The Earth Archive

What The Earth Archive does

The Earth Archive is a non-profit scientific initiative (501 status pending) founded in 2019 by archaeologist Dr. Chris Fisher and co-directed by Dr. Steve Leisz, both faculty at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. Its mission is to use aerial LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to create a high-resolution 3D point-cloud baseline of the Earth's surface before climate-driven environmental destruction erases cultural and ecological heritage. The organization has a 1–10 person team operating from Colorado State University's Andrew G. Clark Building.

The organization runs two interlocking operational components: (1) a LiDAR scanning program that deploys aircraft-mounted infrared sensor arrays over endangered landscapes (rainforests, coastal regions threatened by sea-level rise, archaeologically significant zones), and (2) an open-source LiDAR data repository that distributes resulting 3D point-cloud datasets to the global scientific community at no cost. A third component, a data-submission portal, allows external researchers to contribute their own geospatial datasets to the archive, expanding coverage without sole reliance on internally funded flights. The technology stack is straightforward — commercial aerial LiDAR sensors plus a self-serve web distribution layer (Squarespace-hosted) — rather than a proprietary platform.

Commercially, The Earth Archive operates on a donations-and-crowdfunding revenue model with no commercial pricing for data access. It is not a venture or private-equity backable entity: there are no funding rounds, no equity instruments, no patents, and no subsidiary structure. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on founder-led TEDx talks, earned media (CBS Sunday Morning, NPR Morning Edition, The Guardian), podcast appearances, and an Earth Archive Congress convening event to drive donor acquisition and volunteer mobilization. End "customers" — archaeologists, ecologists, geologists, and climate modelers — consume the open archive for free; the de facto revenue counterpart is a long-tail base of individual donors, with a planned crowdfunding campaign earmarked for Amazon-basin scanning operations.

Name

The Earth Archive

Legal name

The Earth Archive

Website

https://theeartharchive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Data Services

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136), Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM), Terrestrial Ecology & Habitat Surveys (EUAHAHAA), Forest Inventory, Mapping & Monitoring (GIS/Remote Sensing/MRV) (IMAMAJAB), Remote Sensing & Geospatial Vision (satellite/drone imagery) (HDAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Aerial LiDAR scanning
• Open-source scientific data
• Geospatial research data
• Remote sensing applications
• Environmental baseline mapping

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Crowdfunding: The Earth Archive is an open-access, not-for-profit organization. Revenue is generated through donations from individuals concerned about the climate crisis, with funds directed to scientists performing scanning work. A crowdfunding campaign is planned for Amazon scanning operations.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Earth Archive operates an aerial LiDAR scanning program that uses aircraft-mounted infrared beams to produce high-resolution 3D point cloud scans of Earth's endangered landscapes — including the Amazon, rainforests, and coastal regions threatened by sea-level rise — before they are lost to climate change. The organization curates and hosts an open-source LiDAR data repository accessible to scientists worldwide, and accepts geospatial data submissions from external researchers to expand the archive. All data is provided free of charge and the organization is funded through donations and planned crowdfunding campaigns.

Product overview

The Earth Archive offers a dual-component product: (1) a LiDAR Scanning Program that conducts high-resolution aerial scans of endangered landscapes using LiDAR technology mounted on airplanes, and (2) an Open-Source LiDAR Data Repository that makes the resulting 3D point cloud data freely accessible to scientists worldwide. The organization also accepts data submissions from researchers through a dedicated submission process, expanding the repository's coverage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LiDAR Scanning Program

Quantifiable outcome

• No comparable baseline exists for most of the planet - the organization is creating this foundational dataset
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Colorado State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Earth Archive is closely affiliated with Colorado State University. Founder Dr. Chris Fisher is a Professor of Anthropology at CSU and Director of the Center of Archaeology & Remote Sensing (CARS). Co-Director Dr. Steve Leisz is an Associate Professor at CSU and Director of the Remote Sensing and Land Change Science Laboratory. The organization is headquartered at CSU's Andrew G. Clark Building.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Esri (ArcGIS): Esri is the dominant GIS software platform used globally for geospatial analysis, including LiDAR processing. It is an adjacent enabler rather than a competitor—many Earth Archive scientists and downstream users rely on Esri tools to analyze the type of data the archive distributes.

Broad incumbents

• Planet Labs: Planet Labs operates the largest commercial fleet of Earth observation satellites, providing daily global imagery used for forestry, agriculture, and climate monitoring. While using satellite rather than aerial LiDAR, it competes for the same environmental intelligence use cases The Earth Archive targets, at vastly greater scale.
• Maxar Technologies: Maxar is a major provider of high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial analytics for government and commercial clients. It serves overlapping environmental, archaeology, and disaster-response use cases, but operates as a commercial incumbent with proprietary data products rather than open-source.
• USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP): USGS 3DEP is a federal program collecting high-resolution LiDAR elevation data across the United States. It is a broader incumbent performing the same fundamental activity—systematic LiDAR baseline mapping—at government scale, though limited geographically to the U.S. and driven by federal rather than donation-based funding.
• NASA Earthdata / CSDA: NASA Earthdata coordinates free, open distribution of Earth observation data, much of which underpins environmental and climate research used in conjunction with LiDAR. It is a complementary government incumbent serving the same research community The Earth Archive targets, with overlapping LiDAR and remote sensing missions like NISAR.
• Google Earth Engine: Google Earth Engine is a cloud-based geospatial analysis platform hosting petabytes of satellite and Earth observation data for free scientific use. It shares The Earth Archive's open-access ethos and scientific user base, though at substantially greater scale and with compute capabilities rather than raw LiDAR acquisition.

Direct peers

• CyArk: CyArk is a non-profit that uses LiDAR, photogrammetry, and 3D scanning to digitally preserve cultural heritage sites worldwide. It shares The Earth Archive's open-access ethos, LiDAR-based methodology, and mission of creating a permanent digital record of fragile or endangered sites for scientific and cultural benefit.
• Global Forest Watch (World Resources Institute): Global Forest Watch is an open-source forest monitoring platform combining satellite, LiDAR, and crowdsourced data to track deforestation in near real-time. It directly overlaps with The Earth Archive on forest canopy monitoring, environmental urgency narrative, and open-access geospatial distribution.
• OpenTopography: OpenTopography is an NSF-funded community-based LiDAR data sharing platform that provides open access to high-resolution topographic datasets for earth science research. It is highly comparable to The Earth Archive in focusing on community access to LiDAR point cloud data for scientific analysis.

Emerging players

• DroneDeploy: DroneDeploy provides drone-based mapping and aerial inspection software with LiDAR and photogrammetry support for construction, agriculture, and mining. It overlaps with The Earth Archive on LiDAR-based surface mapping, though focused on commercial drone applications rather than open scientific baseline recording.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-earth-archive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Earth Archive