MapmyIndia offers the navigation maps and driving directions in India on the Internet, GPS/In-Dash devices for car, and maps for mobile.
Rakesh and Rashmi Verma, who had returned after a 12 year stint in the US working for General Motors and IBM respectively, started the business of providing digital access to Indian maps in the mid-90s when they launched CE Info Systems (the parent company behind the MapmyIndia brand). They believed that this mapping data would be extremely useful to businesses and consumers alike. The company’s early consumers included the likes of Coke and HDFC Bank, which used maps to analyse its distribution network and pinpoint its location to customers. The company grew well, but it was self-funded and operated like a small business. Rakesh Verma obtained a Bachelors of Engineering from BITS Pilani, India in 1972, and an MBA from Washington State University, USA in 1979. Rashmi Verma obtained a Bachelors of Engineering from IIT Roorkee, India in 1977 and an MS from Eastern Washington University, USA in 1979.
Rohan Verma (the founders’ son) went to college in the US in 2003. At that point, Yahoo! Maps and MapQuest were the popular reference points in US. As freshmen in college, he travelled using their directions. He wanted to take that to the people because maps let people travel safely, confidently and easily. In 2004, he didn’t do an internship there and based on his father’s idea of taking map access to the common man in India and beyond the 500 – 600 companies that had bought access, he launched the web portal, MapMyIndia.com. It became India’s first interactive maps and directions portal.
MapmyIndia released the comprehensive navigable map for India in 2006 and brought Yahoo! Maps to India, supplying them the map data to create their own online portal. MapmyIndia’s navigable map also started powering Airtel GPS Navigation on the Blackberry. They launched MapMyIndia mobile apps in 2007. MapmyIndia Navigator was approved as genuine accessory by General Motors India and was followed for the same by Ford India in the summer of 2008. Over the years companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Fiat, TATA Motors, Mahindra etc have all approved MapmyIndia navigator as a genuine accessory. These have offered for sale from the respective companies via their car dealerships. MapmyIndia is available as part of dashboard of car companies such as Ford, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Hyundai, Mahindra, Mitsubishi etc. Today MapmyIndia is a private company, specializing in GPS navigation, online maps and various enterprise solutions. It has over the years raised capital from funds such as KPCB, Sherpalo Ventures, Nexus Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Zenrin Co. Ltd.
