ZaiNar Valued at Over $1B After $100M 'Physical AI' Funding Round
Belmont-based startup ZaiNar has emerged from nine years of stealth, raising $100 million at a valuation exceeding $1 billion. The company is developing what it calls “Physical AI,” which uses wireless networks as a real-time sensing platform for continuous geolocation and asset tracking. The technology has potential applications in logistics, IoT, and on-chain proof-of-location systems.
- The company's technology achieves sub-nanosecond time synchronization across wireless networks, which allows for location accuracy to the sub-meter. This is possible because radio waves travel at a near-constant speed, so precise timing translates directly to precise distance. - ZaiNar has built a substantial intellectual property portfolio with over 100 patents filed and 90 issued, all without any rejections. The technology is designed to be protocol-agnostic, working with 5G, WiFi, and other wireless standards. - The recent $100 million funding round included a fresh $10 million investment which set the company's valuation at over $1 billion. - The company was co-founded by CEO Daniel Jacker and CTO Philip Kratz. - Key investors include Steve Jurvetson, a board member at both ZaiNar and SpaceX, and Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo!. Other notable backers are Siri co-founder Tom Gruber and Skype founding engineer Jaan Tallinn. - ZaiNar's location tracking is already being used in industries like construction to keep workers out of hazardous areas and in healthcare to locate medical devices. - Prior to this major funding announcement, ZaiNar had a previous seed funding round in September 2018 led by Alchemist Accelerator.
