Facebook Acquires Street-mapping Startup, Mapillary To Compete With Apple, Google

Facebook Acquires Street-mapping Startup, Mapillary To Compete With Apple, Google

Google and Apple are about to witness an intense competition from Tech rival, Facebook, following the acquisition of street-level mapping startup, Mapillary. Facebook entering the segment to compete for smartphone users in need of street mapping mobile apps.

The market had been silent for a while, with Google and Apple reigning supreme, but the competition level will now be bumped up by Facebook's entry into the market through Mapillary. Most smartphone users are more familiar with Google maps, but Facebook is trying to poach users and change the segment's status quo.

Facebook's Diverting Skills

Mapillary will be incorporated into Facebook's social media services, offering its users more than messaging service. Recall that Facebook had also acquired WhatsApp and Instagram to divert from its core service in order to strengthen its grip in the social media space.

The acquisition of the Swedish startup is no different, as Mapillary will be utilised to perfect Facebook's mapping service. Mapillary was built with uploaded photos from the public, with computer vision software applied to determine what an image is, like traffic signs, then allowing map builders to incorporate the data in their own maps.

Speaking about the street-level mapping of Mapillary, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jan Erik Solem, said that “From day one of Mapillary, we have been committed to building a global street-level imagery platform that allows everyone to get the imagery and data they need to make better maps.

"With tens of thousands of contributors to our platform and with maps being improved with Mapillary data every single day, we’re now taking the next big step on that journey.”

Facebook Acquisition To Make Mapillary Commercially Free

Mapillary, which had raised $24.5 million from investors within the last seven years according to Crunchbase, was acquired at an undisclosed amount. The deal is a big step on the part of Mapillary, as it will now be free for commercial users. Solem said this had been the vision of the company since inception.

“Today, we’re excited to share that Mapillary has joined Facebook to be part of their open mapping efforts. Starting today, it will also be free to use for commercial users as well. While we previously needed to focus on commercialization to build and run the platform, joining Facebook moves Mapillary closer to the vision we’ve had from day one of offering a free service to anyone,” Solem stated.