Genomics is fast becoming one of the most powerful tools in conservation, but it has remained out of reach for many conservationists who need it most. Finalizing a single chromosomal-level genome can take months of painstaking human curation. And even when genomic data exists, translating it into on-the-ground conservation decisions requires years of cross-disciplinary training that few field biologists have. Meanwhile, populations are rapidly declining, and species are disappearing.

AI is already transforming human medicine: accelerating diagnostics, interpreting imaging data, and enabling personalized treatments.

GAIA, Genomic Artificial Intelligence Applications, will bring the same, much-needed revolution to wildlife conservation.

Funded by a $2 million award from the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, GAIA is developing two breakthrough AI tools that will put the power of genomic conservation into every conservationist’s hands.

Jarvis: AI-Powered Genome Curation  

Genome curation, the final stage of finishing a reference genome, is fundamentally a pattern recognition problem; assembly errors follow recognizable patterns. Jarvis will be trained on thousands of expertly curated reference genomes from across the evolutionary tree of life to automatically identify and fix errors in genome assembly, compressing what once took weeks or months of specialized human labor into a matter of days. With AI, our goal is to enable the Vertebrate Genomes Laboratory to deliver 60+ genomes per week, up from the 3 it currently averages, to rapidly provide conservationists with the foundational reference genomes needed for the genetic insights that will make the difference between reactive and proactive conservation.

Genera: Your Genetic Rescue Assistant

Genera is intended to be an AI concierge for conservation genomics. Genetic rescue involves complex, interconnected scientific workflows; the challenge has always been that interpreting results and translating them into management actions requires years of education and cross-disciplinary expertise. Genera is being designed to bridge that gap.

Field biologists will be able to ask questions such as:

• Which individuals should we prioritize for translocation based on genetic diversity?
• What genetic factors might explain disease susceptibility in this population?
• Will certain interventions support long-term population recovery?

The final version of Genera will integrate genomic data with species metadata and the conservation literature to deliver science-backed answers in real time.

Our hope is that GAIA will, for the first time, enable any conservationist, regardless of institution, resources, or technical background, to access actionable genomic insights rapidly and reliably. We’re starting with field biologists working on 50+ endangered U.S. species, from mammals to mollusks to plants, and once deployed, these tools will be freely available to conservation practitioners worldwide.

Both tools will be open source to accelerate conservation globally.

GAIA is led by Revive & Restore Lead Scientist, Ben Novak, in collaboration with Emily Hatas (Vice President) and Ryan Phelan (Co-founder and Executive Director), and in partnership with:

• • Dr. Erich Jarvis & Dr. Giulio Formenti, Vertebrate Genomes Lab, The Rockefeller University
  • Dr. Ayshwarya Subramanian, Cornell University
  • Dr. Andrew Carroll, Google Research
  • Wellcome Sanger Institute
  • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
  • Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)

We are proud to be supported by the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, with technology mentorship from AWS, Google.org, NVIDIA, Microsoft Research, AI2, and Esri.

The Bezos Earth Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge is a $100 million initiative that connects innovators with resources to harness AI to address the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Revive & Restore was honored to be named one of only fifteen global awardees, a recognition that AI-powered genomics represents one of the most promising frontiers in the fight to save species.