Vangrid, a Netherlands-based artificial intelligence startup, has raised $9 million in seed funding to develop a decentralised spatial intelligence network designed for the emerging Physical AI sector.
The funding round was backed by a consortium of investors including HashKey, Borderless, Crypto.com Capital, Animoca Brands, Gate Labs, and Mapleblock. According to the company, the capital will support three primary objectives: bootstrapping the network infrastructure, expanding the edge-computation pipeline, and deepening enterprise partnerships within defence and autonomous systems sectors.
Turning Smartphones into Data Infrastructure
Vangrid’s core proposition centres on converting smartphones into a distributed data-capture grid capable of generating high-fidelity mapping for Physical AI applications. The startup positions itself as addressing a fundamental gap in the development of autonomous systems that require accurate spatial awareness to operate effectively in dynamic human environments.
Robert Brighton, CEO of Vangrid, characterised the funding milestone as validation of the market’s recognition of spatial intelligence as critical infrastructure. “We are the eyes for the next generation of AI,” Brighton stated. “Without a decentralised perception grid, billion-dollar robots will remain blind to dynamic human environments. This round, and the calibre of partners now standing beside us, signals that the market recognises spatial ground truth as the foundational infrastructure needed for the Physical AI era,” he added.
Enterprise Focus and Market Positioning
The startup’s emphasis on enterprise partnerships across defence and autonomous systems indicates a strategy targeting established industries rather than consumer applications. This approach aligns with broader trends in the AI sector, where companies increasingly focus on B2B channels to achieve sustainable revenue streams and navigate regulatory requirements.
Vangrid’s decentralised approach to spatial intelligence represents one approach to addressing perceived limitations in centralised mapping systems. By leveraging distributed smartphone sensors, the company aims to create continuously updated, geographically comprehensive datasets that can support real-time decision-making for autonomous systems.
Broader European Context
The funding announcement reflects growing investor confidence in European AI infrastructure startups, particularly those exploring decentralised models and edge computing. While much venture capital attention in the AI sector has focused on large language models and generative AI, funding for spatial intelligence and perception systems highlights investor interest in supporting diverse AI applications across different domains.
The involvement of international investors across the funding round suggests that European spatial intelligence companies are attracting global capital attention. This trend underscores the continent’s emergence as a development hub not only for consumer-facing AI applications but also for foundational infrastructure technologies that support broader AI ecosystems. As Physical AI applications increasingly move toward commercialisation, startups addressing perception and spatial awareness challenges are positioned to become essential components of emerging autonomous systems value chains.