Ride-hailing company Uber recently announced that it is investing $500 million in order to create its own mapping service. Since the launch of Uber, the company has relied on Google Maps for its mapping service and now that Google is also showing interest into the car industry, Uber must have thought that it is time to part ways.
In a statement acquired by PC Mag, Uber said, "The ongoing need for maps tailored to the Uber experience is why we're doubling down on our investment in mapping."
The company added that it has started rolling out mapping cars in the United States since 2015. This summer, the company is planning to create its road map for Mexico.
Uber is not the only tech company jumping into this mapping endeavor. Several major tech companies like Apple and TomTom are also creating their own mapping service in order to rid themselves of reliance to third-party services like Google Maps.
Uber's $500 mapping setup will include the deployment of mapping vehicles around the United States and Mexico. These vehicles are not just there to create road maps, they are also task to gather data that are essential to Uber's services like pickup and drop-off locations, according to Computer World.
Uber had been quite busy negotiating and acquiring startup companies in order to help its mapping plans. The company acquired mapping and location company deCarta in March 2015. Uber also acquired the technology users by Bing Maps, along with around 100 Microsoft employees in order to work on data analysis and various image collection efforts.
Although Uber has yet to confirm it, many tech analysts are expecting that the company will integrate its mapping service to its own self-driving cars. It is also unclear whether Uber is developing its mapping service only for in-house use or does the company plans to license it for other companies to use.