Bee Maps, formerly known as Hivemapper, has secured $32 million in Series A funding to accelerate its decentralized mapping platform built on the Solana blockchain. The investment round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from LDA Capital, Borderless Capital, and Ajna Capital, underscoring confidence in the decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) movement.
The platform operates a crowdsourced global mapping network that rewards contributors with its native HONEY token. Participants use Bee Dashcams to capture real-world imagery, which is processed by AI models to detect road changes, signage, and construction updates. This decentralized approach provides more up-to-date and geographically diverse data than traditional centralized systems.
With the new funding, Bee Maps plans to expand its contributor base, enhance AI and machine learning infrastructure, and grow global network coverage. A key initiative is the introduction of a $19 monthly Bee Membership Plan, replacing the previous $589 upfront device cost to lower barriers to entry. This subscription includes the dashcam, LTE connectivity, and access to software updates, expected to boost participation and data collection.
Bee Maps has already established partnerships with major companies like Volkswagen's autonomous driving division, Lyft, Mapbox, and NBC, which leverage its data for navigation, logistics, and AI training. The funding will also support machine-vision model enhancements, token economics optimization, and expansion into automotive, logistics, and telecommunications sectors, positioning Bee Maps as a leader in the DePIN and Web3 infrastructure landscape.
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