Kayrros is a French environmental and energy analytics company that turns data from more than 20 satellite constellations into actionable intelligence for commodity traders, regulators, and financial institutions, without operating a single satellite of its own.
Yes, it is a legitimate company, founded in 2016, recognised on Fortune’s ‘Change the World’ list and TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies, and now operating as part of the Energy Aspects Group following a completed acquisition in May 2026.
This review breaks down Kayrros’s analytics products, its quote-only pricing model, and real limitations, so you can judge whether it is the right fit for your use case.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Kayrros is built for buyers who need independently measured energy and emissions intelligence
- Its core data asset is a proprietary database of 5 million-plus physical assets monitored continuously
- Paid products are quote-based via direct sales, though the free Methane Watch open-data portal needs no sales contact
About Kayrros
Kayrros is a pure analytics and software company: it does not own satellites, but instead selects the best available data for each measurement from more than 20 third-party constellations, applying proprietary AI and machine-learning models to produce enterprise-grade intelligence. The key facts below are drawn from Kayrros’s own published pages as of May 2026.
| Name | Kayrros |
|---|---|
| Website | kayrros.com |
| Legal name | Kayrros SAS |
| Address | 37 Avenue Trudaine, Paris, 75009, France |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Ownership | Civil activities acquired by Energy Aspects Group (completed May 2026). Intelligence and defense activities separately acquired by Safran.AI |
| Leadership | Antoine Rostand (President and Founder); Xavier Daguzan (Chief Revenue Officer); Jean-Pierre Dacher (Chief Technology Officer); Augustin Prate (Chief Product Officer); Carlo De Franchis (VP Remote Sensing) |
| Employees | ~150 globally, 25 nationalities |
| Products & data | Methane Watch (regulatory and operator editions); Crude Oil Intelligence; LNG Intelligence; Stockpiles Monitor; Carbon Watch; Wildfire Risk Monitor; Imported Deforestation Tracker; Nature Impact Platform; Industrial Energy Demand; E&P Intelligence; REST and Python APIs; web dashboards |
| Pricing | Quote-based; all commercial products via demo request; Methane Watch open data available free at methanewatch.kayrros.org |
| Languages | English, French, German |
Kayrros’s own pages document a data asset base that few analytics providers match: a proprietary database of more than 5 million physical assets, 12,000-plus crude oil storage tanks monitored globally, more than 8 years of crude oil inventory history, and scientific output published in peer-reviewed journals including Science, Nature Geoscience, and PNAS. The company has six offices: Paris (HQ), New York, Houston, London, Bangalore, and Singapore.
Is Kayrros legit?
In my analysis, Kayrros’s legitimacy is not in serious question. The company has operated since 2016, built a team of roughly 150 specialists across 25 nationalities, and attracted recognition from Fortune, TIME, and Fast Company for its scientific and commercial contributions to environmental intelligence. The more useful question for a buyer today is whether the post-acquisition structure under Energy Aspects Group affects product continuity and what that means for new contracts.
Ownership and funding
Energy Aspects Group announced the acquisition of Kayrros’s civil activities on 12 March 2026 and completed the transaction on 21 May 2026. A concurrent announcement confirmed that Kayrros’s intelligence and defense activities were separately acquired by Safran.AI on the same date. Prior to acquisition, the company raised a Series C round of €40 million in March 2022. The full funding history and acquisition price are not published on primary sources.
The Kayrros website continues to operate under the kayrros.com domain with the Kayrros brand, displaying an “Energy Aspects: proud member” badge. Buyers entering multi-year contracts should verify whether contractual counterparty, invoicing entity, or data agreements have changed post-integration.
Track record and customers
Kayrros’s published customer and recognition list provides concrete external validation. Methane Watch is described on the company’s own product pages as the monitoring platform of choice for the world’s key regulators, including IMEO and the US government, giving the platform an unusual degree of institutional endorsement. BNP Paribas is named as a customer for the Nature Impact Platform, launched in March 2026.
Recognition on Fortune’s ‘Change the World’ list (2024, ranked 30th), TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies, Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Top Five Company of the Year 2024, and TIME Best Inventions 2025 (Wildfire Risk Monitor) reflect external validation of Kayrros’s scientific credibility and commercial relevance, not merely marketing positioning.
Compliance and data rights
Kayrros’s legal information page identifies the company as Kayrros SAS, a French Société par Actions Simplifiée registered in the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number 818 399 651, with a share capital of €322,935. Access to all commercial products is via signed contract following a demo request. No self-serve or anonymous data access is available for paid products.
The Methane Watch open data portal (methanewatch.kayrros.org) is publicly accessible without registration and provides a free tier of methane monitoring data. Buyers with data-rights or licensing requirements should confirm current contract templates with Energy Aspects Group directly, as post-acquisition contractual structures may differ from pre-2026 agreements.
Data and capabilities
Kayrros does not operate satellites. Its technology posture, described on its own about-technology page as a “pure software player” and “source-agnostic approach,” means the company is free to select the best available satellite data for each measurement task rather than being locked into a single operator’s imagery.
Stated input constellations include ESA Copernicus (Sentinel-1 SAR, Sentinel-2 optical, Sentinel-5P trace-gas), NASA missions (Landsat, EMIT), and commercial optical and SAR operators not individually named on the public site. The company also incorporates geolocation data, IoT signals, web sources, and ground-based data where relevant.
Methane and emissions intelligence
Methane Watch is Kayrros’s highest-profile product and the one with the deepest institutional endorsement. The platform uses up to three different satellites simultaneously for super-emitter detection, delivering an average two-day detection lag at global scale. Kayrros states on its product pages that satellite-derived methane estimates are typically 2 to 10 times larger than company self-reported emissions estimates, which is the core value proposition for financial institutions and regulators evaluating disclosed data.
The product suite splits into Methane Watch for Regulators, Methane Watch for Operators, and Methane Emissions Disclosure products targeting corporates and financial institutions. Kayrros also achieved greater than 98.5% accuracy versus EU official annual carbon data for two consecutive years, per its own published claims, which it benchmarks against Stanford-validated methane detection performance.
Energy and commodity intelligence
Crude Oil Intelligence (COI) is Kayrros’s flagship energy product. It monitors more than 12,000 crude oil storage tanks worldwide, including biweekly drone imagery of the Cushing hub, and documents an 82% correlation between its global crude oil inventory data and Brent prices, with a 1 to 3 week lead time over price moves. The product covers more than 8 years of historical data, enabling backtesting of trading strategies against the full dataset.
Adjacent energy products cover LNG supply disruption (LNG Intelligence), carbon allowance demand under the EU and UK ETS (Carbon Watch), solar and battery storage construction tracking (Solar Construction Monitor, Battery Storage Construction Monitor), industrial energy demand for cement, steel, and power sectors, and jet fuel demand. The Stockpiles Monitor extends to open-air dry bulk commodities including metals and minerals, with greater than 90% accuracy on inventories using 3D reconstruction from satellite imagery.
Climate and nature risk
Risk solutions cover wildfire exposure (Wildfire Risk Monitor, cited as a TIME Best Invention 2025), imported deforestation compliance under the EU Deforestation Regulation (Imported Deforestation Tracker), vegetation monitoring for right-of-way operators, and the Nature Impact Platform providing biodiversity intelligence for financial institutions, launched in March 2026 with BNP Paribas as a named customer.
Platform and access
Kayrros delivers its analytics through a web dashboard at app.kayrros.com, a REST API, and a Python API, all available to paying subscribers. The platform supports weekly reports and analytical briefings alongside the direct data feeds. An Innovation Studio offering custom analytics and AI model development is available for enterprise buyers with requirements outside the standard product suite. No self-serve marketplace or trial access exists for commercial products. All access begins with a demo request.
Pricing
Kayrros publishes no pricing on its website. All commercial products are sold through a demo-request and direct-sales model, with no self-serve tiers, published rate cards, or trial access for paid products. The table below reflects what the company’s primary sources confirm.
| Product category | Model | Published rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| All commercial analytics (Methane Watch, COI, LNG, Stockpiles, Risk Solutions, etc.) | Quote-based enterprise subscription | Not published | Access via Request a Demo at kayrros.com/request-a-demo/. Annual subscription model inferred from product structure; terms are direct-sales only. |
| Methane Watch open data | Free public portal | Free | Available at methanewatch.kayrros.org without registration. Scope is limited to the public methane monitoring dataset. |
| Innovation Studio | Custom project | Not published | Custom analytics and AI model development. Engagement model and pricing are negotiated directly. |
A third-party source (netzerocompare.com) has cited a starting price of approximately $15,000 per year for Kayrros products, though this figure does not appear on primary sources and cannot be confirmed from the vendor’s own pages. Buyers should treat any third-party pricing figures for Kayrros as indicative only and may be outdated, particularly given the May 2026 change of ownership.
The only free access point confirmed on primary sources is the Methane Watch public portal. This provides a meaningful evaluation resource for buyers whose primary interest is methane monitoring, but it does not substitute for a full product demonstration of the commercial suite.
Who it’s for
Kayrros’s product architecture maps tightly onto a defined set of buyer profiles: the platform is built around energy markets, emissions compliance, and climate physical risk, which means it is a strong fit for a narrow set of sophisticated institutional buyers and a poor fit for general geospatial or imagery use cases.
Commodity and energy traders
For crude oil, LNG, and carbon allowance traders, Kayrros offers the most granular satellite-derived inventory and activity data available from a single vendor. The 82% correlation between global crude oil inventories and Brent prices, with a documented 1 to 3 week lead time, is the headline metric for traders who want an independent, real-time signal ahead of published EIA or IEA statistics. The 8-plus-year historical dataset supports backtesting at scale.
LNG traders benefit from supply disruption monitoring, and the Stockpiles Monitor adds dry bulk commodity coverage for metals and minerals traders. Kayrros’s source-agnostic data approach means the inventory figures are not dependent on any single satellite operator’s collection schedule, which reduces single-point-of-failure risk for time-sensitive trading workflows.
Regulators and compliance teams
Methane Watch’s role as the monitoring platform for IMEO and the US government under the Global Methane Pledge gives it a documented regulatory standing that few private analytics products can claim. For corporate ESG and sustainability teams facing CSRD, EUDR, or SFDR reporting obligations, Kayrros offers independently measured data that can challenge or verify company self-disclosures, which is the core gap the platform is designed to close.
The Imported Deforestation Tracker addresses EUDR supply chain compliance specifically. Financial institutions can access the Nature Impact Platform for biodiversity intelligence, and the Methane Emissions Disclosure for Financial Institutions product is built explicitly for financed-emissions reporting under emerging regulatory frameworks.
Financial institutions and asset managers
Climate physical risk analytics, including Wildfire Risk Monitor, Forest Carbon Monitor, and Equity Tracker, are designed for investment portfolios and insurance underwriting where physical asset exposure to climate events drives capital allocation decisions. The Equity Tracker monitors real-asset portfolio performance using satellite-derived activity data, enabling asset managers to track project progress and asset utilisation without relying on company self-reporting.
Where it’s less competitive
Kayrros is not a source of raw satellite imagery and does not offer tasking, archive access, or any imagery delivery product. Buyers whose primary requirement is satellite data access, geospatial software, or general-purpose imagery analysis will find no relevant product in the Kayrros suite. The quote-only model and enterprise price point also make Kayrros inaccessible for small teams, individual researchers, or buyers who need self-serve evaluation before committing to a sales process.
Strengths and limitations
Kayrros’s structural advantages concentrate in data depth, regulatory standing, and the independence that comes from a source-agnostic multi-constellation approach:
- Source-agnostic AI platform consuming 20-plus satellite constellations, enabling the best-available data selection per use case rather than being locked to one operator’s imagery or revisit schedule
- Proprietary database of more than 5 million physical assets, including 12,000-plus crude oil tanks, monitored continuously at near-real-time frequency with an 8-plus-year history for crude oil inventory backtesting
- Methane Watch endorsed as the platform of choice for IMEO and the US government, with greater than 98.5% accuracy versus EU official annual carbon data for two consecutive years and an average two-day detection lag for methane super-emitters
- 82% documented correlation between Kayrros global crude oil inventory data and Brent prices, with a 1 to 3 week lead time over price moves, confirmed on primary sources
- Breadth of risk solutions covering methane, wildfire, deforestation, biodiversity, and climate physical risk through a single vendor and platform
- Scientific credibility backed by peer-reviewed publications in Science, Nature Geoscience, PNAS, and Environmental Science and Technology
The limitations are worth mapping against your procurement process before entering the sales funnel:
- No pricing published on primary sources, and all products are quote-based and require a direct sales engagement, which extends evaluation timelines compared to self-serve analytics platforms
- Acquisition by Energy Aspects Group (completed May 2026) introduces integration uncertainty, and buyers on multi-year contracts should verify current contractual counterparty and data terms
- No raw imagery, no satellite tasking, and no self-serve data access: Kayrros is an analytics-only platform and is not a substitute for imagery providers or general-purpose geospatial tools
In my analysis, the core commercial tension is between Kayrros’s exceptional depth in energy and emissions analytics and its narrow product focus. For workflows where independently measured physical-asset intelligence is the decision driver, Kayrros has few direct competitors. For workflows outside energy, emissions, and climate risk, the platform has no relevant product.
Kayrros alternatives
If Kayrros’s energy and emissions analytics focus does not match your primary requirement, or if you need a self-serve evaluation path, three providers offer meaningfully different capability profiles in the geospatial analytics space. The table below draws on verified specifications from primary sources for each provider.
| Provider | Primary focus | Data model | Pricing access | Key differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kayrros | Energy, emissions, climate risk analytics | 20+ satellite constellations, proprietary AI models | Quote-based, sales-led | Regulatory-grade methane monitoring, 5M+ asset database, 82% crude oil/Brent correlation |
| Orbital Insight (now Privateer Elements) | Geospatial analytics across supply chains, energy, and financial markets | Multi-source satellite and alternative data | Enterprise, sales-led | Broad geospatial analytics across sectors with government and commercial intelligence pedigree |
| GHGSat | Greenhouse gas emissions monitoring (methane, CO2) from dedicated satellites | Own high-resolution GHG-detection satellites | Quote-based, sales-led | Proprietary dedicated methane-detection satellites enabling facility-level attribution at higher spatial resolution |
| Ursa Space | SAR-based analytics for energy, commodities, and supply chains | Multi-operator SAR data with proprietary analytics layer | Enterprise, sales-led | SAR-first approach enables all-weather, day-and-night monitoring for oil storage, tankers, and industrial activity |
Orbital Insight, now delivered through Privateer’s Elements platform, covers a broader sector spread including supply chains, financial market signals, and government intelligence workflows, making it a relevant alternative for buyers whose requirements extend beyond energy and emissions. GHGSat operates its own dedicated methane-detection satellites, which enables facility-level emissions attribution at higher spatial resolution than satellite-agnostic platforms, though it does not cover the breadth of energy and commodity analytics that Kayrros offers.
Ursa Space’s SAR-first architecture delivers all-weather monitoring for oil storage and maritime tracking, with a published historical correlation record for crude oil inventories, making it the closest functional competitor to Kayrros’s energy intelligence products.
Kayrros’s differentiation remains its combination of regulatory-grade methane standing, the depth of its physical asset database, and the breadth of its energy and climate risk suite in a single platform.
Our provider comparison guides place Kayrros and its peers side by side, category by category.
Verdict
Legitimacy is not the question with Kayrros: it is a French analytics company founded in 2016 with a 150-person team, named customers at the regulatory level including IMEO and the US government, and peer-reviewed scientific publications underpinning its methodology. The acquisition by Energy Aspects Group, completed in May 2026, is the most relevant current due-diligence point for buyers, not any question of credibility.
For buyers whose core requirement is independently measured energy and emissions intelligence, Kayrros is among the most capable specialist vendors on the market. The combination of the 12,000-plus tank crude oil database, Methane Watch’s regulatory endorsement, and the breadth of climate and nature risk products makes it a credible single-vendor option for institutional buyers spanning energy trading, ESG compliance, and climate physical risk.
The caveats are structural. The quote-only model means there is no self-serve path to evaluate the product before entering a sales conversation. The May 2026 ownership change introduces integration uncertainty that prospective buyers on multi-year contracts should resolve directly with Energy Aspects Group before signing. And the narrow sector focus means Kayrros is simply not a candidate for any use case outside energy, emissions, and climate risk analytics.
For commodity and carbon trading desks, ESG and regulatory compliance teams, and financial institutions managing climate physical risk, Kayrros is a well-matched specialist choice. The alternatives table above is the practical starting point for buyers who need broader sector coverage, a SAR-first approach, or facility-level methane attribution from dedicated satellites.
Frequently asked questions
Below are answers to the questions buyers most commonly ask about Kayrros. Each answer points to the section where the full detail lives.
How does Kayrros work?
Kayrros ingests data from more than 20 third-party satellite constellations, including ESA Copernicus and NASA missions, and applies proprietary AI and machine-learning models to produce analytics products covering energy markets, methane emissions, and climate risk. Buyers access the outputs through a web dashboard at app.kayrros.com, a REST API, or a Python API, all delivered under an enterprise subscription. No satellite hardware is required on the buyer’s side. Full detail is in “Data and capabilities“.
What does Kayrros do?
Kayrros produces satellite-derived intelligence for three primary domains: energy and commodity markets (crude oil inventories, LNG, industrial demand), emissions and regulatory compliance (methane monitoring, GHG disclosure, deforestation tracking), and climate physical risk (wildfire, biodiversity, forest carbon). It is a pure analytics company that does not own or operate satellites. The product suite is described in “Data and capabilities“.
Is Kayrros a legit company?
Yes. Kayrros SAS is a French company registered in the Paris Trade and Companies Register, founded in 2016, and operating as a member of the Energy Aspects Group following a completed acquisition in May 2026. Its Methane Watch platform is used by IMEO and the US government, and it has been recognised on Fortune’s ‘Change the World’ list and TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies. See “Is Kayrros legit?“
How much does Kayrros cost?
Kayrros does not publish pricing on its website. All commercial products are sold through a demo request and direct sales process, with no self-serve rates available. The only confirmed free access point is the Methane Watch public data portal at methanewatch.kayrros.org. Pricing details are in the “Pricing” section.
Does Kayrros have a free tier?
The Methane Watch open data portal (methanewatch.kayrros.org) is available publicly without registration and provides free access to Kayrros’s methane monitoring dataset. No free tier or trial exists for the commercial analytics products (COI, LNG Intelligence, Stockpiles, Risk Solutions). Details are in “Pricing“.
Who owns Kayrros?
Kayrros’s civil activities are owned by Energy Aspects Group following a completed acquisition on 21 May 2026. A concurrent announcement confirmed that Kayrros’s intelligence and defense activities were separately acquired by Safran.AI on the same date. Prior to the acquisition, Kayrros SAS was an independent French company that had raised a Series C round of €40 million in March 2022. Ownership details are in “Is Kayrros legit?“
How does Kayrros make money?
Kayrros’s revenue model is enterprise analytics subscription: buyers pay for access to specific product lines (Methane Watch, Crude Oil Intelligence, LNG Intelligence, risk solutions, etc.) under annual contracts negotiated directly with the sales team. Custom analytics development via the Innovation Studio is also available as a project-based engagement. See “Pricing” for the model overview.
When was Kayrros founded?
Kayrros was founded in 2016 by a five-person team with backgrounds in advanced mathematics, AI, finance, commodities markets, and the energy industry. The company’s name is derived from the Greek word for “opportunity.” Background is in “About Kayrros“.
Where is Kayrros based?
Kayrros is headquartered at 37 Avenue Trudaine, Paris 75009, France. The company operates six offices globally: Paris (HQ), New York, Houston, London, Bangalore, and Singapore, supporting a team of approximately 150 people from 25 nationalities. Details are in “About Kayrros“.
Who are Kayrros’s customers?
Named customers on Kayrros’s own pages include IMEO (International Methane Emissions Observatory) and the US government as Methane Watch users, and BNP Paribas as a customer for the Nature Impact Platform. The company is positioned as a vendor to commodity traders, financial institutions, energy operators, and regulators. Full customer context is in “Is Kayrros legit?“
What are the best alternatives to Kayrros?
The closest matches depend on your requirement: Orbital Insight for broader geospatial analytics across supply chains and financial markets, GHGSat for facility-level methane attribution from dedicated detection satellites, and Ursa Space for SAR-based energy and commodity monitoring including oil storage and maritime tracking. A full comparison is in “Kayrros alternatives“.
My passions are Earth Observation and Satellites, and my profession is Data Analysis. I combine both within ObservationData.com to show you the use cases of Earth Observation, to help you find the right provider, and to share your experiences.
