iNaturalist

San Francisco, California, USA · Founded 2008 · Independent nonprofit since July 2023 · "Connect people to nature and advance science and conservation"

Founded 2008 · UC Berkeley School of Information master's project · incorporated as 501(c)(3) July 11, 2023

Type Independent nonprofit citizen science platform and social network · formerly joint initiative of California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society (2014–2023)

Co-directors Ken-ichi Ueda (co-founder) · Scott Loarie

Founders Ken-ichi Ueda · Nathan Agrin · Jessica Kline (UC Berkeley MIMS 2008)

Observations (Aug 2025)~300 million total · 250 million verifiable · ~64% reaching "research grade"

Community (Aug 2025)~4 million observers · 430,000+ active identifiers · 400,000 active users in past 30 days

Species observed500,000+ species (as of 2025)

Data destinationResearch-grade observations flow automatically to GBIF and Encyclopedia of Life

Website inaturalist.org

Overview

iNaturalist is a nonprofit citizen science platform and social network that enables anyone, anywhere, to record observations of wild organisms — plants, animals, fungi, and other life — and share them with a global community of naturalists and scientists. Launched in 2008 as a master's degree project at the UC Berkeley School of Information and incorporated as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in July 2023, it has become one of the largest and most scientifically productive citizen science databases in existence. As of August 2025 its community had contributed approximately 300 million observations of more than 500,000 species; around 430,000 identifiers work to verify and classify what others have photographed; and roughly 64 percent of verifiable observations reach "research grade" — the threshold at which the community has agreed on an identification and the observation is automatically contributed to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), where it enters the global scientific record.

The platform operates on a simple mechanism: a user uploads a photograph or audio recording of a wild organism along with date, time, and location data. The AI identification tool (Seek) offers an immediate computer vision suggestion. Other users can agree with or refine that identification. When more than two-thirds of identifications agree on a species-level determination, the observation becomes "research grade." That research-grade data flows in near-real-time to GBIF and the Encyclopedia of Life, making iNaturalist one of the largest single data publishers in the global biodiversity information infrastructure. The number of peer-reviewed papers citing iNaturalist data surged more than tenfold in the five years to 2025, according to a systematic review published in BioScience in November 2025.

Scale (August 2025)

~300M

Total observations contributed since founding

250M

Verifiable observations (milestone reached June 2025)

~4M

Total observers registered

430K+

Community identifiers (working to identify others' observations)

500K+

Species observed and documented on the platform

~64%

Share of verifiable observations reaching "research grade"

History

2008

Founded as UC Berkeley master's project

Ken-ichi Ueda, Nathan Agrin, and Jessica Kline, students in the UC Berkeley School of Information's Master of Information Management and Systems (MIMS) program, develop iNaturalist as their joint final project. Both Agrin and Ueda continue working on the platform after graduation.

2011

Scott Loarie joins; LLC formation

Scott Loarie, a conservation scientist, joins the project. iNaturalist is incorporated as a limited liability company to allow for more formal growth and operations.

April 24, 2014

Acquisition by California Academy of Sciences

iNaturalist merges with the California Academy of Sciences, moving its staff and offices to the Academy in San Francisco. The Academy's then-Chief of Science, Meg Lowman, describes the fit: iNaturalist "perfectly complements the Academy's mission to explore, explain, and sustain life." By this point the platform has logged over 600,000 observations of more than 50,000 species, with a new observation recorded every 45 seconds.

2017

National Geographic Society joins as partner

iNaturalist becomes a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, funded by grants and individual donations. The NGS partnership expands the platform's international profile and financial support.

2019

25 million observations milestone

The platform surpasses 25 million geotagged, photo-vouchered records of wild plants and animals from around the world, with nearly 700,000 users at that point. The AI identification system has learned to recognize more than 18,000 distinct organism types.

July 11, 2023

Independence: iNaturalist becomes its own 501(c)(3)

With a $10 million startup grant, iNaturalist separates from the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society and incorporates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. "This is a necessary step in order for us to really reach our potential," says co-director Scott Loarie. At this point the platform has 181 million observations (163 million verifiable).

June 2025

250 million verifiable observations; Google.org AI grant

The platform reaches 250 million verifiable observations — it took 14 years to reach the first 100 million, two more for the next 100 million, and under a year for the next 50 million. Also in June 2025, iNaturalist announces a $1.5 million grant from Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI to develop AI tools that explain species identification reasoning rather than only suggesting a name. The announcement draws significant pushback from some community members concerned about AI's environmental footprint and the character of the platform.

August 2025

~300 million total observations; 400,000 monthly active users

By August 2025, the platform holds approximately 300 million observations from around 4 million total registered observers, with 400,000 users active in the preceding 30 days.

The "Research Grade" Pipeline and Scientific Use

The distinction between a raw observation and a "research grade" observation is central to iNaturalist's scientific value. An observation becomes research grade when more than two-thirds of community identifications agree at the species level and the observation passes iNaturalist's Data Quality Assessment — criteria that filter for location accuracy, date plausibility, and other markers of reliability. Research-grade observations are automatically shared with GBIF under Creative Commons licences, where they enter the global species occurrence database used by scientists, conservation managers, IUCN Red List assessors, and policymakers worldwide.

The scientific productivity of this pipeline has grown substantially. A systematic review published in BioScience (Mason et al., November 2025) found that use of iNaturalist data in peer-reviewed research surged more than tenfold in the five years from 2020 to 2025. Research uses extend beyond mapping species distributions to include tracking invasive species spread, early detection of disease vectors, monitoring phenological change (the timing of seasonal events such as flowering and migration), and capturing habitat use, species coloration, and behavior from the photographic record. At least one new species — Moraea saxatilis, an iris-like flower growing on rock — was formally described in 2024 following its initial discovery through an iNaturalist observation.

Funding and Location

Since becoming an independent nonprofit in July 2023, iNaturalist is funded by a combination of foundation grants, individual donations, and partnership revenue. The $10 million startup grant that capitalized the independent organization came from the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society as part of the independence transition. In June 2025 the platform received a $1.5 million grant from Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI for AI identification tool development. The organization remains based in San Francisco.

Location and Contact

Website: inaturalist.org
Blog: inaturalist.org/blog
Donate: inaturalist.org/donate