Vancouver-based GroundedAI has raised $2 million to accelerate the expansion of its underground intelligence platform into the tunnelling sector.
The financing round was led by Stand Up Ventures, with participation from SOSV, Accelia, BoxOne, The51, LOI VC, and other investors.
GroundedAI is developing technology designed to help construction teams understand changing subsurface conditions before they lead to costly delays and budget overruns. The startup is targeting the opportunity created by a major wave of Canadian investment in transit, energy, water infrastructure, pipelines, and critical-mineral projects—much of which will require tunnelling or other underground work.
“Canada has committed to building at a scale we haven’t attempted in generations, and almost all of it touches the underground,” said GroundedAI co-founder and CEO Shelby Yee.
“The ground is never exactly what the contract and model say it will be. Many tunnelling projects across the world are still managing that gap with paper logs and spreadsheets.”
GroundedAI’s platform connects workers collecting information underground with engineers, owners, and other decision-makers above ground.
Its technology includes Lithos, an iPad-based LiDAR application that captures data in underground environments, and Strata, a web platform that georeferences and maps that information while identifying differences between actual conditions, project budgets, and geological models.
Together, the tools provide construction teams with visibility into subsurface conditions during the same work shift. GroundedAI says this can help projects identify potentially multimillion-dollar variances while there is still time to respond.
The system is designed for challenging underground environments where connectivity may be unavailable and information must reach decision-makers within hours rather than days.
GroundedAI currently works with engineering firms and project owners across tunnelling and underground mining, including global engineering consultancy Hatch, Vancouver-based tunnel engineering firm Delve Underground, and Austrian consultancy Elea iC.
“We’re entering an infrastructure investment cycle that is generational in scale, and the tools being used underground have not kept pace with the complexity or the stakes,” said Lucas Perlman, principal at Stand Up Ventures.
“GroundedAI is built for the actual conditions of this work. The traction they have with tier-one engineering firms at this stage of the company is a strong signal.”
GroundedAI will use the new capital to accelerate its entry into the tunnelling market as governments and private-sector investors prepare to fund new infrastructure, energy, and critical-mineral developments across Canada.
The post GroundedAI Raises $2 Million to Modernize Underground Construction appeared first on Techcouver.com.
GroundedAI Raises $2 Million to Modernize Underground Construction was first posted on July 15, 2026 at 5:00 am.
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