Decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) project Vangrid has raised $9 million in a seed funding round, the company announced on August 7, 2026. The round saw participation from notable crypto investors including HashKey, Borderless Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Animoca Brands, Gate Labs, and Mapleblock Capital. The seed round was structured as a simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT), with the fundraising taking place between August 2025 and January 2026. The announcement was delayed until the network was live, according to co-founder and CEO Robert Brighton, who joined the project in May 2025.
Vangrid is building a smartphone-based 3D spatial data collection network with on-chain verification. Users contribute by capturing real-world locations using their phones, which are then reconstructed into 3D models and verified on the Base blockchain using Ethereum Attestation Service. The network is demand-driven: buyers commission specific locations, and contributors receive bounties for delivering verified captures. This design avoids the reward‐without‐revenue pitfall seen in some earlier DePIN projects, Brighton noted. The project has already logged nearly 100,000 verified captures, 200,000 grid events, and over 1,300 batch attestations, visible via its public explorer.
Target customers include Physical AI builders—developers of robots, autonomous agents, and digital twins—as well as defense and government organizations requiring up-to-date spatial data in GPS-denied or rapidly changing environments. Vangrid positions itself between expensive traditional mapping fleets and quality-uncertain open crowdsourcing. Privacy is maintained by anonymising faces and license plates before data leaves the device. The team, based in Amsterdam with 14 employees, plans to hire across engineering and data operations, expand its data network, and form partnerships in AI infrastructure. A memorandum of understanding has already been signed with strategic data partners in defense and robotics.
A native token is planned for launch in the second half of 2026, with reward mechanics to be announced closer to the date. Currently, contributors are paid bounties. The fresh funding will be used to scale the network and deepen partnerships, cementing Vangrid’s role at the intersection of decentralized infrastructure and physical AI. The investor lineup brings not only capital but also infrastructure, technology, and exchange relationships, signaling confidence in demand-driven DePIN models that connect real-world data with blockchain verification.
