Earth Space Research Institute

What Earth Space Research Institute does

Earth Space Research Institute (ООО ИКИЗ / IKIZ) is a Russian private IT company, founded in 2012 with support from the Skolkovo Foundation and headquartered at the Skolkovo Innovation Center in Moscow. It commercializes research from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAN) into information technologies and systems for satellite-based Earth remote sensing. The company's core product is the ВЕГА-PRO (VEGA-PRO) subscription service, an online platform providing access to multi-year (since 2000) satellite data archives, derived vegetation, forestry, agricultural and land-use information products, and analytical tools. The platform is built on proprietary technology including the LAGMA (Locally Adaptive Global Mapping Algorithm) classifier and the TimeSeriesInterpolation software (registered in the Russian Software Registry in May 2024), enabling automated cloud removal, adaptive vegetation classification at continental scale, anomaly detection, and quantitative vegetation assessment over tens of petabytes of data.

IKIZ's business model combines a recurring VEGA-PRO subscription with project-based expert assessment services, user training, and one-off software licensing. It targets federal and regional government agencies, agricultural enterprises and agroholdings, forestry organizations, aviation forest protection units (Avialesookhrana), and investment, credit, and insurance institutions needing objective biological-resource assessments. The company is accredited as an IT company in Russia (registry number 15685, since October 2021), operates as a limited liability company with no disclosed external funding, and distributes primarily through direct enterprise and government sales backed by partnerships with IKI RAN, SRC 'Planeta', CEPL RAS, the Skolkovo Foundation, and Avialesookhrana. Revenue, headcount, and ownership details are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Earth Space Research Institute

Legal name

ООО ИКИЗ (Институт космических исследований Земли)

Website

https://iki-z.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Russian Skolkovo-based IT company founded in 2012 that operates the VEGA-PRO satellite monitoring subscription service and proprietary LAGMA and TimeSeriesInterpolation software for vegetation, forestry, agricultural, and land-use monitoring across Russia, serving government agencies, agroholdings, and forestry organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Earth Observation Analytics Software

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAMANAM

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms

Business & Public Services/Web, Mobile & Digital Platforms/Maps, Location & Navigation Platforms

SECONDARYAFAAAFAI

Satellite Imagery & Monitoring Platforms

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Equipment & Technology/Precision Agriculture & Farm Management Software (GIS, IoT, Telematics)

SECONDARYAFAGALAC

Remote Sensing & Imaging (Satellite, UAV/Drone, Aerial, Multispectral/Hyperspectral)

Agriculture & Food Production/Crop Farming/Precision Agriculture Technology

SECONDARYEUAHADAL

Satellite/Aerial/Remote Sensing MRV (Methane plumes, land-use change)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Emissions Measurement, Reporting & Verification (MRV)

Keywords

• Earth observation analytics
• Remote sensing services
• Geospatial data processing
• Satellite imagery analysis
• Time series reconstruction

Headquarters

HQ city

Moscow

HQ country

Russia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. VEGA-PRO Subscription: Subscription to the VEGA-PRO satellite monitoring service providing on-line access to an operational multi-year archive of satellite data, derived vegetation resource information, and analysis tools. This is the primary recurring revenue stream.
2. Expert Assessment Services: Services providing objective expert assessment of terrestrial biological resources based on satellite monitoring data, primarily for agricultural and forestry sector decision-making.
3. User Training Services: Training services for end users on techniques and skills for using and interpreting satellite information through the VEGA-PRO service for practical assessment of terrestrial biological resources.
4. TimeSeriesInterpolation Software License: Sale or licensing of the TimeSeriesInterpolation software for restoring satellite observation time series, registered in the Russian Software Registry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Earth Space Research Institute processes and analyzes Earth remote sensing data, delivering thematic geospatial products to agricultural, forestry, environmental, and government clients. Its main commercial offering is the VEGA-PRO service platform, which combines satellite imagery ingestion with proprietary analytics (LAGMA algorithm, TimeSeriesInterpolation) to produce ready-to-use monitoring datasets for land and resource management.

Product overview

Earth Space Research Institute (ИКИЗ) offers a unified platform centered on the ВЕГА-PRO satellite monitoring service, complemented by specialized software modules including the LAGMA classification algorithm and TimeSeriesInterpolation data processing tool. ВЕГА-PRO provides the core user-facing interface for accessing multi-year satellite data archives and analytical tools, while LAGMA and TimeSeriesInterpolation serve as backend technologies enabling adaptive vegetation classification and time-series restoration respectively. The company specializes in satellite-based Earth observation services for vegetation monitoring, forest resource assessment, agricultural crop monitoring, and natural fire monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ВЕГА-PRO (VEGA-PRO): Satellite vegetation monitoring service providing online access to operational multi-year satellite data archives, information about terrestrial bioresources, and analytical tools for assessing land resources.
• LAGMA
• TimeSeriesInterpolation

Products and services

• VEGA-PRO Service Platform Integrated service platform for satellite imagery acquisition, processing, and thematic geospatial product generation; serves agricultural, forestry, environmental, and government monitoring programs in Russia and the CIS region.
• LAGMA Time Series Analysis Algorithm Proprietary algorithm for analyzing time series of satellite observations, used to extract trends, anomalies, and seasonal dynamics from Earth remote sensing data.
• TimeSeriesInterpolation Software Software module that reconstructs continuous time series from noisy or cloud-affected satellite imagery, enabling gap-free thematic products for monitoring applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Vegetation cover maps covering entire Russia with 230m resolution, updated annually, with time series from 2000
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Skolkovo FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010The Skolkovo Foundation was established in 2010 in accordance with Federal Law 244 on the Skolkovo Innovation Center. Its mission is to create favorable conditions for innovation. IKIZ was created in 2012 with support from the Skolkovo Foundation as an innovative science-production company, operating in the Skolkovo innovation center ecosystem.
• Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIKI RAN is the leading academic institute for space research in Russia. Its 'Satellite Monitoring Technologies' department develops methods, technologies, and systems for environmental monitoring, maintains archives of satellite data and processing results. IKIZ was founded based on research developed at this institute, and the partnership provides scientific methodological leadership and access to satellite data archives.
• Center for Forest Ecology and Productivity of Forests RAS (CEPL RAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Laboratory of Forest Ecosystem Monitoring at CEPL RAS was founded in 1992. Its main activities are related to forest research methods based on modern information technologies and remote sensing data. The laboratory actively participates in long-term projects for deep study of forest monitoring tasks, supporting IKIZ's development of forest monitoring technologies.
• Central Aviation Forest Protection Base 'Avialesookhrana'majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvialesookhrana is a Federal State Institution that carries out fire hazard monitoring, fire aftermath assessment, forest pest and disease monitoring, and forest fire monitoring in the Moscow Oblast. The organization conducts aviation-based forest protection activities and is involved in international cooperation on forest fire monitoring, partnering with IKIZ for satellite-based fire monitoring data products.
• Scientific Research Center 'Planeta' (SRC 'Planeta')majorTechnology or IntegrationSRC 'Planeta' is the leading organization of Rosgidromet for operating and developing national Earth observation space systems including Meteor-M, Elektro, Ocean, and Resurs satellites, as well as receiving data from international satellites (NOAA, EOS/Terra/Aqua, Meteosat, GOES). It operates the national satellite data reception network. IKIZ integrates this satellite data into its monitoring services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• EOS Data Analytics: Global satellite imagery and analytics platform with strong agricultural and forestry monitoring products (EOS Crop Monitoring, EOS Forest Monitoring). Direct functional overlap with VEGA-PRO's vegetation and agricultural monitoring capabilities at a global scale.
• Maxar Intelligence: Global high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial analytics provider serving government and commercial customers. Comparable as a satellite-based geospatial platform for environmental and land-use monitoring, with a broader portfolio including defense and intelligence applications.
• Planet Labs: Global operator of the largest commercial satellite imagery constellation, offering daily Earth observation data and analytic platforms. Comparable to IKIZ as a satellite-based monitoring platform for agriculture and forestry, but operates globally with proprietary satellite fleet rather than relying on third-party data.
• Trimble Agriculture: Global precision agriculture and farm management software vendor offering satellite-based crop monitoring, GIS, and analytics. Overlaps with IKIZ on the agricultural monitoring use case, targeting large agroholdings with a broader hardware-software portfolio.

Emerging players

• Exact Farming: Russian precision agriculture startup providing satellite-based crop monitoring and field analytics for agricultural enterprises. Comparable to IKIZ on agricultural use cases, narrower in product scope, and competing for the same agroholding customer base.
• Sinergise (Sentinel Hub): European geospatial platform providing large-scale satellite data processing and analytics infrastructure (Sentinel Hub, EO Browser). Comparable to IKIZ on the satellite data processing layer and analytics tooling, with overlap in agricultural and environmental monitoring use cases.
• Cognitive Pilot / IntTerra (Sber ecosystem): Russian agtech and precision agriculture analytics platform serving agroholdings with crop monitoring, field analytics, and decision support. Comparable to IKIZ on the agricultural monitoring use case, but built around a broader farm-management platform rather than satellite-only sensing.

Regional players

• SRC Planeta (Scientific Research Center 'Planeta'): Rosgidromet's primary operator of Russian Earth observation satellite systems (Meteor-M, Resurs, Elektro, Ocean) and a data provider. Listed as IKIZ's data partner; overlaps with IKIZ in satellite data services but operates upstream as the satellite operator and national data archive holder.

Direct peers

• Sovzond: Russian provider of satellite imagery, geospatial software, and remote-sensing-based services for agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring. Closely aligned with IKIZ as a domestic competitor offering software platforms and analytic services for Russian agricultural and forestry clients.
• ScanEx: Russian satellite data and Earth observation services provider offering online access to satellite imagery and derived products. Directly comparable to IKIZ in the Russian EO market for vegetation, land-use, and environmental monitoring with similar subscription and value-added service models.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Earth Space Research Institute