NatureMetrics

Over the past decade, data has become the core infrastructure of many economic sectors, from finance and logistics to marketing and agriculture. Yet nature and biodiversity—despite being increasingly recognized as the foundation of long-term growth—remain among the last domains to be fully “datafied.” This is not due to a lack of awareness, but because nature is inherently difficult to measure: highly contextual, variable across space and time, and lacking shared standards for comparison.

The emergence of biodiversity tech marks a critical turning point. Startups in this field approach nature not through moral narratives or corporate social responsibility alone, but through a fundamentally economic question: can biological data become an operational dataset—purchased repeatedly, embedded in decision-making, and used for risk management?

This article analyzes two representative startups addressing this question from different angles: NatureMetrics and Biome Makers. Both leverage eDNA and environmental DNA sequencing, yet they build very different business models, data value chains, and competitive advantages. The case is designed to help learners understand the deeper logic of “data-as-a-service” in biodiversity tech, beyond surface-level technology.

The core strategic challenge

The central strategic issue both companies face can be summarized in one question: how can biological data—scientific, complex, and uncertain by nature—be transformed into a trusted data product with economic value and market acceptance?

This question is particularly relevant as biodiversity tech attracts early-stage investment but lacks a standardized playbook like fintech or traditional SaaS. Startups must prove not only their technology, but also institutional trust, standardization, and long-term customer integration.

Case 1: NatureMetrics – from eDNA to nature risk management

NatureMetrics emerged as infrastructure, energy, and conservation projects faced increasing pressure to demonstrate their biodiversity impacts. Traditional environmental impact assessments were static, manual, and difficult to compare over time. NatureMetrics reframed biodiversity as a variable to be measured repeatedly, much like revenue or emissions.

Its core value lies not in detecting species, but in converting eDNA into indicators usable for nature risk management. Standardized sampling kits collect water, soil, or sediment, which are sequenced and processed through bioinformatics pipelines, then integrated into the Nature Intelligence platform. Here, biological results become dashboards and time series.

Baseline and trend analysis are central. Single measurements may be scientific, but only repeated measurements create data strong enough to assess risk, recovery, or degradation. Once customers establish baselines and reporting processes, switching providers becomes costly—not just financially, but in terms of data continuity.

NatureMetrics combines per-sample project fees with platform subscriptions. This results in long sales cycles and high trust requirements, but strong long-term retention—typical of risk and compliance data markets, where reliability outweighs short-term growth.

Case 2: Biome Makers – from soil microbiomes to farming decisions

Biome Makers addresses a different problem. In intensive agriculture, soil is often treated as a physical medium, while its microbial ecosystem—critical to nutrients, disease, and resilience—remains invisible. Biome Makers views soil as a living system, where microbial DNA reveals biological functions.

Unlike NatureMetrics, Biome Makers focuses on daily operational decisions rather than reporting or macro risk. The BeCrop platform uses AI to infer biological functions related to nutrient cycling, disease risk, and input efficiency. Results are mapped at plot level and compared across seasons.

Its revenue model reflects this logic: BeCrop Test serves as the entry point, while BeCrop Platform generates subscription revenue tied to farm and project management. Partnerships with fertilizer and biological input companies enable faster scaling, as data becomes a tool to validate product performance—not only for farmers, but across the agricultural value chain.

Biome Makers’ competitive advantage lies in its accumulated microbiome database across crops, geographies, and seasons. This data improves AI models and creates a proprietary functional language of soil health that is difficult for new entrants to replicate quickly.

Two data logics, two scaling strategies

Although both use eDNA, the two companies build different data flywheels. NatureMetrics operates at the portfolio and risk level: more sites and longer time series strengthen risk models and enterprise value. Biome Makers operates at the operational level: more seasons and trials improve recommendations and agricultural ROI.

These differences drive distinct choices in target customers, pricing, and growth pace. NatureMetrics prioritizes standards, institutional partnerships, and trust; Biome Makers prioritizes volume, deep integration into agriculture, and scalable production.

A shared insight is that sequencing technology itself is not the hardest advantage to copy. What is truly defensible is domain-specific datasets, QA/QC processes, and accumulated market trust.

For Vietnam and ASEAN, the opportunity is not in replicating global platforms, but in going deep into specific ecosystems, measuring them consistently over time, and linking data to clear economic decisions. In doing so, data becomes not just a description of nature, but infrastructure for capital allocation and action.

NatureMetrics and Biome Makers show that biodiversity tech is not a race of technology, but a race to build trusted data infrastructure. Those who move early on data, standardization, and trust will accumulate powerful long-term advantages. This teaching case provides a foundation for analyzing data strategies in biodiversity tech and for reflecting on viable paths for startups and investors in emerging economies.

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References (IEEE)
[1] NatureMetrics, “Nature Intelligence platform overview,” 2024.
[2] Renewable Matter, “NatureMetrics: scalable biodiversity metrics powered by eDNA,” 2024.
[3] Biome Makers, “BeCrop technology overview,” 2024.
[4] EU CORDIS, “AI-driven soil microbiome analysis project,” 2023.
[5] TNFD, Recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, 2023.
[6] Serena Capital, “VC funding trends in Nature Tech,” 2024.