Zephr is building a "networked GPS" that uses groups of smartphones to collect raw satellite measurements, computes error corrections on a server, and returns those corrections to improve device positioning. The system directs nearby phones to ping GPS measurements and aggregates them to produce corrections similar to differential base stations. The company emerged from stealth and has raised a $3.5 million seed round. Zephr validated its approach with simulations and testing at SRI International and has run field tests using real phones and RTK‑GPS systems for ground truth. It plans pilots via a demo app that compares standard phone GPS to the corrected output and to customize models for customers. The team (six full‑time, two part‑time) includes founders Sean Gorman, Pramukta Rao, Kostas Stamatiou and Scotty Nelson, with prior experience at Snap, Violet Labs, BlueSky Resources and Twitter/X. Zephr has seen interest from rideshare, location‑based gaming and adtech verticals and is positioning the technology for longer‑term markets such as autonomy, robotics and augmented reality.

Total raised

$4M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Nov 2023