What Ocean Biodiversity Information System does

Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) is the world's largest global open-access infrastructure for marine biodiversity data, operating as a programme component under the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). Founded in 2000 as part of the Census of Marine Life and now headquartered at the IOC Project Office for IODE in Ostend, Belgium, OBIS aggregates 200M+ species observations, 205,000 taxonomically validated marine species, 7,274 datasets, 83M DNA sequences, and 420M measurements and facts across 99 countries. The platform is built on Darwin Core data standards, the Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT), Event Core structures, and Ecological Metadata Language (EML) metadata, with taxonomic validation against the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Coverage is coordinated through a global network of 37 OBIS Nodes staffed by 6,000 scientists and data managers, with regional offices including AfrOBIS (Cape Town), OBIS UK (Plymouth at the Marine Biological Association), and IndOBIS (Kochi at CMLRE), and supporting products such as OBIS Mapper, OBIS Species Distribution Maps, OBIS Species Grid, OBIS JupyterHub, and the OBIS Products Catalogue.

OBIS does not operate as a commercial entity. Its primary funding streams are UNESCO-IOC regular programme funding (US$200K for the 2024-2025 biennium) and project-based grants (approximately US$2M across 5 Horizon Europe projects and 2 FUST projects for the same period), supplemented by direct funding of regional OBIS Nodes through national host institutions (e.g., DEFRA and Scottish Government for OBIS UK, Ministry of Earth Sciences for IndOBIS). Data and products are provided free of charge under open licenses (CC0, CC-BY, CC-BY-NC), and the GTM is community-led through workshops, training sessions via the OceanTeacher Global Academy, the OBIS Discourse forum, OBIS Pulse newsletter, and participation in international conferences such as BioMonWeek 2026. Customer segments include scientists and data managers publishing datasets, government policymakers using OBIS for evidence-based marine policy (CBD, BBNJ, 30x30 targets), conservation organizations, and marine planners. Strategic partnerships include GBIF (parallel publishing), GOOS (BioEco EOVs), NORD University, WoRMS, and EU-funded projects including MPA Europe, MARCO-BOLO, DTO-BioFlow, and BioEcoOcean.

Name

Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Legal name

Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS)

Website

https://obis.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OBIS is a UNESCO IOC/IODE programme providing the world's largest open-access marine biodiversity data infrastructure, serving scientists, governments, and conservation organizations across 99 countries through 37 regional nodes and standardized Darwin Core datasets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Biodiversity Data Infrastructure

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924), Administration of Conservation Programs (924120)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Data Management Platforms (EHS/EMS, LIMS, ELN, Compliance Data Hubs) (EUAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental Data Integration, ETL & Interoperability (APIs, Standards, Data Pipelines) (EUAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Marine biodiversity data
• Ocean data infrastructure
• Darwin Core records
• Species distribution modeling
• Environmental DNA database

Headquarters

HQ city

Ostend

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. UNESCO-IOC Regular Programme Funding: Core operational funding from UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commission regular programme budget, increased to US$200,000 for 2024-2025 biennium
2. Project Funding: Additional project-based funding from grants including Horizon Europe projects (5 projects) and FUST projects (2 projects) totaling approximately US$2 million for 2024-2025
3. Node Host Institution Funding: OBIS Nodes are funded through their respective national host institutions and governments, such as DEFRA and Scottish Government funding for OBIS UK, and Ministry of Earth Sciences funding for IndOBIS

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

OBIS provides a global open-access infrastructure for marine biodiversity data, integrating over 200 million species observations, 205,000 marine species, 7,274 datasets, and 83 million DNA sequences through a network of 37 nodes worldwide. The platform delivers standardized FAIR-compliant data via the OBIS Data Platform, OBIS Mapper for spatial exploration, Species Distribution Maps with climate scenario modeling, and the OBIS Species Grid for analytical use. Data is shared using Darwin Core standards and open licenses (CC0, CC-BY, CC-BY-NC) without fees.

Product overview

OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System) is a global open-access infrastructure for marine biodiversity data operating under the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) of the IOC of UNESCO. The platform consists of a core data platform (https://obis.org/) providing access to over 200 million species observations, an interactive OBIS Mapper (https://mapper.obis.org) for spatial visualization, OBIS Species Distribution Maps for predictive modeling, and the OBIS Species Grid for gridded data products. Supporting infrastructure includes the OBIS Manual for data standards documentation, OBIS JupyterHub for reproducible analysis, OBIS GitHub for open-source code, and the OBIS Products Catalogue for synthesized outputs. The network spans 37 OBIS Nodes coordinating data mobilization globally. Specialized capabilities include eDNA data publishing workflows, micro-CT imaging integration, and the OceanEyes citizen science app for mobile data collection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OBIS Data Platform Central open-access infrastructure for marine biodiversity data providing access to over 200 million species observations, 205,000 marine species, 7,274 datasets, and 83 million DNA sequences from 37 nodes worldwide. Designed for scientists, policymakers, and conservation organizations needing standardized, FAIR-compliant marine biodiversity data.
• OBIS Mapper Interactive web-based mapping tool for visualizing marine biodiversity data spatially and exploring species occurrences, distributions, and datasets across global ocean regions. Users can search by scientific name, common name, dataset, area, or publisher country.
• OBIS Species Distribution Maps Model-based species distribution visualizations providing high-resolution (5x5 km) maps integrating five IPCC climate change scenarios to support marine conservation and MPA planning. Includes blue carbon storage, ocean connectivity, and climate velocity data integration.
• OBIS Species Grid High-resolution gridded version of OBIS and GBIF marine data aggregated into downloadable data products, enabling standardized analysis of global marine biodiversity patterns.
• OceanEyes Citizen science mobile application developed by IndOBIS for documenting marine biodiversity across India through photo and video recordings with metadata, with taxonomic expert curation before publishing to OBIS.
• OBIS Manual Comprehensive documentation providing guidelines on contributing data to OBIS, including data standards (Darwin Core), formatting workflows, quality control procedures, and data publication via Integrated Publishing Toolkit.
• OBIS Training Courses Capacity development workshops and training sessions on OBIS data management, Darwin Core standards, eDNA data publishing, and FAIR data principles, delivered through OceanTeacher Global Academy.

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Long-standing cooperation agreement since 2014. OBIS and GBIF have endorsed a joint Marine Strategy and Action Plan with targets to be achieved by 2030. Data published to OBIS is automatically harvested by GBIF through 'publish once - harvest many times' principle. Joint work on Darwin Core-Data Package practices and parallel publishing workflows.
• UNESCO IOC/IODEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBIS is a programme component under the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) programme of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. IOC provides institutional framework and regular programme funding (US$200,000 for 2024-2025 biennium).
• GOOS (Global Ocean Observing System)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBIS is the designated data repository for Biology and Ecosystems Essential Ocean Variables (BioEco EOVs). Collaboration on monitoring delivery of EOVs, seagrass monitoring framework development, and Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) alignment. Joint publication of seagrass measurement guidelines in BioScience journal.
• MPA Europe ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU-funded project where OBIS developed Species Distribution Maps integrating blue carbon, ocean connectivity, climate velocity at 5km resolution. Maps integrated into prioritization tool developed by NORD University Norway for European marine protected area planning.
• MARCO-BOLO ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHorizon Europe project where OBIS contributes to Work Package 1 (Data/metadata standards for EOV data streams), WP2 (Monitoring through eDNA), and WP6 on stakeholder engagement. Focus on improving data flow and integration across organizations.
• DTO-BioFlow ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHorizon Europe project 'Biodiversity Data for Digital Twins of the Ocean'. OBIS UK participates in this project focusing on biodiversity data integration for ocean digital twins.
• Bio-ORACLEcoreTechnology or IntegrationEnvironmental data provider integrated into OBIS Species Distribution Maps. Provides high-resolution environmental variables enabling 5x5km resolution modeling for species distribution predictions.
• Benguela Current ConventionregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional framework bringing together South Africa, Namibia, and Angola for joint marine planning. AfrOBIS provides baseline data supporting joint MPA planning and shared migratory species management (sardine, anchovy, tuna, hake).
• OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNESCO training platform through which OBIS delivers capacity development courses on marine data management, Darwin Core standards, and data publication workflows.
• BioEcoOcean ProjectregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU-funded project supporting eDNA research including the 'Invertebrate eDNA Gotland Summer 2021' dataset published by OBIS. Demonstrated Event Core structure for DNA-derived biodiversity observations.
• eDNA Expeditions 2026-2028coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-driven project aiming to establish a global biomolecular observatory of 25 marine sites. OBIS provides scientific support for eDNA sampling strategies, data analysis, and interpretation. Emilie Boulanger serves as OBIS eDNA Science Officer supporting this initiative.
• NORD UniversityregionalTechnology or IntegrationNorwegian university developing the prioritization tool for MPA Europe project. Integrating OBIS Species Distribution Maps into their tool for European marine protected area planning.
• WoRMS (World Register of Marine Species)coreTechnology or IntegrationTaxonomic reference database used for validating species names in OBIS datasets. All occurrence records are matched against WoRMS with Life Science Identifiers (LSIDs) added for standardization.
• IOCAfrica (IOC Sub-Commission for Africa)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNESCO IOC sub-commission supporting African marine data coordination. Collaborates with AfrOBIS on data contributions from West and East African countries.
• WIOMSA (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional marine science association. WIOMSA supports AfrOBIS in coordinating data contributions and has a national focal point connected for BBNJ negotiations covering Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, and South Africa.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): GBIF is the terrestrial/freshwater counterpart to OBIS and OBIS's closest strategic partner. Both operate as global open-access biodiversity data infrastructures using Darwin Core standards, and have a parallel-publishing agreement since 2014; GBIF is the most directly comparable peer.
• DataONE (Data Observation Network for Earth): DataONE is a federated data network providing access to environmental and ecological datasets across multiple nodes. It is structurally analogous to OBIS's distributed-node model and serves overlapping scientific communities.
• Atlas of Living Australia (ALA): ALA is a national biodiversity data platform aggregating species occurrence records, similar in architecture to OBIS but with a broader taxonomic scope (terrestrial + marine). Highly comparable as a national-node-style biodiversity informatics platform.
• Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS): GOOS is the UNESCO IOC framework for sustained ocean observations, and OBIS is the designated data repository for its Biology & Ecosystems Essential Ocean Variables. While GOOS is broader in scope (physics, chemistry, biology), it is a closely aligned strategic peer for ocean data infrastructure.
• European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet): EMODnet is the EU's portal for marine data across multiple disciplines (biology, chemistry, physics, seabed habitats). It directly overlaps with OBIS in marine biological data and competes/collides in European marine biodiversity data aggregation.

Emerging players

• World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS): WoRMS is OBIS's taxonomic reference database — all OBIS occurrence records are validated against WoRMS LSIDs. While not a competing data repository, WoRMS is a deeply integrated enabling layer in OBIS's pipeline and a meaningful ecosystem peer.
• iNaturalist: iNaturalist is the largest citizen-science biodiversity observation platform with massive global species occurrence data. While terrestrial-focused, it increasingly captures marine observations and represents an alternative participatory-data model to OBIS's researcher-driven approach.
• OBIS-SEAMAP: OBIS-SEAMAP is a Duke University-hosted marine biogeographic data portal focused on marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds. It complements OBIS with structured observation data and is integrated into broader OBIS workflows as a thematic data source.

Others

• Catalogue of Life: Catalogue of Life is a global taxonomic index integrating authoritative species checklists. It serves an analogous standardization role to WoRMS for terrestrial biodiversity and is comparable to OBIS as a foundational biodiversity informatics infrastructure layer.
• Marine Regions: Marine Regions is the standard hierarchical marine gazetteer of place names and ocean boundaries used by OBIS for spatial referencing. It is an enabling infrastructure peer rather than a competitor, but materially comparable as marine data standards infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/iobis
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLlgUwSvpCFS4TS7ZN0fhByj_3EBZ5lXbF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ocean-biodiversity-information-system

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ocean Biodiversity Information System