Blockchain meets aviation: Wingbits lands €5.3M to transform flight tracking

Stockholm-based Wingbits, a decentralised physical infrastructure (DePIN) startup focused on the aviation industry, has raised $5.6M (approximately €5.34M) in funding. This brings the company’s total raised capital to $9.2M (approximately €8.79M).

Borderless Capital and Bullish Capital led the round with contributions from Spartan Group, Tribe Capital, Antler, SNZ and Heartcore.

Álvaro Gracia, Partner at Borderless Capital, says, “Wingbits is a definitive use case for DePIN. They are on track to be the largest airplane tracking network on earth thanks to their well-designed incentives and execution.”

Oscar Westergard, Partner at Antler, adds, “We recognised the commitment and ambition of Robin and Alex from the very start of their growth journey. This funding round reflects the quality of the technology they are building, the level of innovation in their business model and the speed at which they are scaling.”

“The founders set out to create the world’s best flight tracking network and the impact Wingbits has already had on the market shows that they are delivering on that vision already.”

Prior to this round, the Swedish company raised $3.5M in a seed round six months ago, backed by Borderless Capital, Tribe Capital, and Antler.

Redefining air travel efficiency

Flight tracking has traditionally relied on volunteers who install antennas to collect data. Companies like FlightRadar24 and FlightAware sell this data to organisations, generating revenue, while volunteers receive no compensation.

Robin Wingardh, CEO and co-founder of Wingbits, says, “The current model isn’t just exploitative—it’s inefficient. We’re setting a new standard for transparency and collaboration in aviation. It’s about building a network that works better than traditional alternatives while treating contributors as valued stakeholders, who are the backbone of aviation data infrastructure.”

Wingbits, founded by Robin Wingardh and Alex Lungu, is the first network to directly compensate contributors, using Solana’s blockchain to reward them with $WINGS tokens for better hardware placement and data quality.

The company network features DePIN hardware, the first cryptographically-secured ADS-B receivers, ensuring verifiable and reliable data.

Wingbits expands flight tracking network

Wingbits claims it has expanded its network six times faster than any other flight tracking system.

Alasdair Foster, CEO of Bullish Capital, says, “We are excited to partner with the Wingbits team, who in less than 18 months have already begun to disrupt a flight tracking industry with huge proven demand by leveraging blockchain technology to incentivise the supply of higher quality, lower latency data.”

In its first year on the Solana testnet, the Wingbits network scaled to 2,100 active stations, tracking 120,000 flights daily across 85 countries. There are over 2,000 pre-orders for its DePIN hardware, developed in partnership with GEODNET.

Evan Park, an investor at Tribe Capital, adds, “I believe Wingbits has a strong chance to become a leader in their market compared to many other DePIN projects.”

“Based on my research, they also have one of the most unique supply-side dynamics, tapping into hundreds of thousands of existing flight-tracking enthusiasts around the world. Balanced strength in both demand and supply is critical for the success of DePIN projects.”

Capital utilisation

As air traffic and the drone industry grow, the need for reliable tracking systems increases. With new funding, Wingbits plans to expand device deployment, grow its network, and refine its tokenomics ahead of its mainnet launch.

Lionel Pek, an investor at Spartan Group, mentions, “The flight tracking industry is prime for disruption by Wingbits. Being built on Web3 rails allows Wingbits to incentivise users to provide top-quality ADS-B feeds with the most reliable up-time and the lowest latency.”

“The nature of the industry being run by hobbyists, coupled with the well-designed incentive mechanism that accounts for the concentration of coverage in the various regions, allows Wingbits to scale quickly in a targeted way.”