Uber appears to be mapping out a way to distance itself from Google.
The new style taxi service has offered to pay as much as $3 billion to buy Here, the mapping unit owned by Nokia, according to a report in the New York Times. The chief rival to Google Maps, Here is installed on about a 100 million smartphones and is the dominant player in the market for pre-installed navigation systems in cars.
By purchasing Here, Uber could decrease or possibly eliminate its dependence on Google Maps.
Other than Google, Here is one of the few companies that can offer this data right now, Jamie Moss, an analyst at technology research company Ovum told the Times.
Google Maps is the leading mapping service, with some 1 billion mobile users. But 80 percent of in-car navigation systems use Here s technology.
Uber could use Here to power features like Uber Pool, its ride-sharing service, which pairs drivers with people who are looking for rides, analysts told the Times.
Although Google was an early backer of Uber, the ride hailing service has been taking steps this year to put some space between it and the search giant. In February, Uber announced a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University to work on autonomous car technology, a move many saw as a potential challenge to Google s own driverless car efforts. And in March, Uber purchased San Jose-based mapping software company deCarta.
File photo by Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group.
