Connor, Sami, and Mahesh are joined by Ariel Seidman, CEO / Co-Founder of Hivemapper. Hivemapper is building the world’s freshest map with AI and a network of drivers using dashcams. Ariel talks about why Hivemapper uses purpose-built hardware, the problems with centralized mapping today, how they designed the HONEY token design to dynamically match Hivemapper’s progress towards its long-term goals, and the weirdest things the team has seen on driver images.
0:00 - Cold Open - A TradWi Conspiracy Afoot?
0:42 - Hello Ariel!
3:00 Privacy is one of Hivemapper biggest concerns
5:38 How Ariel explains DePIN
7:30 How Ariel’s background at Yahoo and Gigwalk informed the early Hivemapper days
11:47 The emerging use cases that only a fresh, high-quality map can serve
18:31 How has centralized mapping reacted to Hivemapper’s emergence?
20:24 What the Hivemapper protocol is designed to incentivize
25:05 How the HONEY token emissions are engineered to keep the network sustainable
30:16 Hivemapper’s first customers
34:05 Why Hivemapper uses dedicated hardware
41:52 How the Hivemapper Map AI acts as the brains of the network
47:31 Hivemapper’s product suite
50:50 Ariel’s advice for DePIN founders
Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.