Nexar

The idea: a community camera network that builds a risk map

Nexar, founded in 2015 by Eran Shir and Bruno Fernandez-Ruiz, offers smart car cameras (dash cams) connected to the cloud. They detect unusual driving events in real time and send them to a shared network. Each user anonymously contributes data to the network, and the data adds up to a live risk map of the roads: dangerous intersections and accident hot spots that a single driver would never spot alone.

Fundraising: from 2015 to $153 million

According to an announcement on the company's official blog by Eran Shir, Nexar's co-founder and its CEO at the time, in 2021 Nexar raised a Series D round led by Qumra Capital, which brought its total funding to $153 million. Participants included State Farm Ventures, Catalyst Investments, Banca Generali, Valor and earlier investors such as Atreides Management and Corner Ventures. In the same announcement Shir noted that Nexar's network covers about 150 million miles every month, and provides mapping partners and cities with real-time data on changes on the ground, such as road works, changes in traffic signs and more. According to company figures, the network includes more than 350,000 active cameras, together covering more than 1.2 billion miles a year, and produces more than 60 million rare safety scenarios for training autonomous driving systems.

According to the same announcement, as of 2021 Nexar's collision reconstruction solutions for insurance claims had been deployed in more than 250,000 vehicles. They use the network's video data to help insurance companies and drivers reconstruct exactly what happened at the moment of the accident.

The product range: from beam2 mini to Nexar One

Nexar's product range runs from the budget beam2 mini to Nexar One, the most advanced model the company has launched: an always-connected 4K camera with built-in computing power that allows more apps and AI services to be added over time. According to the company, Nexar One is also meant to give vehicle fleets access to Nexar's full set of services on a hardware device suited to their needs.

In early 2025 the company reported a security incident that required it to strengthen its security infrastructure. It was a reminder that a distributed car camera network like this, which collects location and video data from masses of users, is itself a sensitive target that needs protection.

2026: the merger with Nauto and the name Empiric Earth

On 1 July 2026 Nexar and Nauto, an American fleet safety company also founded in 2015, announced an all-stock merger. On 15 September 2026 the two announced that they now operate as one company named Empiric Earth, led by CEO Zach Greenberger. The combined company, which remains private, presents itself as a neutral source of real-world driving data for carmakers, autonomous driving developers, vehicle fleets and insurance companies. According to its figures, it collects more than 300 million miles every month.