# Vangrid > Markdown twin of https://roboterminal.app/companies/vangrid · https://roboterminal.app/companies/vangrid.md ## Key numbers - **Claimed raise:** $9M - _"@vangrid_io raised a $9M seed round while the network was already being built in stealth and the product was already live."_ - Source: @nguyenthambt on X - **Claimed raise:** $9million - _"$9 million seed round backed by investors including HashKey Capital, Animoca Brands and Borderless Capital"_ - Source: @nguyenthambt on X - **Claimed raise:** $9million - _"The project announced a $9 million seed round on August 6, 2026, backed by HashKey Capital, Animoca Brands, Borderless Capital, https://t.co/iUS4Nyujxv Capital, Gate Labs and Mapleblock Capital."_ - Source: @nguyenthambt on X ## On shared sources - [Base](https://roboterminal.app/companies/base) (8) - [Microsoft](https://roboterminal.app/companies/microsoft) (7) - [NVIDIA](https://roboterminal.app/companies/nvidia) (5) - [Animoca Brands](https://roboterminal.app/companies/animoca-brands) (4) - [Borderless Capital](https://roboterminal.app/companies/borderless-capital) (4) - [HashKey Capital](https://roboterminal.app/companies/hashkey-capital) (4) - [ING](https://roboterminal.app/companies/ing) (4) - [Mollie](https://roboterminal.app/companies/mollie) (4) - [Gate Labs](https://roboterminal.app/companies/gate-labs) (3) - [Axis Robotics](https://roboterminal.app/companies/axis-robotics) (1) - [Mapleblock Capital](https://roboterminal.app/companies/mapleblock-capital) (1) ## Pulse - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2112364043285745775) Building better AI models is only part of the challenge. Physical AI also needs accurate information about the environments where robots are expected to operate @vangrid_io . A dataset collected month… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2111994720683766137) One thing I look for in a DePIN project is whether real contributions connect to real demand. @vangrid_io The bounty workflow is an interesting part of Vangrid because it gives spatial data collection… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2111272777269252380) Recognizing an object is one thing. Understanding how it exists in physical space is another. @vangrid_io is working on a part of the Physical AI stack that deserves more attention: spatial data colle… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2110905380171813242) Some of the most valuable data for Physical AI may come from places people usually overlook. @vangrid_io makes this problem tangible through its live capture bounty board. Requests include damaged loc… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2110542161167225222) Building infrastructure for Physical AI requires more than understanding the technology. It requires knowing how to turn a promising idea into a system that can operate at scale. @vangrid_io brings to… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2110177609455956353) The physical world is too diverse to understand through a handful of centralized data collection teams alone. @vangrid_io offers a different approach by turning smartphones into a distributed network … - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2109919585885712569) Factory floors run on tight tolerances and unforgiving takt time. An unverified input breaks tooling the moment a robot executes. Physical AI requires decisions made directly on the machine. Verificat… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2109815418227753087) Trust matters when physical world data is collected by a distributed network. Buyers need usable 3D assets, while contributors deserve clarity about how their original footage is handled. @vangrid_io … - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2109463313306538465) Collecting more spatial data is only part of the challenge. Making sure every capture meets the required standard is what makes the data useful. @vangrid_io approaches this problem with a workflow tha… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2109100391912874404) A decentralized data network becomes more credible when its activity can be independently inspected. @vangrid_io is interesting because its Explorer goes beyond displaying a single headline metric. It… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2108732850971488599) The next challenge for Physical AI is building a trustworthy data pipeline, not just collecting more footage. @vangrid_io is developing spatial infrastructure that brings edge computed privacy, crypto… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2108372690566557807) A real world data marketplace needs more than people collecting footage @vangrid_io is interesting because its bounty system connects data requests with a clear payment workflow. Buyers can fund a bou… - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2108096953892655469) The critical bottleneck in Physical AI is access to verifiable, fresh ground truth. A bounty marketplace for spatial data solves this by monetizing human sensors. Provenance is key for plant qualifica… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2108006784300621916) Physical AI will not scale on models alone @vangrid_io is interesting because the missing piece may be coordination between the physical world and the systems learning from it. Real places constantly … - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107789211856453775) Robots need current, physical ground truth. Large language models cannot fill this void. Leveraging human sensors to capture real-world spatial data on demand addresses a critical AI bottleneck. https… - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107789150133063686) Physical AI stalls on the data gap. Human-in-the-loop systems for real-world spatial capture are key. This model bridges the gap between raw data and usable 3D insights for autonomous systems. https:/… - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107788443992646073) The VanGrid model of AI requesting physical-world data, captured by humans for 3D reconstruction, is a fascinating loop. This addresses a core challenge for physical AI: getting fresh, accurate spatia… - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107786712005128314) Agreed. The sim-to-real gap on contact dynamics is the bottleneck I keep coming back to. A robot can plan a trajectory in simulation all day. The moment it touches a flexible harness or seats a clip o… - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107786512138150006) Factory floors run on fixed geometry. When a cell layout shifts or tooling changes position, the robot's world model is stale. Fresh spatial data is not a cloud problem. It is a calibration and edge s… - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107786409696522721) Physical AI closes the sim-to-real gap in factory environments. The next step is closing the data gap by sending agents to collect what sensors cannot. That is where human-in-the-loop becomes literal.… - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107786322375258281) The pipeline is where sim-to-real transfer either holds or breaks. Contact dynamics, thermal drift, cycle-time jitter. The model that survives the environment wins. https://t.co/QdVuPQE5o9 - [@smsehy on X](https://x.com/smsehy/status/2107786093441777973) Physical AI training data has a shelf life. Factory layouts change, tooling rotates, new fixtures appear on the line every quarter. Static 3D scans go stale. Distributed real-world capture at the poin… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2107641771564134853) The missing layer in Physical AI may be coordination @vangrid_io is interesting because collecting spatial data is only one part of the problem. You also need a network that can coordinate people, loc… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2107288425636434378) Physical AI has a data problem that bigger models cannot solve alone @vangrid_io is interesting because the answer is not simply collecting more of the same data A robot or world model may need inform… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2106921828493177046) The interesting part about Vangrid is what happened before the funding announcement @vangrid_io raised a $9M seed round while the network was already being built in stealth and the product was already… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2106565122068279450) The interesting part of Vangrid is not just collecting spatial data @vangrid_io creates a way for real world data collection to become an active network process instead of a passive dataset sitting so… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2105845890028274141) Building infrastructure for Physical AI requires more than an ambitious vision. It takes experience in deep tech, distributed systems and turning complex technology into products people can actually u… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2105485789153149274) Behind every ambitious Physical AI network, the team building the infrastructure matters just as much as the vision. @vangrid_io brings together experience across deep tech, Web3 and large scale distr… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2105119629408625077) A strong infrastructure project needs more than a compelling narrative. It needs a team that can build complex systems and a product people can actually explore. That is one reason @vangrid_io caught … - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2104756800260387252) A spatial intelligence network needs two things to scale: a reliable technical foundation and the ability to bring real-world data demand into the network. That is what makes the team behind @vangrid_… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2104389379099963864) Collecting real-world data is one challenge. Making capture provenance and network activity independently checkable is another. That is the part of @vangrid_io I find particularly interesting. Vangrid… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2104028251685314812) The most interesting part of Physical AI may not be the robots. It may be the infrastructure collecting the real-world data they need. @vangrid_io is approaching this through something almost everyone… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2103658313405661285) The team behind @vangrid_io has experience across deep tech, Web3 and distributed systems. Robert Brighton brings 10 years of GTM and revenue experience across deep tech and Web3, including previous w… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2103505702056595698) Vangrid is one of the few projects actually building the layer this article is describing: turning ordinary smartphones into a distributed capture network, verified onchain, generating exactly the kin… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2102946119156113452) A lot of Physical AI projects are easy to describe as future infrastructure. What makes @vangrid_io more interesting is that the network is already live. Vangrid launched its web and Android products … - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2102627111416614935) Robots need two completely different kinds of data, and only one of them is being solved right now. The first is motion data - how to move a joint, how to grip an object. Well-funded labs and teleoper… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2102583020318507161) One thing that makes @vangrid_io interesting to me is the team and the problem they chose to solve. Vangrid is building infrastructure around the growing need for real world spatial data as robotics a… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2102236410246058061) The part of @vangrid_io I find most interesting is the idea of on demand spatial data. Instead of relying only on static datasets, Vangrid turns smartphones into a distributed capture network that can… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2101925738416922705) Every other company trying to capture real-world spatial data has been stuck with the same problem: you need special gear. VR headsets, dedicated scanning cameras, hardware most people don't own and a… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2101863783505478055) The more I look at @vangrid_io, the more interesting the team behind the infrastructure becomes. Robert Brighton brings 10 years of GTM and revenue experience across deep tech and Web3, with previous … - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2101511091121733720) Real world data is becoming an important constraint for Physical AI. @vangrid_io is taking an interesting approach by turning smartphones into a distributed network for capturing spatial data from phy… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2101179120881111476) Moooorning friends! Big one: @vangrid_io closed a $9M raise, and unlike a lot of raises, this one comes with a network that's already live and producing data. Step back for a second and look at where … - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2101126395170856974) A lot of Physical AI projects are still talking about what could be built. What caught my attention about @vangrid_io is that the product is already live. Vangrid has web and Android products, while n… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2100828322313715868) Morning friends! Self-driving cars don't fail because the AI can't make decisions - they fail because the car doesn't actually know what's around it. A camera feed isn't the same as real spatial under… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2100828199928107133) Morning friends! Self-driving cars don't fail because the AI can't make decisions - they fail because the car doesn't actually know what's around it. A camera feed isn't the same as real spatial under… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2100753724541178112) The harder problem for Physical AI is not simply collecting more data. It is knowing where that data came from, how it was captured, and whether it can be trusted. That is why the infrastructure behin… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2100451388622860621) Great Thursday to robotics fans! Robots can't learn to move through the real world from text. They need actual data - how a hallway is shaped, where a doorframe sits, how furniture is arranged in a re… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2100399880930054203) A different side of @vangrid_io that I find interesting is the idea of turning spatial data into infrastructure. Physical AI needs more than images or raw sensor readings. It needs context about locat… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2100077751046672506) Physical AI needs more than datasets. It needs specific places captured exactly when someone needs them. That’s what caught me about @vangrid_io. A buyer posts a job, an operator captures the location… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2100020026019623054) One thing I find interesting about @vangrid_io is the idea of distributed perception. Instead of relying on a few centralized systems to understand the physical world, Vangrid is building a network wh… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2099860825183760426) Some of the most interesting AI / robotics builds on @base last week: 1.Reppo - Evaluation markets that let AI agents, datasets, and robotics systems get benchmarked and scored. 2.Strike Robot - Simul… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2099821929217822775) One angle I find especially interesting about @vangrid_io is the shift from centralized data collection to distributed perception. Instead of relying on a small number of expensive sensing systems, Va… - [@Biti8888 on X](https://x.com/Biti8888/status/2099735775633940887) Satellites can map the planet from orbit, but they can't see what actually matters for Physical AI: sidewalks, doorways, curb heights, the texture of a hallway, the exact geometry a robot or autonomou… - [@nguyenthambt on X](https://x.com/nguyenthambt/status/2099669815967539399) One thing I find interesting about @vangrid_io is the idea of turning everyday devices into part of a global perception network. Smartphones already have cameras, sensors and location capabilities. Va… --- Source: Roboterminal · https://roboterminal.app/companies/vangrid.md