What Conservation Metrics does

Conservation Metrics, Inc. (CMI) is a Santa Cruz, California-based, privately held mission-driven social enterprise founded in 2012-2013 that provides automated, AI-assisted alternatives to traditional labor-intensive wildlife survey and biodiversity monitoring efforts. The company combines passive acoustic monitoring, camera traps, remote sensing (satellite optical and radar imagery), and machine learning classifiers (BirdNET, YOLO, Perch) with custom data infrastructure to support monitoring programs across the full data lifecycle — from survey design and tool deployment through AI-based species classification, analysis, and reporting. Its named products include Guardian Connector, a free and open-source data sovereignty platform co-created with Indigenous communities and integrated with 15+ field data tools, and Auditor, a web-based labeling tool for building ML training datasets.

Conservation Metrics serves four primary customer segments: conservation NGOs and nonprofits (e.g., The Nature Conservancy, Island Conservation, American Bird Conservancy), federal and state government agencies (US NPS, USGS, USFWS, California State Parks, Hawaii DOFAW, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service), Indigenous community organizations (Instituto Iepê, Mai Maasina Greenbelt, Stichting Mulokot, Mulokot Foundation), and research institutions (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, UC Santa Cruz, Point Blue). To date, the company reports engagement with 72 partner organizations across 24 countries on 6 continents, monitoring 14,879,222 hectares across 6,944 survey locations and analyzing 3,752,151 hours of acoustic and visual data.

The business model is primarily fee-for-service professional services delivered through project-based contracts, supplemented by grant and donor-funded engagements (notably via Nia Tero for Indigenous Guardianship work) and supported by the free open-source Guardian Connector platform. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is led by CEO Matthew McKown (Ph.D. in Ecology, UNC Chapel Hill), with Board Chair Bernie Tershy and Chief Scientist Don Croll (both co-founders of Island Conservation). The team is small (~20 staff), independently owned with no disclosed venture or institutional capital, and positions itself as a data-lifecycle partner to conservation organizations globally.

Name

Conservation Metrics

Legal name

Conservation Metrics, Inc.

Website

https://conservationmetrics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Conservation Metrics is a Santa Cruz-based social enterprise that provides AI-assisted biodiversity and biocultural monitoring services to conservation NGOs, government agencies, Indigenous communities, and research institutions across 24 countries, combining acoustic and visual sensors with machine learning species classifiers and an open-source data sovereignty platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Biodiversity Monitoring Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (11)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildlife Surveys & Movement/Connectivity Studies (e.g., Avian/Bat, Telemetry) (EUAHAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Terrestrial Ecology & Habitat Surveys (EUAHAHAA), Wildlife Conservation & Species Protection (BPAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Biodiversity monitoring services
• Acoustic wildlife monitoring
• Indigenous data sovereignty
• Conservation AI analytics
• Remote sensing monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Cruz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Biodiversity Monitoring Services: Conservation Metrics provides fee-for-service monitoring programs to conservation NGOs, government agencies, research institutions, and Indigenous organizations. Services span the full data lifecycle: survey design, tool deployment, data processing, AI-based classification, analysis, and reporting. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts, likely with multi-year engagement potential given the long-term nature of ecological monitoring programs.
2. Guardian Connector Platform (Free/Open-Source): Guardian Connector is offered as a free, open-source, self-hostable platform. Revenue is not directly generated from the platform itself; it drives partnerships, grants, and service engagements with Indigenous organizations funded by donors such as Nia Tero. The platform serves as a tool-building and capacity-building revenue stream.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Conservation Metrics provides end-to-end biodiversity and biocultural monitoring programs, replacing labor-intensive manual wildlife surveys with AI/ML-powered acoustic, camera trap, and remote sensing analysis. Core service offerings include survey design, tool deployment, data processing, AI-based species classification, statistical analysis, and reporting across the full data lifecycle. The company also develops Guardian Connector, a free open-source data sovereignty platform for Indigenous communities, and Auditor, a web-based acoustic labeling tool.

Product overview

Conservation Metrics offers a portfolio of monitoring products and services centered on two main named offerings: Guardian Connector and Auditor. Guardian Connector is the company's core open-source data sovereignty platform for Indigenous communities, enabling secure data access, multi-tool integration, real-time satellite alerts, and visual dashboards. Auditor is a supplementary web-based tool for labeling acoustic data to support machine learning classifier training. Both products are supported by a suite of service offerings including capacity building, data processing, species classification, tool building, data insights, and data warehousing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Guardian Connector: A free and open-source data sovereignty platform for Indigenous communities to securely access, explore, and derive insights from their data. It enables communities to own, control, and manage their monitoring data.

Products and services

• Guardian Connector Free, open-source, self-hostable data sovereignty platform that enables Indigenous communities and partners to securely access, explore, and derive insights from biodiversity and territorial monitoring data stored on community-controlled infrastructure. Integrates with 15+ widely used field data collection and monitoring tools, supports real-time satellite change-detection alerts, visual dashboards, and multi-source data integration.
• Auditor
• Biodiversity Monitoring Services
• Indigenous Guardianship Program
• Data Infrastructure and Warehousing Services
• AI/ML Species Classification Services
• Capacity Building and Training Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,752,151 hours of acoustic and visual monitoring data analyzed to date
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers16 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

Integration15 records

AI capability10 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Nia TerocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNia Tero provides funding, strategic partnership, and visioning support for Conservation Metrics' Indigenous Guardianship Program, including the Guardian Connector platform. Nia Tero acts as a key donor and strategic ally, connecting CMI with Indigenous partners globally and supporting co-creation of tools for Indigenous data sovereignty.
• Island ConservationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership on post-eradication ecosystem recovery monitoring. CMI has analyzed acoustic monitoring data from rat eradication projects on islands including Hawadax Island (Alaska), Palmyra Atoll, Anacapa Island, and others, supporting Island Conservation's science-based approach to island restoration.
• Awana DigitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner integrated with Guardian Connector platform. Awana Digital develops digital tools for environmental monitoring and forest protection, and works with CMI on the Guardian Connector ecosystem to provide integrated monitoring solutions for Indigenous communities.
• Imazon (Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia)coreTechnology or IntegrationBrazilian environmental NGO and technology partner working with CMI on Amazon monitoring initiatives including the Greater Tumucumaque-Wayamu Program. Imazon provides forest monitoring and deforestation alert systems integrated into Guardian Connector.
• Terras App SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner integrated with Guardian Connector. Terras App Solutions develops mapping and monitoring applications that are part of the Guardian Connector tool ecosystem for Indigenous territorial monitoring.
• Mai Maasina GreenbeltcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndigenous community-based organization in the Solomon Islands leading the protection of Sky Aelans (Sky Islands). Co-creator of Guardian Connector platform and lead partner in monitoring 430,700 hectares of highland forest in Malaita, Solomon Islands.
• Islands Knowledge InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSolomon Islands-based institute that co-leads the Sky Aelans monitoring project alongside Mai Maasina Greenbelt. Provides Indigenous knowledge leadership and stewardship visioning for Guardian Connector platform development.
• Stichting MulokotcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization (Mulokot Foundation) working to demarcate and protect Wayana Indigenous territory in Suriname. Co-creates Guardian Connector platform for biocultural monitoring and territorial protection across approximately 2.5 million hectares.
• Instituto IepécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian partner organization implementing the Greater Tumucumaque-Wayamu Program with CMI. Supports 64 Indigenous communities across 5 territories (11.47 million hectares) using Guardian Connector for territorial monitoring and protection.
• Archipelago Research and Conservation (ARC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHawaiian conservation organization co-owned by Dr. André Raine. CMI has partnered with ARC for over a decade on Kauai seabird monitoring — analyzing 350,000 hours of acoustic data across 12 sites and 140 locations. Partnership exemplifies long-term, continuous monitoring collaboration.
• American Bird ConservancymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS-based bird conservation organization. CMI has partnered for over a decade on Black-capped Petrel monitoring in the Caribbean (11,602 hours of acoustic data analyzed), Hawaiian seabird projects, and other seabird recovery initiatives.
• The Nature Conservancy (TNC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the world's largest conservation organizations. Listed as a client/collaborator on CMI's homepage, indicating partnership on biodiversity monitoring projects including post-eradication recovery monitoring and waterbird surveys.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology / Cornell UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner on multiple seabird monitoring projects (Black-capped Petrel on Hispaniola) and elephant acoustic monitoring (Elephant Listening Project). CMI staff have co-authored publications with Cornell researchers.
• US National Park Service (USNPS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency partner for Northern Spotted Owl acoustic monitoring at Point Reyes, California Red-legged Frog acoustic surveys, and Anacapa Island seabird recovery monitoring.
• Hawaii Department of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState government partner for Hawaiian seabird monitoring programs including East Maui monitoring (37,000 hours of data, 16 locations over 16 years), Lehua Island rat eradication monitoring, and Hawaii Island surveys.
• US Geological Survey (USGS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal scientific agency partner for migratory waterbird acoustic monitoring in San Francisco Bay Delta and archipelago-wide seabird monitoring in the Channel Islands.
• Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (Australia)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian state government partner for Capricornia Cays seabird monitoring — 90,000 hours of acoustic data collected through pilot studies comparing acoustic and traditional survey methods for Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Black Noddies.
• Point Blue Conservation SciencemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation science organization partnered on Ashy Storm-petrel monitoring at Vandenberg Air Force Base, comparing traditional survey techniques with automated acoustic monitoring data.
• Bat Conservation InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator. CMI conducted exploratory bat surveys in Guinea (Mt. Nimba) in collaboration with Bat Conservation International.
• California State ParksmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState government agency partner for Marbled Murrelet monitoring in the Santa Cruz Mountains (77,000 hours of acoustic data analyzed).
• US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency partner for seabird monitoring on Midway Atoll, Rose Atoll, and other wildlife refuge sites, as well as Naked Islands (Alaska) seabird monitoring.
• Environment Canada / Environment and Climate Change CanadamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal environmental agency partner for Scott Islands seabird monitoring (Canada) and Haida Gwaii seabird monitoring (British Columbia).
• Los Angeles ZoominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator on the CMI homepage.
• San Diego Zoo Wildlife AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator on the CMI homepage.
• Save The Redwoods LeagueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator on the CMI homepage, participating in Marbled Murrelet monitoring in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
• NOAA National Marine SanctuariesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator on the CMI homepage.
• UC Santa CruzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator on the CMI homepage. CMI's headquarters is at UCSC Coastal Science Campus, and several team members have UCSC affiliations.
• River PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation organization partnered with CMI, Bat Conservation International, and California Wildlife Conservation Board on Central Valley bat monitoring studies.
• Bush Heritage AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator. CMI conducted exploratory surveys for Australian Night Parrot and Australian Grasswrens in collaboration with Bush Heritage Australia.
• Pacific Rim ConservationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client/collaborator. CMI partnered on exploratory seabird surveys for threatened Hawaiian seabird species in collaboration with Pacific Rim Conservation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wildlife Acoustics: Wildlife Acoustics makes SongMeter autonomous recording units and Kaleidoscope Pro analysis software for wildlife acoustic monitoring — overlapping with CMI's core passive acoustic monitoring and BirdNET/YOLO-based classification stack across similar conservation and agency customers.
• Rainforest Connection: Rainforest Connection builds acoustic monitoring + AI tools (including Arbimon) for detecting illegal logging and biodiversity, and is a listed CMI collaborator. It targets the same NGO and Indigenous monitoring market with a comparable audio/AI technical approach.
• EarthRanger (Vulcan): EarthRanger, developed by Paul Allen's Vulcan, is a domain management platform for protected areas that ingests sensor data (camera traps, acoustic sensors, telemetry) and serves rangers, NGOs, and government agencies — directly comparable to CMI's Guardian Connector as a conservation-area data infrastructure layer.
• Smart Parks: Smart Parks deploys camera traps, sensors, and AI for wildlife monitoring and anti-poaching in African protected areas, addressing the same problem (replacing labor-intensive field surveys with automated, AI-powered monitoring) for conservation NGOs and government agencies.

Broad incumbents

• Planet Labs: Planet Labs operates a large commercial satellite imagery constellation used for environmental, deforestation, and habitat monitoring. CMI uses similar remote-sensing inputs; Planet is a much larger broad incumbent in the underlying data layer that CMI's monitoring services consume.
• Microsoft AI for Earth: Microsoft's AI for Earth program grants Azure compute and AI tools to conservation projects, and CMI is engaged with Microsoft ecosystem partners. It is a broad incumbent providing enabling AI infrastructure that overlaps with — and partly enables — CMI's own ML workflows.

Emerging players

• Salo Sciences: Salo Sciences uses airborne LiDAR and remote sensing to map and monitor forests at landscape scale, including for carbon and biodiversity credit markets. Overlapping with CMI's remote-sensing and habitat assessment work for conservation and Indigenous clients.
• Conservation X Labs: Conservation X Labs is a conservation technology innovation lab/incubator that built TrailGuard AI camera-trap poaching detection. Comparable as a conservation tech builder targeting wildlife monitoring, threat detection, and biodiversity outcomes.

Others

• RESOLVE: RESOLVE is a conservation NGO that originated TrailGuard AI for anti-poaching camera-trap detection. Comparable in mission and adjacent technology overlap (AI for conservation threat detection), but operates as a nonprofit rather than as a direct service competitor.
• Map of Life (Yale University): Map of Life is a Yale-hosted biodiversity data platform integrating species occurrence and range data globally. Comparable as a data-infrastructure layer for biodiversity science, though primarily research/academic and not a direct commercial competitor to CMI's services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/ConservationMetrics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/conservation-metrics
• Xx.com/cmi_santacruz
• Facebookfacebook.com/297857690405853

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 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 Conservation Metrics