Detroit’s Grounded Secures $5M Seed Funding to Scale Modular Van Customisation
Grounded closes funding round with support from Also Capital and The 81 Collection, opening new Detroit facility to outfit electric and combustion vehicles for business clients.
Detroit-based startup Grounded has closed a $5 million seed funding round to expand its modular vehicle customisation business. The company, founded in 2022, has shifted its focus from the consumer ‘van life’ market to outfitting electric and combustion-powered vans for small businesses and commercial fleets. The new capital will support operations at a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Detroit, which began production in August 2026.
The investment includes repeat backing from Also Capital and Chicago-based early-stage firm The 81 Collection, alongside new investors Animal Capital, the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund, and various SpaceX alumni. Founder and CEO Sam Shapiro stated that the funding marks a turning point, enabling the company to build at the scale required by fleet customers and extend its platform to a broader class of commercial vehicles.
Grounded is now vehicle-agnostic, offering custom solutions for sectors including commercial, medical, veterinary, food and beverage, and public safety. The company utilises chassis from manufacturers such as Ford and Mercedes-Benz, including the Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. This pivot follows the discontinuation of GM’s BrightDrop and the cancellation of Ford’s next-generation electric Transit plans, which forced the startup to adapt to a changing US electric vehicle landscape.
Production at the new Detroit facility has commenced, with capacity expected to ramp up in 2027. Grounded has already secured customers in the commercial sector, including Colgate and Nokia, as well as medical institutions such as Wayne State University Medical and the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii. Chief Product Officer Nadia Meyer noted notable growth in the food and beverage and public safety sectors.
Shapiro clarified that Grounded does not classify itself as an electric vehicle or vehicle manufacturer. Instead, the company builds the “application layer” on top of vehicle chassis, providing design, materials, power systems, and software. This approach allows Grounded to transform standard vans into mobile healthcare units, command centres, or commercial workspaces, regardless of whether the underlying vehicle is electric or combustion-powered.
