3Bee, founded in 2017 by Niccolò Calandri and Riccardo Balzaretti and based in Milan, started with sensors that monitor beehives and now sells companies programmes to plant and monitor "biodiversity oases", using pollinators as indicators of environmental health. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's June 2023 cut-off with a "grant first" award and received an EU grant of €2.25 million for a €3.22 million project from January 2024 to December 2025 to build "a clear, scalable and scientific framework to measure terrestrial biodiversity", according to CORDIS.
The only public report, for 2024, says 3Bee built FLORA, a platform that combines Sentinel-2 satellite images, sensors and AI, and the Element-E protocol, "certified by Bureau Veritas and applied across 31 sites covering 10,910 hectares", according to the CORDIS reporting page. Its neural networks classified land cover with "an accuracy of 60-70%" and tree species with "28-65%". The report says 3Bee took part in drafting a reference practice for biodiversity credits with the Italian standards body UNI; UNI announced that work in June 2024, according to UNI, and it was published as UNI/PdR 179:2025, according to 3Bee.
Company file
- Legal entity
- 3Bee Srl, Milan; 3Bee GmbH, Berlin
- Founders
- Niccolò Calandri, Riccardo Balzaretti
- Technologies
- FLORA, Spectrum, Hive-Tech, Polly X
- Investors
- GROW, Anya Capital, European Space Agency
- Standard
- UNI/PdR 179:2025, biodiversity credits
- EIC funding
- Grant first
Where 3Bee Stands Now
3Bee says more than 1,000 companies take part in its programmes, that it has planted more than 50,000 nectar-producing trees in 18 Italian regions, created over 200 biodiversity oases and runs more than 4,000 active sensors, according to its website. 3Bee's last announced funding round was a €5 million Series A in December 2022 with GROW, Anya Capital and the European Space Agency, according to PR Newswire. Its accounts, filed in Italy, were not accessible in free sources for this article.
"The project must also define monetization pathways for biodiversity credits within carbon markets and engage investors to position them as viable financial assets."
3Bee, first periodic report to the EICThe Technology: Measuring Nature From Space and Hives
Companies face growing pressure to report their impact on nature under EU sustainability rules, but biodiversity has no agreed unit like a tonne of CO2. 3Bee combines satellite images, acoustic sensors that listen to pollinators, and soil and water sampling to estimate indicators such as mean species abundance, and packages the results for sustainability reports and credits.
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
The award aimed to create a scientific, scalable way to measure biodiversity. 3Bee produced a certified protocol, applied it on real sites and helped turn it into a national reference practice. But its own figures show the AI models are far from precise, with tree species identified correctly between about a quarter and two thirds of the time. The report also lists monetisation of credits and investor engagement as work still to do. There is no final report.
- Certified protocolDeliveredBureau Veritas, 31 sites.
- National standardDeliveredUNI/PdR 179:2025.
- Accurate AI measurementPartial28-70% accuracy, 2024.
- Credit marketUnverifiedMonetisation still to define.
The Money
The EU covered 70% of the project. Its "grant first" award left EIC equity for later, and no EIC Fund investment or new private round has been announced since 2022. 3Bee's revenue and losses are not public in free sources.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
How many biodiversity credits 3Bee has issued and sold, how accurate its models were by the end of the project, what its revenue is and whether the EIC Fund invested are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EU wants companies to measure and restore nature, and a credible way to count biodiversity is a precondition for any market in nature credits. 3Bee has pushed that effort forward in Italy with a formal standard. Whether the credits carry real ecological value depends on measurement that is more accurate than the company's 2024 models.
What the award promised
A clear, scalable, scientific way to measure terrestrial biodiversity.
What the record shows
A certified protocol and a national standard, built on models of moderate accuracy.
The Verdict
A standard before the science settles
3Bee turned EIC money into a protocol and a standard. The measurements underneath still need to improve.
3Bee and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
