Vangrid raises $9M in token round to build spatial data network for physical AI

Here’s the thing about robots: they’re only as smart as the world they can see. And right now, most of them are functionally blind outside of controlled environments. Vangrid, a Dutch startup, just raised $9M in seed funding to fix that problem by building a decentralized spatial intelligence network that crowdsources 3D mapping data from ordinary smartphones. The round pulled in a roster of crypto-native investors that reads like a DePIN all-star team: HashKey, Borderless, Crypto.com Capital, Animoca Brands, Gate Labs, and Mapleblock. The capital will go toward expanding edge computing capabilities and developing enterprise tools for what Vangrid calls a “perception grid” for physical AI. Turning phones into mapping machines The core idea is deceptively simple. Instead of deploying expensive fleets of specialized vehicles to map the physical world, like Google Street View’s famous camera cars, Vangrid wants to tap into the billions of smartphones already in people’s pockets. Each phone becomes an edge node, capturing high-fidelity 3D spatial data through its cameras and sensors, then processing it on-device before pushing verified data onchain. CEO Robert Brighton framed the stake...