Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, collected location scan data from players who opted into a 2021 feature that rewarded in-game items for scanning real-world locations. These voluntary submissions, gathered before Niantic sold its gaming division to Scopely in 2025, were used to train foundation AI models capable of interpreting physical spaces. The models are now being leveraged by Niantic Spatial, a spin-off company, in partnership with Vantor, a firm specializing in drone navigation software for military use.

The collaboration aims to solve a critical problem in modern warfare: GPS denial. In environments where satellite signals are jammed, spoofed, or unavailable, drones and field teams lose situational awareness. Vantor’s systems, enhanced by Niantic’s AI, are designed to navigate and coordinate using spatial recognition instead of GPS. The partnership was announced in December, and both companies emphasize it is still in early stages.

While neither company shared raw Pokémon Go data with Vantor, the ethical implications of repurposing civilian-generated data for military applications have raised concerns. Experts like Tom Sulston of Digital Rights Watch argue that most users don’t read lengthy terms of service, making informed consent difficult. This case echoes past incidents, such as Strava fitness data revealing military base locations, highlighting a broader trend of consumer data being used in unintended, high-stakes contexts.