FOAM
FOAM builds a decentralized, Ethereum-based location verification network using LPWAN radio beacons (Zone Anchors) and token-incentivized operators to provide GPS-independent, cryptographically verifiable geolocation for IoT, supply chain, mobility, and geospatial data use cases.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What FOAM does
FOAM (legal entity Foamspace Corp) is a Brooklyn-based, private protocol company founded in 2015 that builds a decentralized, GPS-independent location verification network on the Ethereum blockchain. Its core technology uses LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network) radio nodes called Zone Anchors — PCB-stack devices with battery, LTE modem, and dual antennas — coordinated to transceive LoRa packets, with time-of-flight triangulation enabled by Byzantine Fault Tolerant clock synchronization across nodes. Groups of at least four synchronized Zone Anchors form "Zones" that stake FOAM tokens as safety deposits to offer cryptographically enforced location services and verify user Presence Claims, with validators providing fraud proofs. The company's product portfolio comprises FOAM Map (a community-verified, crowdsourced registry of places accessible via MetaMask), FOAM Location (the permissionless radio network itself), Trust Zone (the current incentivized testnet program), and the Zone Anchor hardware.
The company's go-to-market is community-led: it recruits operators to host Zone Anchors, run localization experiments, and curate map data, monetizing through a token economy rather than conventional SaaS pricing. Location Service Providers earn FOAM tokens via mining-style rewards and receive transaction fees for verified location services; users pay gas and token fees to add/verify locations. Target use cases span IoT device networks, geospatial data provenance, supply chain tracking, autonomous mobility, insurance claims verification, and blockchain-enabled location intelligence — all framed around the problem of GPS spoofing/jamming vulnerability for critical infrastructure. Specific pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed, the platform remains in testnet phase (Trust Zone), and the only named deployment is a four-node sandbox Zone at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, indicating the company is still pre-commercial.
The company was founded by Ryan John King (CEO), Kristoffer Josefsson (CTO, early Consensys member and BlockApps founding member), and Katya Zavyalova (Creative Director, architect), with advisors including Matt Liston (Augur co-founder, Gnosis founding member) and Rick Dudley (President of Vulcanize). It has raised disclosed funding including a reported $16M round led by Distributed Global (Aug 2018) and a $200K seed led by KR1 with Nirvana Capital (Sept 2018), alongside later grants from Placeholder and Starchain Capital, though investor totals and current capitalization are not fully detailed in source materials.
FOAM firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FOAM
- Legal name
- Foamspace Corp
- Website
- https://foam.space
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- FOAM builds a decentralized, Ethereum-based location verification network using LPWAN radio beacons (Zone Anchors) and token-incentivized operators to provide GPS-independent, cryptographically verifiable geolocation for IoT, supply chain, mobility, and geospatial data use cases.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FOAM industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Decentralized Location Verification Protocol
- akta.pro primary industry
- Decentralized Data Availability & Storage Verification (DA layers, proofs of storage/replication, audit networks) (FSAPALAH)
Keywords
Where FOAM is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
FOAM business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Location Service Fees: Location service providers receive transaction fees for verifying the locations of customers and providing work for the network. Service providers stake FOAM tokens as safety deposits to ensure accountability.
- Token Staking Rewards: Zone operators earn FOAM tokens through mining rewards for operating location services. Participants who run localization experiments and submit results for evaluation are eligible for token rewards.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
FOAM product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FOAM builds a decentralized location verification protocol on Ethereum using LPWAN radio technology, allowing Location Service Providers to operate networks of Zone Anchors that verify user presence claims via Byzantine Fault Tolerant clock synchronization. The platform includes the FOAM Map crowdsourced place registry, the Trust Zone incentivized testnet for service providers, and the underlying Zone Anchor hardware nodes (PCB stack, battery, LTE modem, and antennas) that transact location services for FOAM token fees.
Product overview
FOAM is a decentralized location verification platform built on Ethereum that provides tools for a crowdsourced map and decentralized location services. The product portfolio consists of FOAM Map, a community-verified registry of crowdsourced places where users can add and verify locations using FOAM tokens, and FOAM Location, a permissionless and autonomous network of radio beacons (Zone Anchors) that offer secure location services through time synchronization independent of GPS. Trust Zone serves as the incentivized testnet for FOAM Location where participants operate Zones and run localization experiments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FOAM Location: A permissionless and autonomous network of radios that offer secure location services through time synchronization, independent of centralized sources like GPS.
- FOAM Map
- Trust Zone
- Zone Anchor
Products and services
- FOAM Location A permissionless and autonomous network of radios that offers secure location services through time synchronization, independent of centralized GPS. Built on Ethereum blockchain using LPWAN technology and Byzantine Fault Tolerant clock synchronization, with Location Service Providers staking FOAM tokens as safety deposits to verify Presence Claims for transaction fees.
- FOAM Map A community-verified registry of crowdsourced places accessible via a web application at map.foam.space that enables anyone to become a cartographer by adding points of interest and contributing to an open source registry of locations.
- Trust Zone An incentivized testnet program for the FOAM Location protocol where Location Service Providers can operate Zones, complete tasks, run localization experiments, and earn FOAM token rewards for submitting results.
- Zone Anchor Remotely-controlled radio nodes coordinated to transceive LoRa packets for the FOAM Location network. Each Zone Anchor consists of a PCB stack, battery, LTE modem, and two antennas, configured to log packets to a remote data store such as the blockchain.
Quantifiable outcome
- Network operates with fault tolerance - accurate location data even when part of the network is down
Companies that use FOAM
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
FOAM technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
FOAM partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- New LabcoreNew Lab is an interdisciplinary workspace at Brooklyn Navy Yard designed to support urban entrepreneurs leveraging advanced technologies. FOAM is based out of New Lab, indicating a collaborative workspace partnership that supports FOAM's operations and innovation.
- Brooklyn Navy YardcoreBrooklyn Navy Yard serves as the host location for FOAM's first operational Zone deployed to test localization in a dense urban setting. The installation hosts four radio nodes (Zone Anchors) across three rooftops.
- TendermintminorListed as a supporting organization/collaborator in FOAM's ecosystem.
- NavelminorListed as a supporting organization/collaborator in FOAM's ecosystem.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
FOAM competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Mapbox: Leading location platform providing maps, navigation, and geospatial services. Represents the centralized incumbent that FOAM's decentralized alternative aims to disrupt for verified location data.
- Filecoin: Decentralized storage network built on blockchain with token-incentivized infrastructure. Comparable Web3 protocol architecture and token economics, even though the underlying service (storage vs. location) differs.
- NextNav: Terrestrial positioning network providing GPS backup and 3D geolocation services. Competes with FOAM as an alternative PNT (positioning, navigation, timing) solution for critical infrastructure.
- Render Network: Decentralized GPU compute network using token incentives to coordinate distributed hardware. Shares the DePIN category and the proof-of-infrastructure economic model with FOAM.
- Chainlink: Decentralized oracle network that increasingly incorporates location and geospatial data feeds. Competes with FOAM at the application layer for verifiable location data inputs to smart contracts.
Emerging players
- DIMO: Decentralized vehicle data network using connected car hardware. DIMO shares FOAM's DePIN thesis and addresses the mobility/location segment that FOAM targets with autonomous vehicles.
- XNET: Decentralized mobile network operator using CBRS radios to deploy cellular coverage. Comparable DePIN approach with physical radio nodes and token-incentivized deployment, addressing adjacent connectivity infrastructure.
- Geodnet: DePIN project building a decentralized RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) GPS network using miner hardware for centimeter-accurate positioning. Direct DePIN competitor in the high-precision location services space.
Direct peers
- Hivemapper: Decentralized mapping network that rewards contributors with tokens for mapping streets via dashcam devices. Direct competitor in the decentralized geospatial/location category, with a similar hardware-plus-token model.
- Helium: Decentralized wireless network (DePIN) using radio hotspots to provide coverage. Helium is the most prominent DePIN peer — both projects incentivize physical radio infrastructure deployment via tokens to deliver location/coverage services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
FOAM social profiles
Digital presenceFOAM financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FOAM leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
FOAM funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FOAM M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FOAM
What does FOAM do?
FOAM builds a decentralized location verification protocol on Ethereum using LPWAN radio technology, allowing Location Service Providers to operate networks of Zone Anchors that verify user presence claims via Byzantine Fault Tolerant clock synchronization. The platform includes the FOAM Map crowdsourced place registry, the Trust Zone incentivized testnet for service providers, and the underlying Zone Anchor hardware nodes (PCB stack, battery, LTE modem, and antennas) that transact location services for FOAM token fees.
Is FOAM a public or private company?
FOAM is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was FOAM founded?
FOAM was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is FOAM based?
FOAM is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does FOAM make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Location Service Fees are the primary driver. The others are token Staking Rewards.
Who are FOAM's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Mapbox, Filecoin, NextNav, Render Network and Chainlink. Emerging players are DIMO, XNET and Geodnet. Direct peers are Hivemapper and Helium.
Does FOAM have an API?
No public API is recorded for FOAM.
What industry is FOAM in?
FOAM's product category is Decentralized Location Verification Protocol. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPALAH, Decentralized Data Availability & Storage Verification (DA layers, proofs of storage/replication, audit networks).