Safecast
Safecast operates a global citizen-science sensor network that collects and publishes open radiation and air quality measurements, serving individual volunteers and institutional users such as the IAEA, IRSN, and NNSA. Its hardware devices and CC0-licensed dataset span 102 countries and 262 million measurements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Safecast does
Safecast is a Tokyo-headquartered citizen science organization founded in 2011 in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It operates a global environmental sensor network that collects and publishes open radiation and air quality measurements, serving both individual volunteers and institutional users including nuclear regulatory bodies, government research institutions, and international agencies such as the IAEA, IRSN, NNSA, SCK CEN, and ICTP.
The organization's product portfolio centers on three hardware devices — the bGeigieZen radiation monitor, the AirNote particulate matter sensor (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM10), and the solar-powered Radnote real-time radiation sensor — all of which feed into the Safecast Data Platform. That platform hosts more than 262 million environmental measurements, including over 150 million background radiation readings, and exposes them via real-time maps, an open API at api.safecast.org, and bulk data downloads. All measurement data is released under CC0 public domain designation, and a Ukrainian government certification of Radnote sensors in January 2026 marks the first official regulatory endorsement of the technology.
Safecast is supported by an extremely lean core team (1-10 employees) and a global volunteer base of approximately 5,000 contributors operating 5,000 deployed devices across 102 countries, generating roughly 66,000 measurements per day. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and is derived from hardware sales through shop.safecast.jp and shop.safecast.org, donations (including via PayPal), and emerging institutional relationships such as the proposed Darlington Nuclear Station monitoring network. The organization's strategic positioning pairs earned media credibility (Economist, BBC, Popular Mechanics, Al Jazeera) with academic partnerships (Minerva University) and data integration partnerships (SaveEcoBot) to extend its role from volunteer-led monitoring toward institutional environmental intelligence infrastructure.
Safecast firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Safecast
- Website
- https://blog.safecast.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Safecast operates a global citizen-science sensor network that collects and publishes open radiation and air quality measurements, serving individual volunteers and institutional users such as the IAEA, IRSN, and NNSA. Its hardware devices and CC0-licensed dataset span 102 countries and 262 million measurements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Safecast industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Environmental Monitoring Sensors
- NAICS
- Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)
- SIC
- Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Environmental & Safety Monitoring Instruments (Air quality, emissions, radiation, noise, gas detection) (IMAGAFAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Radiation Measurement, Dosimetry & Monitoring Services (Personal/environmental dosimetry, calibration labs) (EUAKAIAH), Radiological & Hazardous Materials Monitoring (Radiation, Asbestos, Lead) (EUAHACAJ), Continuous/Remote Monitoring Systems (IoT Sensors, Telemetry, Networks) (EUAHACAL)
Keywords
Where Safecast is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Safecast business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Device Sales: Safecast operates an e-commerce storefront selling radiation monitoring devices (bGeigieZen) and air quality sensors (AirNote). These are hardware products sold to volunteers and organizations for data collection.
- Ukraine Support Products: Specialized products and support services for Ukraine-related monitoring needs, including radiation sensors certified for official use.
- Donations: Organization accepts donations through PayPal and other channels to support operations and device deployment.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Device-based pricing through e-commerce storefront |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Safecast product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Safecast designs, manufactures, and sells environmental sensor hardware — including the bGeigieZen radiation monitor, AirNote air quality (PM1.0/PM2.5/PM10) sensor, and Radnote solar-powered real-time radiation sensor — while operating an open data platform that aggregates and publishes measurements collected by a global volunteer network of 5,000 contributors across 102 countries under CC0 public domain designation.
Product overview
Safecast is a citizen science organization offering a portfolio of environmental monitoring products centered around radiation and air quality measurement. The core offering includes bGeigieZen radiation devices, AirNote air quality monitors, and the Safecast Radnote solar-powered realtime radiation sensor. These devices feed into the Safecast Data Platform, which hosts over 262 million measurements accessible via real-time mapping and API. All data is released under CC0 public domain designation, making it freely available for public use without licensing restrictions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- bGeigieZen Radiation Device Citizen-science radiation measurement device that enables individuals and organizations to collect and share environmental radiation data globally. Sold to volunteers and researchers for grassroots environmental monitoring.
- AirNote Air Quality Monitor Air quality monitoring device that measures particulate matter (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM10) to track local air quality conditions. Targets citizen scientists, community groups, and researchers.
- Safecast Radnote Solar-Powered Realtime Radiation Sensor Solar-powered real-time radiation sensor certified for official government use in Ukraine. Provides continuous real-time environmental radiation monitoring for nuclear safety and incident response.
- Safecast Data Platform Open data platform hosting over 262 million environmental measurements (radiation and air quality) collected from citizen scientists worldwide. All data released under CC0 public domain designation, accessible via API, bulk downloads, and real-time map.
- Safecast Real-Time Map Interactive real-time map displaying environmental measurements from deployed sensors worldwide, showing radiation and air quality data with continuous updates.
Quantifiable outcome
- 262,981,568 environmental measurements collected and published into public domain
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Safecast
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Safecast technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Safecast partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Minerva UniversitycoreStudents from Minerva University collaborated with Safecast to reimagine and redesign the Safecast radiation data map interface, creating a new visualization experience for environmental data.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Safecast competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sensor.Community: Sensor.Community (formerly Luftdaten) is a citizen science environmental sensor network focused on particulate matter with open data, paralleling Safecast's community-built, open-data, hardware-sales model for environmental monitoring.
- Clarity Movement: Clarity Movement deploys distributed air quality sensor networks for governments and NGOs across emerging markets, overlapping Safecast in low-cost sensor hardware, environmental data, and government/regulator end users.
- PurpleAir: PurpleAir operates a distributed citizen air quality sensor network measuring PM2.5 globally, directly comparable to Safecast's AirNote network in technology, business model (hardware sales + community data contribution), and target end-user (volunteer + researcher).
- OpenAQ: OpenAQ aggregates and publishes open air quality data from government and low-cost sensors worldwide, making it a direct counterpart to Safecast's open environmental data platform for researchers and policymakers.
Emerging players
- Awair: Awair sells consumer and commercial indoor air quality monitors tracking particulate matter and chemicals, a partial overlap with Safecast's AirNote use cases but focused on indoor/single-site rather than distributed outdoor citizen networks.
- Plume Labs: Plume Labs built consumer-facing air quality monitoring products and aggregated global pollution data, comparable to Safecast in blending hardware, community data, and open/pollution insights for end users.
- Airthings: Airthings produces consumer environmental sensors (radon, CO2, particulate matter) with a community data component, comparable to Safecast's bGeigieZen/AirNote portfolio at the citizen-monitoring and consumer hardware intersection.
Broad incumbents
- IQAir: IQAir operates the AirVisual commercial air quality monitoring platform with both consumer hardware and a global data network, a larger incumbent competing for the same B2C and B2B air quality monitoring customers Safecast addresses.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (Environmental Instruments): Thermo Fisher's environmental and radiation monitoring division supplies industrial-grade instruments and reference-grade air monitoring stations to governments and labs — the industrial incumbent Safecast's institutional users (IAEA, NNSA) typically also procure from.
- Davis Instruments: Davis Instruments manufactures weather and environmental monitoring stations used by hobbyists, researchers, and institutions, an established commercial counterpart in the broader environmental sensor hardware category Safecast occupies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Safecast social profiles
Digital presenceSafecast compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Safecast financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Safecast leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Safecast funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Safecast 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 Safecast
What does Safecast do?
Safecast designs, manufactures, and sells environmental sensor hardware — including the bGeigieZen radiation monitor, AirNote air quality (PM1.0/PM2.5/PM10) sensor, and Radnote solar-powered real-time radiation sensor — while operating an open data platform that aggregates and publishes measurements collected by a global volunteer network of 5,000 contributors across 102 countries under CC0 public domain designation.
Is Safecast a public or private company?
Safecast is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Safecast founded?
Safecast was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Safecast based?
Safecast is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Safecast make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Device Sales are the primary driver. The others are ukraine Support Products and donations.
Who are Safecast's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sensor.Community, Clarity Movement, PurpleAir and OpenAQ. Emerging players are Awair, Plume Labs and Airthings. Broad incumbents are IQAir, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Environmental Instruments) and Davis Instruments.
Does Safecast have an API?
Yes. Safecast provides an API for data access and upload. The API allows users to access and submit environmental measurements including radiation and air quality data. Data upload is available at api.safecast.org and full API documentation is at api.safecast.org/en-US/home. Developer documentation is at api.safecast.org/en-US/home.
What industry is Safecast in?
Safecast's product category is Environmental Monitoring Sensors. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAGAFAJ, Environmental & Safety Monitoring Instruments (Air quality, emissions, radiation, noise, gas detection), with a secondary code of EUAKAIAH, Radiation Measurement, Dosimetry & Monitoring Services (Personal/environmental dosimetry, calibration labs). Its NAICS code is 334519 and its SIC code is 3829.