GROUND3D

Nonprofit civic tech for socio-environmental challenges via sensors and crowdsourcing

Cover Block

Attribute	Value
Name	GROUND3D
Tagline	Nonprofit civic tech for socio-environmental challenges via sensors and crowdsourcing
Founded	2025
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	Other (Nonprofit)
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Social Enterprise
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)
Funding Label	Undisclosed

Executive Summary

GROUND3D is a newly formed nonprofit civic tech practice that aims to build community-owned data infrastructure for climate resilience and cultural preservation. Founded in 2025 by Zoe Voss Lee and Wil Jones, the organization partners with community groups and city agencies to co-design tools for tracking air quality and extreme heat using low-cost sensors and mobile crowdsourcing [GROUND3D, 2025]. Its differentiation rests on a commitment to local data ownership and equitable governance, positioning it as a planning and technical assistance partner [GROUND3D, 2025]. The founding team brings urbanism and community engagement experience, with prior roles at municipal and academic institutions in Boston and New York [RocketReach, 2025]. Participation in MIT's Delta V accelerator in 2025 signals institutional validation [Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, 2025]. Over the next 12-18 months, the critical watchpoints will be the execution of its planned New York City pilot, the securing of its first publicly acknowledged grants or contracts, and the translation of its co-design methodology into a replicable service model.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core claims sourced from company website and accelerator page; team details from a single professional database.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	Other (Nonprofit)
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Social Enterprise
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)

How the Company Got Here

GROUND3D was founded in 2025 as a nonprofit community planning practice. The organization's stated purpose is to partner directly with neighborhoods, community-based organizations, and city agencies to co-design tools and strategies for confronting socio-environmental challenges, with an initial pilot focus on New York City [MIT Orbit, 2025].

The founding team consists of two principals: Zoe Voss Lee, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Wil Jones, based in New York, New York [RocketReach, 2025]. Jones has prior roles at FloodLine, the MIT Trust Center, the MIT Leventhal Center, and the City of Boston [RocketReach, 2025]. A key early milestone was acceptance into the MIT Delta V accelerator program in 2025 [Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Founding details and team locations are cited from company and professional databases; accelerator participation is confirmed by MIT.

Product and Technology

The product suite is defined by its focus on community co-design. GROUND3D designs custom tools and strategies for neighborhoods and community organizations to address specific local challenges, with initial use cases centered on air quality tracking, extreme heat monitoring, and cultural landmark preservation [GROUND3D, 2025]. The approach relies on a combination of low-cost sensor hardware and mobile-based crowdsourcing to gather spatial data.

The underlying technical vision is to build community-owned spatial data infrastructure, giving local groups the capability to capture, govern, and utilize 3D street-level data for advocacy [MIT Orbit, 2025]. The tools are intended to be co-designed with partners, suggesting a services-heavy model where each deployment may involve tailored product development.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are sourced from the company website and an MIT program description.

Where the Demand Sits

Quantifying the total addressable market for a nonprofit civic tech practice is challenging. Direct public sector spending on climate resilience and environmental justice provides one analog. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice (EJ) grant programs have seen significant allocations, with $3 billion authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act for community-led projects [EPA, 2023]. The global market for environmental sensor technology was valued at approximately $2.1 billion in 2023 [MarketsandMarkets, 2023]. GROUND3D's serviceable obtainable market is focused on community organizations and municipal agencies in specific urban corridors seeking co-designed tools.

Demand drivers include regulatory mandates directing funds toward environmental justice communities, the acute physical impacts of climate change, and a growing recognition of data sovereignty. GROUND3D's model emphasizes data ownership and governance residing with the community [GROUND3D, 2025].

Market Segment	Cited Size (Analogous)	Source
U.S. Federal Environmental Justice Grants	$3 billion (authorized)	[EPA, 2023]
Global Environmental Sensor Technology	$2.1 billion (2023)	[MarketsandMarkets, 2023]

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing figures are from third-party reports for analogous sectors.

Competitive Landscape

Competitive Map by Segment

The landscape includes incumbent civic tech and urban planning consultancies (e.g., Arup, Jacobs Engineering), challenger data platform startups (e.g., Placer.ai, Aclima), and adjacent substitutes like open-source community science toolkits (e.g., Public Lab). GROUND3D’s wedge sits between grassroots models and commercial challengers, aiming to professionalize community co-design while retaining local data ownership.

Defensible Edge and Durability

The company’s edge is its foundational thesis of community-owned spatial data infrastructure and its affiliation with MIT’s Delta V accelerator [MIT Orbit, 2025]. This edge is theoretically durable if it translates into deep, exclusive partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs), creating data moats and trust networks.

Exposure and Vulnerabilities

GROUND3D is exposed in two areas: technical execution and scale, and funding sustainability. It lacks the capital runway of venture-backed competitors to iterate quickly or scale deployments.

18-Month Scenario

In a winner scenario, GROUND3D successfully deploys its co-designed tools in NYC, secures a recurring contract or major grant, and uses the MIT Delta V credential to forge a replicable partnership blueprint. In a loser scenario, the pilot stalls due to technical hurdles or inability to secure follow-on funding.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive analysis is inferred from the company's stated model.

Opportunity

The prize for GROUND3D is the creation of a new, community-owned data standard for urban climate resilience. The headline opportunity is to become the default spatial data infrastructure for participatory climate planning in major U.S. cities. The company’s positioning within the MIT ecosystem provides a credential that aligns with public-sector and foundation buyers [Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, 2025].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
The NYC Pilot Standard	The NYC pilot succeeds, leading to a formal partnership with a city agency.	Successful execution and public report from the planned NYC pilot.	The team’s stated focus is NYC [MIT Orbit, 2025].
The Foundation-Funded Replication	A major climate philanthropy awards a multi-year, multi-city grant to replicate the model.	Securing a grant from a partner encountered through the MIT Delta V network.	The nonprofit civic tech model aligns with foundation grantmaking priorities.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core opportunity thesis is inferred from company statements and academic affiliation.

Sources

[GROUND3D, 2025] GROUND3D | https://www.ground3d.xyz/
[MIT Orbit, 2025] Ground3D | https://orbit.mit.edu/launchpad/ideas/ground3d
[RocketReach, 2025] Zoe Lee | Ground3d Founding Principal Contact Information | https://rocketreach.co/zoe-lee-email_866263168
[Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, 2025] 2025 delta v - The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship | https://entrepreneurship.mit.edu/accelerator/2025-delta-v/
[EPA, 2023] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Justice Programs | https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice
[MarketsandMarkets, 2023] Environmental Sensor Technology Market Report | https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/environmental-sensor-market-216846460.html

Articles about GROUND3D

GROUND3D's Low-Cost Sensors Map the Heat on the Street — A nonprofit founded in 2025, fresh from MIT's Delta V, is betting that community-owned data can build climate resilience where city sensors don't reach.

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