Detroit’s Grounded Secures $5 Million Seed Funding and Expands with New Manufacturing Facility

Grounded, a Detroit-based startup founded in 2022, has announced the closure of a $5 million seed funding round amid a challenging electric vehicle (EV) market. Despite recent setbacks, including General Motors’ discontinuation of its BrightDrop electric van and Ford’s cancellation of plans for its next-generation electric Transit van, the company remains committed to its mission of customizing vehicles for various business needs.

The funding saw participation from existing investors, including Also Capital and The 81 Collection, alongside new contributions from Animal Capital, the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund, and several alumni from SpaceX, as noted by founder and CEO Sam Shapiro.

In conjunction with the funding announcement, Grounded has opened a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Detroit. This facility is designed to enhance the company’s modular design approach, enabling it to cater to a broader range of fleet requirements, whether electric or combustion-powered. Production is set to commence this month, with plans to increase capacity throughout the next year.

“This new facility is a turning point for Grounded,” Shapiro stated. “We built this company to bring smart, modular electric vehicles to the businesses and institutions that keep our cities running. With this expansion, we can finally build at the scale our fleet customers need and bring our platform to an entirely new class of commercial vehicles.”

Grounded has already secured clients across various sectors, including commercial giants like Colgate and Nokia, as well as entities in the medical and veterinary fields, such as Wayne State University Medical and the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii. Chief Product Officer Nadia Meyer highlighted the company’s “notable growth” from customers in the food and beverage and public safety industries.

The discontinuation of BrightDrop by GM was a significant turning point for Grounded, prompting Shapiro to pivot the company’s focus toward gas-powered vehicles. This shift allows Grounded to leverage more widely accepted models like Ford’s combustion-powered Transit and Mercedes-Benz’s Sprinter vans, catering to clients hesitant to adopt electric options due to existing infrastructure challenges.

Shapiro explained that Grounded’s strategy includes using up remaining BrightDrop inventory while also exploring electric and hybrid offerings from startup Harbinger. He emphasized, “Grounded is not an ‘EV company,’ nor is Grounded a vehicle company at all. We build the smart, high-tech, modular workspace or living space on top of the chassis, creating a modern, connected mobile healthcare vehicle, command center, camper van, coffee shop, and more, with the application layer being our product.”