AOP), automated Instrument Systems (IS), and Observational Sampling (OS). It provides 180+ free open data products and hosts the NEON Biorepository at Arizona State University, which archives more than 700,000 physical specimens and 1 million+ occurrence records for research use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NEON Biorepository: A physical repository housing biological and environmental samples (insects, small mammal specimens, frozen soil samples, plants, aquatic mosses and algae, microbes, fish specimens, and DNA extractions) collected from 81 NEON field sites across all 20 NEON Domains.
• Airborne Observation Platform (AOP)

Products and services

• NEON Data Portal Self-serve web portal providing researchers, students, and government users free access to 180+ standardized ecological data products collected from 81 NEON field sites, with explore functionality, visualizations, and download capability.
• NEON Biorepository Sample Portal Online portal at Arizona State University enabling researchers to search and request biological and environmental specimens (insects, small mammals, soil, plants, fish, DNA) collected from NEON's 81 field sites, with over 700,000 samples and 1 million+ occurrence records available.
• Airborne Observation Platform (AOP) Airborne remote sensing service capturing hyperspectral imagery and LiDAR data of regional landscapes and vegetation across all 81 NEON field sites, providing imaging spectroscopy data used for vegetation classification and derived data products such as canopy nitrogen mapping.
• Canopy Nitrogen Data Product (DP3.30018.002) Derived gridded data product providing 1-meter resolution maps of canopy nitrogen content (%) generated by combining 1-meter airborne imaging spectroscopy with ground-based foliar samples using Random Forest regression models, for use by ecologists, biogeochemists, and remote sensing researchers.
• Surface-Atmosphere Exchange (SAE) Data Visualization Tool Interactive browser-based visualization tool for the Surface-Atmosphere Exchange data product, allowing researchers to preview time series, QC information, and site-level patterns of fluxes and key meteorological drivers prior to downloading data.
• neonUtilities R and Python Packages Open-source software packages for R and Python enabling researchers to programmatically download, stack, and analyze NEON data products, available via the Code Hub and GitHub organization.
• NEON Data API and GraphQL Endpoint REST and GraphQL API providing programmatic access to the full NEON data catalog, including geospatial data, for automated data retrieval and integration into research workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• 180+ open data products freely available
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BattellecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBattelle operates the NEON program on behalf of the U.S. National Science Foundation. Battelle employs 500+ personnel to collect, process, and provide NEON data products from 81 field sites. NEON positions are found within the Battelle job search system.
• Arizona State University (ASU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASU hosts the NEON Biorepository, housing over 1 million specimens and samples from all 81 NEON field sites. ASU Natural History Collections staff manage the biorepository. Dr. Hojun Song is PI of the NEON Biorepository and Director of ASU Biocollections.
• Student Conservation Association (SCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCA offers field internship positions at NEON sites each year. SCA is the largest provider of hands-on environmental conservation programs and partners with NEON to provide early career opportunities.
• U.S. Army Corps of EngineersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of the Dead Lake, Alabama (DELA) NEON field site. The Corps has indicated plans to continue managing the area for wildlife habitat and hunting after NEON operations conclude.
• Mosquito Technical Working GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory group of researchers focused on mosquito surveillance, public health, disease ecology, and phenology. Advises NEON on sampling approaches for mosquito data products.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): GBIF is an intergovernmental network providing open access to biodiversity occurrence data globally. NEON's biorepository and occurrence records are highly comparable in function to GBIF's aggregated biodiversity data platform.
• DataONE: DataONE is an NSF-funded data cyberinfrastructure for biological and environmental data. It complements NEON by enabling discovery and access across ecological datasets, with overlapping community and use cases.
• Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) Network: CZO is an NSF-funded network of field observatories studying the critical zone (soil-water-air interactions). It shares NEON's model of multi-site, instrumented, long-term environmental monitoring with open data products.
• Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network: The LTER Network is NSF-funded and conducts long-term ecological research at 28+ U.S. sites. It is the closest direct peer to NEON in mission (standardized, long-term ecological data), though smaller in scale and using site-based rather than continental design.
• AmeriFlux: AmeriFlux is a DOE-funded network measuring ecosystem-level CO2, water, and energy fluxes across the Americas. It directly overlaps NEON's surface-atmosphere exchange data products and shares the model of standardized, multi-site ecological monitoring.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): USGS is a broader federal science agency that conducts environmental and ecological monitoring across the U.S. NEON's data products often complement USGS datasets and the agencies serve overlapping user communities.
• NASA Earth Observing System: NASA's EOS provides satellite-based ecological and atmospheric observation at global scales. NEON's airborne observation platform (AOP) fills the gap between satellite remote sensing and ground-based measurement, making NASA a complementary incumbent.

Emerging players

• iDigBio (Integrated Digitized Biocollections): iDigBio is an NSF-funded digitization hub for natural history collections, providing open access to specimen data. Strong functional overlap with the NEON Biorepository's role in aggregating and exposing biodiversity records.

Regional players

• TERN (Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network): TERN is Australia's continental-scale ecological observatory network providing open ecosystem data. Closely comparable in design philosophy and open-data model, but serving a different geography.
• ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System): ICOS is the European equivalent of NEON/AmeriFlux for greenhouse gas and carbon flux monitoring across Europe. Highly comparable mission and product structure but geographically distinct.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NEON_Sci
• GitHubgithub.com/neonscience
• Facebookfacebook.com/NEONScienceData
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/groups/12535111

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about NEON Program