MapBiomas

What MapBiomas does

MapBiomas is a non-profit multi-institutional network founded in 2015 in São Paulo, Brazil, that produces annual land cover and land use mapping at continental scale using artificial intelligence applied to satellite imagery. Its core technology pipeline runs pixel-by-pixel classification on Landsat (30m) and Sentinel-2 (10m) imagery through Google Earth Engine, supplemented by machine learning algorithms, temporal filters across consecutive years, expert sampling strategies, and — most recently — Satellite Embedding from AlphEarth/Google to improve classification accuracy in the 10-meter collection. The network has expanded from Brazil to 18 countries across Latin America, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, India, French Guiana, and Antarctica, with thematic modules spanning land cover and use, water (MapBiomas Água), fire (MapBiomas Fogo), soil (MapBiomas Solo), deforestation alerts (MapBiomas Alerta), rural credit compliance, vegetation recovery, mining, urban areas, and atmospheric/climate data (MapBiomas Atmosfera).

The platform distributes all data free of charge under a CC BY 4.0 license via the MapBiomas Platform, country-specific websites, Google Earth Engine assets, direct GeoTIFF downloads, and the MapBiomas Toolkit. The customer base spans government agencies, research institutions, NGOs, agricultural sector users, media, and international climate organizations (including use in COP30 proceedings and by financial institutions such as BNDES, Sicoob, and BRDE for sustainable rural credit). Each country chapter is co-created by named local institutions (e.g., 23 institutions in Argentina; Provita, Wataniba, LSIGMA-USB, and RAISG in Venezuela; Instituto del Bien Común and UNALM in Peru), with distributed leadership across scientific, technical, and country-level coordinators including Tasso Azevedo (general coordinator), Julia Shimbo (scientific coordinator), and Marcos Rosa (technical coordinator).

The business model is non-commercial: MapBiomas generates no revenue from its data products and is funded through institutional grants from foundations and development partners including the Moore Foundation, Skoll Foundation, WWF, Avina, and Google (via Google Earth Engine). It pursues a community-led and event-driven go-to-market through annual country seminars, the MapBiomas User Summit, the Prêmio MapBiomas awards, COP30 participation, and in-country training workshops (e.g., 200+ attendees in Venezuela), with the stated strategic objective to cover 70% of tropical forests across 20 countries by 2030.

Name

MapBiomas

Legal name

MapBiomas

Website

https://mapbiomas.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MapBiomas is a non-profit multi-institutional network, founded 2015 in Brazil, that produces free open annual land cover and land use maps across 18 countries using AI on Google Earth Engine for governments, researchers, NGOs, and climate organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Environmental Monitoring

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD), Remote Sensing & Imaging (Satellite, UAV/Drone, Aerial, Multispectral/Hyperspectral) (AFAGALAC), Satellite Imagery & Monitoring Platforms (AFAAAFAI), GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

Keywords

• Land cover mapping
• Satellite imagery analysis
• Deforestation monitoring
• Environmental data platform
• Open geospatial data

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Open Data Access: MapBiomas operates as a non-profit multi-institutional network providing free, open, and public data access. All data is released under CC BY 4.0 Creative Commons license. The organization does not generate commercial revenue from its mapping products; instead, it relies on institutional partnerships, grants, and funding from foundations and development organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

MapBiomas is a multi-institutional non-profit network of universities, NGOs, and technology companies that produces annual pixel-by-pixel land cover and land use classification maps from Landsat (30m) and Sentinel-2 (10m) satellite imagery processed via AI/ML algorithms on the Google Earth Engine cloud platform. It provides free, open spatial data infrastructure under CC BY 4.0 license across 18 countries from 1985 to present, with specialized modules for water, fire, soil, deforestation alerts, mining, atmosphere, and rural credit monitoring.

Product overview

MapBiomas is a multi-institutional network (universities, NGOs, and technology companies) that provides free, open spatial data infrastructure for annual land cover and land use mapping. The core offering is the MapBiomas Platform, which serves as the central hub for accessing all products. The portfolio includes the core Cobertura e Uso (Land Cover and Use) module producing annual classification maps at 30m and 10m resolution; specialized monitoring modules including MapBiomas Alerta (deforestation alerts), MapBiomas Fogo (fire monitoring), MapBiomas Água (water surface mapping), MapBiomas Solo (soil carbon), MapBiomas Atmosfera (atmospheric/climate data), and urban area mapping; plus analytical monitors for Rural Credit, Recovery, and Mining. All products are built on Google Earth Engine using AI/ML algorithms applied to Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, with historical data spanning from 1985.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MapBiomas Brasil: Brazil-specific land cover and land use mapping initiative
• MapBiomas Argentina
• MapBiomas Peru
• MapBiomas Ecuador
• MapBiomas Bolivia
• MapBiomas Venezuela
• MapBiomas Colombia
• MapBiomas Chile
• MapBiomas Paraguay
• MapBiomas Uruguay
• MapBiomas Indonesia
• MapBiomas Agua
• MapBiomas Fogo
• MapBiomas Alerta
• MapBiomas Solo
• MapBiomas Amazônia
• MapBiomas Bosque Atlântico
• MapBiomas Pampa
• MapBiomas Chaco
• MapBiomas Árida
• Monitor do Crédito Rural
• Monitor da Recuperação
• Monitor da Mineração
• MapBiomas Atmosfera

Products and services

• MapBiomas Platform Central web platform providing access to all MapBiomas spatial data infrastructure, including interactive maps, statistics, and downloadable data for land cover and land use analysis across multiple countries.
• MapBiomas Cobertura e Uso (Land Cover and Use) Annual land cover and land use classification maps produced from satellite imagery, available in multiple resolutions (30m from Landsat, 10m from Sentinel-2) covering historical periods from 1985 to present.
• MapBiomas Alerta Deforestation alert system that processes and validates alerts with scientific rigor, providing high-resolution data and free access for forest control and monitoring.
• MapBiomas Fogo (Fire Monitor) Monthly and annual fire monitoring platform tracking fire scars, frequency, and burned areas across Brazil and other countries.
• MapBiomas Água (Water) Surface water mapping module providing monthly and annual data on water bodies, including natural and anthropogenic water sources, glaciers, and water dynamics.
• MapBiomas Solo (Soil) Soil mapping module providing data on soil organic carbon stocks and soil characteristics across Brazil.
• Monitor do Crédito Rural (Rural Credit Monitor) Platform monitoring rural credit allocation and its relationship to land use, helping to track compliance with environmental regulations.
• Monitor da Recuperação (Recovery Monitor) Platform tracking vegetation recovery and restoration areas across Brazil.
• Monitor da Mineração (Mining Monitor) Platform providing comprehensive data on mining activity in Brazil, including processual compliance analysis from 1934 to 2025.
• MapBiomas Atmosfera Atmospheric monitoring module providing climate data on temperature and precipitation variations (1985-2024) and atmospheric pollutant data (2003-2024) for all Brazilian territory.
• MapBiomas Fuego Peru Fire monitoring platform specific to Peru mapping annual fire scar footprint and frequency across Peru from 2013-2024.
• MapBiomas 10m Collection 3 (beta) Third collection of annual land cover and land use maps of Brazil with 10-meter spatial resolution, produced from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery covering 2016-2024 with new Photovoltaic Plant classification.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40+ years of continuous annual data from 1985 to 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ProvitacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Provita is a co-creator of MapBiomas Venezuela, serving as the lead institution for the Venezuela network together with Wataniba, LSIGMA-USB, and RAISG. Provita's Director of Research Irene Zager coordinates the Venezuela initiative.
• WatanibacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Wataniba is a co-creator of MapBiomas Venezuela, contributing to the socio-environmental information systems work in Venezuela. Anderson Albarran serves as Coordinator of Socio-environmental Information Systems.
• LSIGMA-USB (Laboratorio de Sistemas de Información Geográfica y Modelado Ambiental, Universidad Simón Bolívar)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025LSIGMA-USB is a co-creator of MapBiomas Venezuela, contributing technical expertise in geographic information systems and environmental modeling. Carlos E. González serves as Technical Coordinator for Land Cover and Use.
• RAISG (Red Amazónica de Información Socioambiental Georreferenciada)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025RAISG is a co-creator of MapBiomas Venezuela and contributes to the Amazon regional network of socio-environmental information, providing cross-border coordination for Amazon monitoring.
• Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (WWF Argentina)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina is a key partner in the launch and dissemination of MapBiomas Argentina Collection 2. The organization participated in the launch and provides institutional support for environmental conservation work connected to MapBiomas data.
• BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025BNDES participated in COP30 panel with MapBiomas on sustainable credit, utilizing MapBiomas data to avoid releasing resources and credit to rural property owners with deforestation alerts.
• SicoobminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Agricultural credit cooperative participating in sustainable credit panel with MapBiomas at COP30, using data for environmental compliance verification.
• BRDE (Banco Regional de Desenvolvimento do Extremo Sul)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Regional development bank participating in sustainable credit panel, using MapBiomas data for rural credit environmental compliance.
• Amazônia 2030minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Organization co-organizing Amazon events with MapBiomas including the 'Jornada Amazônia Viva' boat journey event during COP30.
• IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025IPAM works with MapBiomas on fire monitoring. Ane Alencar coordinates MapBiomas Fire Working Group and serves as IPAM Science Director, participating in COP30 panels.
• Instituto del Bien ComúncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Instituto del Bien Común is co-creator of MapBiomas Peru, responsible for technical implementation of MapBiomas Agua Peru and MapBiomas Fuego Peru. Renzo Piana serves as Executive Director.
• Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (Peru)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025UNALM is co-creator of MapBiomas Fuego Peru, providing academic research support for fire mapping analysis.
• IPCC (Painel Intergovernamental sobre Mudança do Clima)minorOthers · 1 January 2025MapBiomas data aligns with IPCC frameworks and methodologies for climate reporting and greenhouse gas emissions estimation. SEEG uses MapBiomas data for emissions estimates.
• GooglecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Google provides technology collaboration through Google Earth Engine platform access and support for the MapBiomas platform infrastructure.
• Universidad de São Paulo (USP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024USP is a technical partner providing academic and research support to MapBiomas Argentina, contributing scientific expertise to the initiative.
• Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento (UNGS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024UNGS is a co-creator of MapBiomas Argentina, contributing research expertise and institutional support to the initiative.
• Ministerio de Desarrollo Económico y Producción (Argentina)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Argentina government ministry supporting MapBiomas Argentina as an institutional partner.
• Google Earth EnginecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2015Google Earth Engine is the core cloud computing platform used by MapBiomas for processing satellite imagery. All MapBiomas algorithms are implemented on the GEE platform, enabling processing of petabytes of data. The partnership provides the technical infrastructure essential for the initiative's operations.
• SEEG (Sistema de Estimativas de Emissões de Gases do Efeito Estufa)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2015SEEG provides the computational infrastructure and technical support for MapBiomas operations, powering the data processing and platform hosting.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Trase (Stockholm Environment Institute): Maps deforestation-linked commodity supply chains in Latin America and Southeast Asia using satellite and trade data. Comparable mission of connecting land-use change to economic actors for transparency and compliance use cases.
• Hansen Global Forest Change (University of Maryland): Foundational satellite-derived global forest loss/gain dataset produced by UMD using Landsat on Google Earth Engine. Direct technical and methodological peer to MapBiomas' pixel-based time-series classification approach.
• Global Forest Watch: WRI-hosted global forest monitoring platform providing near-real-time deforestation alerts, country dashboards, and open data — directly comparable to MapBiomas in mission, openness, and target users (governments, researchers, NGOs).

Emerging players

• Planet Labs: Commercial operator of high-cadence, high-resolution satellite imagery (PlanetScope, SkySat). Comparable in satellite-based land monitoring mission but targets commercial customers with sub-10m resolution data MapBiomas does not offer.
• Sentinel Hub / Sinergise: Cloud-based satellite imagery distribution and analytics platform built around Sentinel/Landsat data. Direct infrastructure peer to Google Earth Engine with similar APIs and EO analytics services.
• Restor (Earth Genome): Open platform for ecological restoration project mapping and transparency. Comparable in mission and open-data positioning but focused on restoration site-level data rather than country-scale land cover.

Broad incumbents

• INPE (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais): Brazil's national space research institute and operator of PRODES and DETER deforestation monitoring systems — a public-sector incumbent producing comparable Brazilian land-cover data and a major local stakeholder.
• NASA EOSDIS / Earthdata: U.S. public-sector earth observation data infrastructure providing global satellite datasets and visualisation tools — a broader incumbent in environmental remote sensing data distribution and platform services.

Others

• FAO Open Foris: UN-FAO's open-source platform for environmental monitoring, land-use assessment, and forestry statistics. Operates in a similar global-development and sustainability context with comparable open-data principles and methodologies.
• Global Forest Watch Climate / World Resources Institute: WRI's broader research and program portfolio provides institutional adjacency and shared target users with MapBiomas, including climate, food, and forests programs that consume land-cover datasets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/mapbiomas-brazil
• Xx.com/mapbiomas
• Facebookfacebook.com/mapbiomas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mapbiomas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MapBiomas