Location data and platform services provider Here Technologies has announced two new Japanese investors and is hailing the rapid growth of its Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) marketplace over the last year.
The Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) are to jointly acquire a 30% ownership stake in Here Technologies via their newly established, jointly owned holding company COCO Tech Holding BV, based in the Netherlands. MC and NTT are acquiring the stake by purchasing new shares as well as acquiring existing shares from current Here shareholders. This is in line with the strategic goal of having a broadened shareholder structure for Here. Upon completion of the transaction in the first half of 2020, Here will have nine direct and indirect shareholders: Audi, Bosch, BMW Group, Continental, Intel Capital, MC, Mercedes-Benz, NTT and Pioneer.
With its new Japanese investors, Here will have a springboard to accelerate its long-term growth ambitions in the Asia Pacific region, and is currently in preliminary exploratory talks with both MC and NTT on strategic initiatives that would include supporting both companies’ digitalization efforts. Here’s four business units provide: a development environment (Workspace), a data exchange (Marketplace), map creation and visualization capabilities (Studio), and a set of positional information (Location Services), which all make use of the Reality Index, a rich source of location contextual data that captures relationships between places and things.
“We are excited to welcome Mitsubishi Corporation and NTT as new strategic investors,” said Edzard Overbeek, CEO of Here Technologies. “They share our vision of enabling an autonomous world for everyone and believe in our ability to harness our location platform to address major global challenges like urban congestion, supply chain inefficiency, and sustainable resource usage just to name a few. We will be honoured to play a role in the digitalization initiatives of Mitsubishi and NTT. Their investment also means we are further diversifying our shareholder base beyond automotive, which is important given the appeal and necessity of location technology across geographies and industries.”
Originally launched in January 2018, Here has revealed a 150% year-over-year growth of its Mobility Marketplace in 2019, marking a significant milestone in its mission to establish MaaS as a means to improve travel efficiency. The world’s first neutral, open marketplace connecting real-time transportation supply and demand to drive mobility efficiency and democratize the transport ecosystem, Here notes that it will start 2020 with over 700 supply and demand partners across the globe.
Here’s transportation suppliers from Europe, the USA., and Latin America have joined the Mobility Marketplace with a total of more than 2.5 million vehicles connected to the Mobility Marketplace, with the service operational in 100 cities worldwide including Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Athens and Barcelona, and more are expected to launch in in the coming months. The company says its rapid growth is a direct result of the rising number of businesses across industries seeking mobility solutions that solve first and last-mile travel, improving the customer experience.
“To compete in today’s oversaturated ecosystem, businesses are looking for a door-to-door customer experience, including first and last-mile transportation,” said Liad Itzhak, SVP and head of Here Mobility. “In connecting new sectors to our mobility solutions, we are not only helping create sustainable mobility, but enabling businesses to provide a complete experience for their customers.”
