• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
PoliticsSpace Exploration

This startup wants to help organize your UFO sightings

By
Colin Lodewick
Colin Lodewick
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Colin Lodewick
Colin Lodewick
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 13, 2022, 7:30 AM ET
An illustration of a UFO over a field.
A photo illustration of a UFO hovering over a field. Aaron Foster—Getty Images

This week, NASA revealed the sharpest infrared images ever taken of the visible universe, capturing brilliant galaxies and stars transformed into nebulae. 

The images serve as a reminder of how mind-bogglingly big the universe really is and how little we actually know about it. It’s full of unknown phenomena.

Those unknowns are core to the mission of Enigma Labs, which bills itself as “the first data and community platform dedicated to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).” 

Enigma is the largest searchable UAP database in the world, according to the company’s website, containing over 400,000 citizen and military reports that the company says it has analyzed using artificial intelligence to ensure they’re veritably unidentifiable. 

That means the reports cannot be explained by “identifiable variables” like the moon or variations in light.

“Our mobile app is the most frictionless way to report an anomalous sighting,” the company said in a statement on its website. Though it has only launched a private beta test so far, Enigma says that its publicly-available app will include social capabilities and opportunities to seek insight from experts on UAPs.

“There was really no destination for credible information, data and sharing of expertise and insights,” Alex Smith, the company’s founder, told Bloomberg.

Enigma did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

The company calls itself a “non-partisan” organization, citing the global distribution of sightings and universal implications of unexplained phenomena for life on earth. “We are neutral on the origins of Phenomenon and careful not to get mired in premature assumptions or logical fallacies,” the company wrote on its website.

It also acknowledges its place within a growing conversation around UAPs in popular discourse. 

Last month, NASA announced it was commissioning its own team to investigate UAPs. “The limited number of observations of UAPs currently makes it difficult to draw scientific conclusions about the nature of such events,” the agency wrote in a statement. “Unidentified phenomena in the atmosphere are of interest for both national security and air safety.”

In November, the Department of Defense established the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG) in order to investigate UAP reports.

In May, Congress held its first hearing into UAPs since the 1960s. During the hearing, Congressman André Carson (D-Ind), chairman of the House intelligence counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and counterproliferation subcommittee, delivered an opening statement in which he said that “culture has changed” with regards to unidentified aerial phenomena.

“Those who report UAPs will be treated as witnesses, not as kooks,” he said.

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.

About the Author
By Colin Lodewick
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Politics

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative cut 70 jobs as the Meta CEO’s philanthropy goes all in on mission to 'cure or prevent all disease'
By Sydney LakeFebruary 1, 2026
12 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was 'gonna invent a career.' He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Meet the first CEO of the IRS: A Jamie Dimon protege facing a $5 trillion test this tax season
By Shawn TullyJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago

Latest in Politics

Politicsgovernment shutdown
Partial government shutdown will extend into the week as House Speaker Johnson says it will be a few days before vote on funding
By Lisa Mascaro and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
Arts & EntertainmentMovies
‘Melania’ documentary debuts with $7 million in ticket sales after Amazon MGM Studios spent $75 million for rights and marketing
By Jack Coyle and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
3 hours ago
PoliticsICE
France’s Capgemini to sell unit that provides tech services to ICE as backlash against Trump’s immigration crackdown goes global
By The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
3 hours ago
PoliticsImmigration
5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and father return to Minnesota from ICE facility in Texas after judge’s scathing order demanding release
By Jack Dura and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
3 hours ago
PoliticsImmigration
Trump voter in key swing district is horrified by his immigration crackdown. ‘We’re not a Third World country. What the hell is going on?’
By Nicholas Riccardi and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
6 hours ago
PoliticsElections
Democrat stuns Texas GOP in special election for a state senate district that Trump won by 17 points in 2024, adding to signs of a blue wave
By John Hanna and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
7 hours ago