Sony venture arm invests in geocoding startup what3words
Sony’s venture capital arm has invested in what3words, the startup that has divided the entire world into 57 trillion 3-by-3 meter squares and assigned a three-word address to each one.
Financial details were not disclosed.
The startup’s novel addressing system isn’t the whole story.
The ability to integrate what3words into voice assistants is what has piqued the interest and investment from Sony and others.
Last year, Daimler took a 10 percent stake in what3words, following an announcement in 2017 to integrate the addressing system into Mercedes’ new infotainment and navigation system — called the Mercedes-Benz User Experience, or MBUX.
Other companies are keen to follow Daimler’s lead. TomTom and ride-hailing services like Cabify recently announced plans to enable what3words navigation to precise locations.
TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/18/sony-venture-arm-invests-in-geocoding-startup-what3words/