Uber is set to invest $500million in global mapping project to reduce dependence on Google Maps and pave the way for driverless cars.
According to a Financial Times report, the San Francisco-based transportation company has mapping vehicles crisscrossing the US and Mexico to record the surroundings and gather images for maps. Uber says it will start driving mapping vehicles in other countries soon.
By developing its own maps Uber could eventually reduce its reliance on Google Maps, which currently power the Uber app in most of the world.
Last year Uber hired one of the world’s leading digital mapping experts, Brian McClendon, who previously ran Google Maps and helped create Google Earth.
“Accurate maps are at the heart of our service and backbone of our business,” Mr McClendon said in a statement. “The ongoing need for maps tailored to the Uber experience is why we’re doubling down on our investment in mapping.”
As Uber prepares to spend $500m on its mapping ambitions, the programme follows earlier investments in mapping that include the acquisition of an imagery collection team from Microsoft’s Bing last June. Last year Uber also acquired deCarta, a mapping company that developed the turn-by-turn directions behind GM’s OnStar software.
