Bee Maps bags $32m to expand AI mapping network built on Hivemapper

Bee Maps has secured a $32 million Series A to scale its decentralized mapping operation. The capital will fuel deployment of dashcams and enhance its AI models, addressing the supply-side crunch created by demand from clients like Volkswagen and Lyft.

Summary

• Bee Maps raised $32 million Series A led by Pantera Capital to scale its AI-powered decentralized mapping network on Hivemapper.
• Funding will boost dashcam deployment, AI model upgrades, and HONEY token rewards.
• The company introduced a new $19 monthly Bee Membership plan to replace upfront hardware costs, expanding accessibility to contributors.

According to a press release dated Oct. 6, Bee Maps, the AI mapping project powered by the Hivemapper network, has closed a $32 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by Pantera Capital with participation from LDA Capital, Borderless Capital, and Ajna Capital.

Bee Maps said it will utilize the capital injection to accelerate the deployment of its dashcam hardware and scale the underlying decentralized network to meet a surge of enterprise demand.

Scaling the decentralized map economy

Bee Maps’ latest financing round marks one of the largest capital raises in the decentralized physical infrastructure (DePin) sector this year, reflecting how AI and blockchain are converging around real-world data.

Built atop the Hivemapper network, Bee Maps transforms street-level imagery collected from AI-enabled dashcams into live geospatial data. This data powers navigation, logistics, and urban-planning applications across sectors increasingly reliant on precision mapping.

According to the company, the $32 million funding will supercharge this operation, specifically targeting device distribution, AI model enhancement, and contributor rewards tied to the HONEY token.

The company’s client base offers a glimpse into that growing demand. According to the press release, Bee Maps is already working with Volkswagen’s robotaxi program, Lyft, Mapbox, and NBC, each leveraging its mapping network to improve route accuracy and real-time decision-making.

Notably, Bee Maps introduced a new Bee Membership plan, shifting the economic model from a significant upfront hardware cost of $589 to a more accessible $19 monthly subscription.