Grounded has closed a US$5 million seed round and opened a 50,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Detroit, increasing production capacity by 1,900% for its Grounded electric fleet vehicles. The funding also finances a vehicle-agnostic box platform spanning electric and internal combustion engine configurations.

The box platform extends Grounded’s software-defined, modular vehicle architecture, configuring a common base for different applications without a bespoke engineering programme for each use case. Target sectors include food and beverage, field operations, public safety and mobile healthcare.

The seed capital funds three areas: manufacturing infrastructure for the box platform, equipping the new facility, and expanding the team. Grounded has hired Drew Snow, formerly of Adrian Steel, as Director of International Sales to support fleet market growth.

Existing fleet customers include Colgate, Nokia and Wayne State University Medical, with vehicles deployed across mobile medical and dental services, food service and field operations. The Detroit facility begins production this month, with capacity ramping through 2027.

Chief Product Officer Nadia Meyer said the box platform would accelerate Grounded’s ability to serve growing demand across food service, public safety and mobile healthcare. Chief Executive Sam Shapiro said the expansion allowed Grounded to build at the scale its fleet customers required.

Source: Business Wire