Imagine this: The year is 1995 and you're taking a trip across India.
You suddenly take a wrong turn and are hopelessly lost. What do you do?
Well, you would only have two options: ask people for directions and trust them. Or rely on huge old paper maps that haven't been updated since 1931.
Whichever option you chose, navigation would require a lot of time and effort and this was a major problem.
But in true entrepreneurial style, one couple saw this problem as an opportunity. That’s how MapmyIndia was born.
And yesterday after 26 years, the company finally debuted on the Indian stock markets.
📍Starting Point
In 1994, Rakesh Verma and Rashmi Verma decided to leave their jobs in the US and follow their dream of doing something for the country.
Verma had seen a digital map of the US at a conference in 1995 and wanted to make something similar for India. He struck a deal with the map's software developer, Mapinfo, and became its India distributor.
To create these maps, however, the two needed data.
To get this, they initially tried to take the easy route and collaborate with the government of India for the project.
If only things were so simple. They visited umpteen government offices, only to realise the futility of it all.
So, they buckled up for some hard work.
Firstly, they digitally traced whatever paper maps were available (the easy part). And then they put together a team that would basically travel across India and conduct physical field surveys to get information.
All of this hard work paid off and in 2004 the company finally launched its digital map portal.
But wait, how was MapmyIndia earning money for all this time?
For a large part, it was bootstrapped (self-funded). The Vermas didn't draw a salary for 10 years! But they also had a few major clients which ensured the company didn’t go out of business: Coca-Cola, Essar Telecom (Vodafone), Motorola, and Ericsson.
You see, this was a time before Google Maps. And these companies desperately needed location data. Coca-Cola needed it to efficiently chalk out plans for delivery operations and the telecom companies needed it to understand where to construct more towers.
And MapmyIndia was their only option. Soon, many companies saw how useful their maps were. Thanks to this, the company has acquired over 5,000 customers including PhonePe, Paytm, Flipkart and Amazon.
But that was not all.
The company launched its GPS navigation in 2007 and since then there has been no looking back.
This was also the year the company first raised funds: Series A investment of Rs 5.676 crores and Series B investment of Rs 10.697 crores, which helped the company grow further.
Cut to 2019, over 14 car manufacturers and 40 car models have the company's built-in navigation system.
Okay, guys. We've heard enough about their qualifications. But is the company profitable?
Yes! It saw a profit of Rs 59.4 crores in FY 2021, a 156.2% increase from the previous year. In the last three years, its profit has grown at a 20.98% CAGR.
And despite market volatility, it made a stellar debut, listing at a 53% premium. On the BSE the stock opened at Rs. 1,581 against the issue price of Rs. 1,033. On the NSE the opening price was Rs. 1,565.
That's great, but isn't Google Maps still more popular?
🚧 Potential Roadblock?
Even though the company launched a full decade before Google Maps, Google's superiority means that its app is the more popular one.
But that may soon be changing.
You see, MapmyIndia has partnered with ISRO to develop maps, apps and geospatial services using ISRO's satellite data. These maps will provide hyper-local services, like directions to a grocery store in a small neighbourhood you don't know or that temple that fails to show up on Google Maps.
Not just that, a new law by the Indian government has also ruled that mapping up to the accuracy of less than 1 meter can only be done by Indian companies. Also, all map-related data needs to be stored in India.
All of this may finally end Google Maps' supremacy.
Also, the company has been building a digital twin of the real world. A full 360° map of the whole world that gives you both an indoor and outdoor view of buildings.
Now, with the metaverse gaining popularity, this digital twin of the real world could be very useful for companies and even the government of India.
But ending Google's supremacy is no easy task. Plus, the fact that Google Maps already comes pre-installed on most phones makes it even more difficult to compete.
Will MapmyIndia be successful in replacing Google Maps?
Only time will tell…
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