physical

Vangrid secures a $9 million funding round, with participation from HashKey, Crypto.com Capital, Animoca Brands, and others. This project is really interesting—it turns smartphones into a “spatial data collection device,” enabling ordinary users to crowdsource 3D spatial information, then uses on-chain verification to ensure the data is trustworthy, ultimately feeding it to Physical AI and robots.

Simply put, if robots are to operate in the real world, they first need a “live map.” Traditional solutions rely on professional equipment and LiDAR, which are costly and update slowly. Vangrid’s approach is to use massive amounts of phone camera footage + SLAM algorithms to scan the world into 3D point clouds, then register/verify ownership on-chain. Data requesters pay, data collectors receive incentives—forming a closed-loop system.

In the DePIN space, differentiation in positioning is a key highlight. Vangrid does not offer general-purpose computing power or wireless networks. Instead, it focuses on the vertical layer of “spatial data,” aiming to become Mapbox for the Physical AI era. If robots truly need large-scale deployment, continuously updated real-world maps are a must.

Also worth noting is the investor lineup: traditional crypto-currency funds + Borderless Capital with a background in mapping/location services, along with Animoca’s布局 in GameFi and the metaverse. This suggests the narrative is shifting from the “virtual world” to the “physical world.”

#Physical AI #DePIN #spatial computing

We will not register it at the initial stage; once our company offices open in leading countries—where operations will be conducted both physically and digitally—we will then proceed with registration and the official announcement. Our vision is ambitious, and while it will certainly take time, it is set to bring about a revolution in the digital world.

#newcompany #cryptoproject #physical #digital #RGF