The open biodiversity data infrastructure for the planet.
Welcome to LUCA.
Named after the Last Universal Common Ancestor — the shared origin of all life on Earth — LUCA is a living data fabric that grows with every contribution.
Biodiversity data is growing rapidly, but remains fragmented.
Environmental DNA, bioacoustics, satellite imagery, camera traps — new technologies are transforming our ability to understand life on Earth.
Across institutions, platforms, governments, and industries, biodiversity intelligence remains scattered among disconnected systems, incompatible formats, and inaccessible databases. At a time when ecosystems are under increasing pressure, we need infrastructure that allows biodiversity data to work together — openly, interoperably, and at a planetary scale.
That is why we are building LUCA.
LUCA is an evolving biodiversity data ecosystem designed to integrate environmental intelligence across technologies, geographies, and communities. Rather than serving as a closed repository, LUCA is being developed as an open, collaborative data fabric that supports biodiversity monitoring, ecological research, and nature-positive decision-making worldwide.
As a founding collaborator, SimplexDNA brings expertise in environmental DNA (eDNA), biodiversity monitoring, molecular ecology, and scalable ecological data systems to LUCA's development.
LUCA builds on this vision by connecting multiple streams of biodiversity intelligence — from eDNA and acoustic monitoring to remote sensing and verifiable field observations like camera traps — into a shared ecosystem that supports conservation, research, policy, and emerging biodiversity economies.
We believe the future of biodiversity monitoring will not be built by a single organization or technology alone. It will require collaboration across science, communities, governments, industry, and emerging technologies.
LUCA is an invitation to build that future together.