Today LSE-listed Russian Internet group Mail.ru Group announced it has acquired popular mapping app Maps.me.
With its Android, iOS and BlackBerry apps, Belarus-based Maps.me allow users to download detailed maps for any location around the world and use them even when offline. The service pulls data provided by OpenStreetMap, the open-source, project dedicated to create a crowdsourced, highly detailed world map. The basic functions of the app are available for free, and a paid upgrade unlocks extra features.
Thanks to an advanced data compression algorithm, Maps.me works fast and the maps are lightweight, says Mail.ru Group.
Over 7 million users have downloaded the app since its release in 2011 in Russia (18% of users), the USA (13%), Germany (7%), Italy (4%) and China (4%). Maps.me is one of the top rated apps in the Travel category in more than 100 countries.
The acquisition will enable My.com, Mail.Ru Group’s subsidiary focused on global audiences, to offer additional products and services to a growing base of users. “Employing OpenStreetMap makes data collection free, and increases reliability as users upload new maps in real time. Additionally, the Maps.me architecture allows for scalability without increasing development costs,” says Mail.ru Group.
The Maps.me team (including the founders) will join Mail.Ru Group where the team will continue to work on the project.
There has been a flurry of activity in the mapping realm of late, notes The Next Web. Fellow European navigation startup Skobbler was acquired earlier this year by US giant Telenav, which led to Telenav’s Scout apps switching entirely to OpenStreetMap. And Nokia is pushing out its own “HERE” maps platform too, launching on Android last month, with iOS on the cards for later this year.
