Story of MapmyIndia: Before Google Maps, This Couple Walked Across Indian Cities on Foot to Create a Company Worth Rs. 4,400 CR After IPO

Due to its stellar stock performance on its first day of trading, MapmyIndia, a newly listed company, has caught everyone's attention. Founded in 1995, the business of the Delhi-based MapmyIndia primarily revolves around building digital maps, geospatial software, and location-based IoT technologies. 

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At a 53% premium, the company made its stock market debut on December 14. At Rs 1,581, the stock of C.E. Info Systems, which is best known for its MapmyIndia brand, was listed on the stock exchange.

A Start-up with Double Engine

The husband-wife duo, Rakesh and Rashmi Verma, started MapmyIndia back in 1995 when businesses had little interest in buying mapping data. During that time, public internet access had not been introduced in India. Startups had yet to make an impact on the culture of today’s tech havens.

A majority share in MapmyIndia is held by the company's two founders, Rashmi (L) and Rakesh Verma. Qualcomm, Flipkart, and Zenrin of Japan are among the other investors.

Slowly and gradually as the entrepreneurship culture started gaining popularity across the country, the Vermas stood out for their staying power and completing each other, not just morally but also through their respective skillsets. On one hand, as Rashmi drove the technology wing of the business, serving as its chief technology officer, Rakesh on the other hand played a crucial role in expanding into sectors ranging from automotive to government-owned companies.

However, just like any other start-up, the work was easier said than done. There were a series of challenges that the company had to deal with since its inception. More than 25 years ago, when the duo first came up with this idea they knew that it would require tremendous effort, hard work, and extensive travel. 

Big dreams are realized at a cost!

Rashmi Verma, Co-founder and CTO (from left), Rakesh Verma, Chairman and Managing Director, and Rohan Verma, CEO and Whole-time Director of C.E. Info Systems.

From 1995 to 2004, the Vermas spanned India’s major cities by foot, charting streets and landmarks, and this was done at a time when hardly anyone in India had any idea about digital maps. Interestingly, this was done way before Google’s cartography came into the picture. Rashmi Verma, in one of her interviews, stated, “At that time, databases were tabular. Data was thought of in megabytes, and there was no internet”.

The couple admitted that the first few years were no less than a nightmare. Rakesh often used to join surveyors on the streets of Mumbai, where their team manually recorded addresses. As technology improved, triangulating data helped in capturing distant corners of the country. 

All the hard work paid off, as barely a year after starting the business, the company started catering to Coca-Cola Co. to chart their distributorships which for many years were demarcated by vague markers. Ericsson AB, Motorola, and Qualcomm Inc. followed suit, contracting the company to build map terrains and locate their mobile towers. 

Till 2004, MapmyIndia was mainly a B2B business that catered to companies across the globe. To make the platform available to the masses, the founders decided to transform their mapping service into a product. To ensure better reach and penetration among the customer, the MapmyIndia portal was launched in the year 2004. In this way, what till now was primarily a B2B company ventured into the B2C market. 

MapmyIndia: A Growing Venture of India

Globally, Google Maps dominates the consumer segment of the market, with more than one billion users which is far more than its competitors. The app is bolstered by high brand recall and the benefits of having its software pre-installed on Android devices. 

MapmyIndia, on the contrary, has excelled by selling licences to the biggest automakers, including BMW AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes Benz, and to marquee global brands such as McDonald’s Corp. The company also caters to clients who are local startups, including Paytm, and Ola. Qualcomm, Zenrin Co., and Flipkart, now owned by Walmart Inc., are among the key investors of the company. 

This year, the company has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) which would help them to get access to the satellite imagery. 

A Beneficiary of Government’s Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan

After getting prominent investors under its belt the company decided to launch its IPO as the Indian government changed rules this year over gathering mapping and geographic data. The new measures compel foreign companies to buy data directly from Indian-owned ones, providing another buffer for MapmyIndia to capture the local market and turn would-be competitors like Apple Maps into mere customers. Across India, the company says it has a 95% market share of GPS navigation.

‘MapmyIndia Move’ App, the official app of the company, was bestowed upon the Atma Nirbhar App Challenge Award in 2020.

Promising Future

With the cash guzzling in, the company is planning to expand after integrating maps for more than 200 countries into their software platform. The Indian government has projected a $14 billion market by the end of the decade, reflecting one of the fastest growth rates in the world. The company already is showing signs of a bright future as the demand for geographic data keeps on rising rapidly.

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