GEODNET is taking a different approach to global Earth observation, building a blockchain-based decentralized network of high-precision multi-band GNSS base stations. Since the company’s official launch in 2022, the team has grown its network of web3 GNSS base stations to more than 3,000 globally, providing a reliable solution for Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) applications.
The GEODNET Foundation recently announced the completion of a private $1.5 million token sale led by Borderless Capital’s EdgeFi Fund, the first web3 investment fund exclusively focused on Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), according to a news release. The investment round also includes participation from IoTeX, a web3 technology provider and blockchain for Internet of Things, and angel investors.
“We led this investment because the GEODNET community is proving that thoughtfully deployed DePIN networks offer high-value, revenue-generating solutions to real-world problems,” said Álvaro Gracia, Partner at Borderless Capital, according to the release.
The GEODNET location service offers centimeter location accuracy for various applications including drones, robotic vehicles, agriculture, augmented reality, and IoT/mobile devices. Hemisphere GNSS, Quectel Wireless Solutions and Rock Robotic are among those leveraging the stations, which are now online in every continent.
The key to GEODENT, Project Creator Mike Horton said, is it’s decentralized. GEODNET stations owners set up a Satellite Mining station and are rewarded in the project’s native Polygon token, GEOD. New stations join the blockchain and prove their location using a published algorithm. Those who set up the stations are rewarded based on the accuracy data they provide.
“We provide open access to data throughout the world for all applications that use corrections networks,” Horton said of GEODNET. “It’s a community approach. People set up stations at their home or office and then are rewarded for having that station online, depending on how good the quality is. It lets people participate in the network, setting up stations and then earning tokens they can sell on the crypto exchanges.”
The GEODNET Foundation manages the open network protocol and promotes service use within the traditional GNSS and IoT industry. This investment will be used to strengthen the project, with emphasis placed on growing reliable global coverage and a mobile operating-system Software Development Kit.
GEODNET combines AI, IoT and blockchain, making it a “game changer” for mobile applications, Horton said. The $1.5 million investment will “help pave the way to a broad developer ecosystem in both enterprise and consumer applications.”
