Grounded has raised a $5 million seed round and moved production into a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Detroit, increasing its production capacity by 1,900% as the company expands deeper into commercial and municipal fleets.
The Detroit-based advanced manufacturing and mobility company plans to use the additional capacity to support a new vehicle-agnostic box platform that extends its software-defined, modular vehicle architecture beyond electric vehicles and into a broader market spanning both electric and internal combustion engine vehicles.
Grounded said the financing will support three primary areas: establishing the new box-platform manufacturing line, including tooling, equipment and research and development; building out the larger Detroit facility; and expanding its manufacturing, engineering and sales teams.
The new box line builds on the modular architecture Grounded originally developed for its van-based electric vehicles.
Grounded’s adaptive customization technology is designed to allow a common vehicle platform to be configured for numerous commercial applications without requiring the company to engineer an entirely new vehicle for each customer or use case.
That approach could allow Grounded to address a larger range of commercial fleets while improving manufacturing repeatability as volumes increase.
The company is seeing demand across food and beverage franchises, field operations, public safety and mobile healthcare.
Grounded said its new platform is intended to address those markets while allowing the company to manufacture customized vehicles more efficiently.
The company already has electric fleet vehicles deployed across several industries.
Customers include Colgate, Nokia, Coffee Fellows, Wayne State University Medical, PetEvolution and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies.
Those vehicles support applications including mobile medical and dental services, food service and other field operations.
The expansion represents another stage in Grounded’s transition from its origins as an electric recreational vehicle startup toward a broader advanced manufacturing and commercial fleet technology company.
Grounded plans to continue producing fully electric RVs for direct-to-consumer customers while increasing its emphasis on commercial and government fleets.
The company is targeting organizations that want to electrify fleet operations while retaining the flexibility to configure vehicles around specialized applications.
Grounded’s connected software platform also provides remote monitoring and fleet-management capabilities alongside its modular vehicle architecture.
The company was founded by former SpaceX engineers and is headquartered in Detroit.
The larger facility is expected to create 15 new jobs as Grounded scales its manufacturing operations.
Grounded emerged from Detroit’s Newlab ecosystem, and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation said its Retention Program helped connect the company with resources that enabled it to keep its expanding operations in the city.
Grounded is also strengthening its commercial leadership as it expands.
The company hired Drew Snow, formerly of Adrian Steel, as Director of International Sales to help grow its fleet business and bring its modular vehicle platform to customers in additional markets.
Production at the new Detroit facility is scheduled to begin in August 2026.
Grounded expects capacity to continue ramping throughout 2027 to support existing customer commitments, production of the new box platform and a growing pipeline of enterprise and municipal fleet customers.
KEY QUOTES:
“This new facility is a turning point for Grounded. 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.”
Sam Shapiro, Founder And CEO Of Grounded
“The economy is moving onto wheels. We’re seeing notable growth across food and beverage franchises, field operations, public safety, and mobile healthcare. Our box platform embraces those use cases and speeds manufacturing to meet that demand and serve the sizable addressable market.”
Nadia Meyer, Chief Product Officer Of Grounded
“Grounded is a company on the move, both literally and figuratively. This team emerged from Newlab with a bold idea and turned it into a business that now requires 50,000 square feet and 15 new jobs to support its growth. Our Retention Program made the connections that kept this exciting company in the City, adding another strong chapter to Detroit’s story as a leader in mobility.”
Kevin Johnson, President And CEO Of The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
