We are proud to introduce BIOSTREAM – Biodiversity Sampling Technology for Remote Environmental Assessment and Monitoring – brought to you by  NatureMetrics, Dendra Systems, and SYSTEMIQ.

We are uniting as world-leading tech innovators to compete for the XPRIZE Rainforest with the purpose of accelerating the development of autonomous technologies for biodiversity assessment. Through doing this, we hope to realise XPRIZE Rainforest’s aim of improving our global understanding of rainforest habitats by leveraging rapid data integration to provide new insights into the forest and encourage new investment and exploration. XPRIZE Rainforest will accelerate the innovation of autonomous technologies needed for biodiversity assessment and will enhance our understanding of rainforest ecosystems by using rapid data integration to provide new wisdom about the value of standing forests, accelerating conservation action and the development of new, just, and sustainable bio economies. BIOSTREAM are ready for the challenge.

Rainforests are the most biodiverse habitat on the planet, home to half of all plant and animal species. Rainforests once covered 14% of the Earth’s surface but now account for only 6%. Because they are so lively, we don’t yet know what we are missing when rainforests are destroyed. The upcoming XPRIZE Rainforest competition aims to discover the biodiversity hidden within our rainforests before it is too late.

NatureMetrics, Dendra Systems, and SYSTEMIQ are committed to improving biodiversity data to protect our natural world, so our ideals are perfectly aligned with this competition. We are dedicated to developing and deploying technologies that will allow us to communicate the immense natural wealth of the rainforest. Measuring biodiversity is central to this. We are developing ‘BIOSTREAM: Biodiversity Sampling Technology for Remote Environmental Assessment and Monitoring’ a system that will rapidly and accurately measure the vast biodiversity of the rainforest using a combination of our innovative technologies and pushing new technological boundaries not yet explored.

Each of our three companies are global leaders in their fields, and they bring world-leading innovators to this competition.

NatureMetrics has developed scalable DNA-based monitoring technologies that complement and upscale the power and pace of existing biodiversity data flows, giving rise to a new data layer for biodiversity generated from collecting the environmental DNA that living things leave behind in their environment. Benjamin Barca, lead of conservation projects at NatureMetrics, says “For the last 10 years I have lived and worked in rainforests and have always been fascinated by the veil of mystery that surrounds them. So little is known about the millions of complex biotic interactions that allow these forests to exist and flourish”. Benjamin goes on to explain “It is important that we rapidly improve our knowledge of and add value to existing rainforests worldwide before they disappear. With team BIOSTREAM, NatureMetrics are delighted to be bringing the latest innovations in DNA technology to better understand and support the biodiversity of these mysterious ecosystems”. 

Dendra Systems builds the most powerful tools for scalable ecosystem restoration of our complex and biodiverse natural world by integrating advanced data science, artificial intelligence, and drone automation. Elena, Dendra Systems’ Data Ecology lead, says “Rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth; it’s estimated that they are home to 50% of Earth’s plant and animal species. Developing a holistic understanding of these ecosystems is critical to preserve and restore them. We are extremely excited to be joining BIOSTREAM to accelerate innovation and new technologies for biodiversity assessment”.

SYSTEMIQ is a system change company that collaborates with business, finance, policymakers, and civil society to create genuinely sustainable economic systems. “Most of us know that rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, and yet we don’t actually know what is living in vast areas of rainforest, such as the Amazon”, explains George Darah, who leads SYSTEMIQ’s investment activities around regenerative land-use. “Biostream’s technology platform will be designed to deliver unparalleled biodiversity insights that can help us, and indigenous forest communities, to fully articulate the natural wealth of the rainforest, thereby hastening efforts to safeguard its future.” 

Our common ground lies in our pioneering nature to drive forward positive change, our commitment to transform technical advancements and scientific research into real-world biodiversity solutions, and a dedication towards ecosystem conservation and restoration.

As BIOSTREAM, we are looking forward to the advancements and innovation that will result from our fusion of expertise, skills and experience. It’s not just the big biodiversity data that we’re bringing to this competition, but insights into how data points across complex rainforest systems come together to inform us about protecting the natural world. We are ready to combine our innovations into the ultimate solution for rainforest biodiversity – are you ready to see BIOSTREAM become a reality?

Ropafadzo Mugadza & Molly Czachur (NatureMetrics) on behalf of BIOSTREAM