Uber has shaken off the disappointment of missing out on the acquisition of Here Maps, by signing a licensing agreement with the longtime kings of satellite navigation, TomTom.
Drivers and passengers for the ride-hailing company will now see TomTom-powered Maps within the application, while the latter will be able to make use of the Dutch company’s first rate traffic data.
The deal, first reported by the New York Times, will see TomTom maps provide data in each of the 300 cities around the world in which Uber operates.
It has not been disclosed how much Uber is paying TomTom for the privilege, but the licensing agreement will surely be a boost for the former satnav kingpin.
Uber had offered $3 billion to by the Nokia-built Here Maps platform earlier this year, which was eventually bought by a consortium of German automakers.
See also: 100,000 Londoners honk to support Uber
Mapping has been a keen area of interest for the rapidly growing company, which also bought a portion of Microsoft’s mapping technology team.
That deal brought several Bing Maps engineers on board to assist with the creation of street level imagery.
Now with TomTom on the team, your Uber driver will now have a more reliable helping hand, allowing you to just sit back and enjoy your ride instead of wondering where the hell the app is taking them.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.