Mapxus, the leading indoor Geographic Information System (GIS) platform that provides global indoor mapping and navigation services, has announced the successful kickstart of its Series B funding round, raising over US$5 million in investment. The funding round was led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a leading Japanese corporation with a diverse business portfolio spanning various industries centred around technology.
Starting in August 2021, Mapxus collaborated exclusively with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to provide indoor technology such as digital maps, Wi-Fi fingerprint positioning and SDK for indoor map data infrastructure service in Japan, which is named iPNT-K. According to market research and consulting company Seed Planning, Japan's indoor location-based services market size is expected to grow to JPY 1,170 billion by 2035. With the iPNT-K solution, businesses can apply indoor navigation in commercial facilities such as shopping centres, train stations, and airports to perform location-based marketing, traffic analysis, barrier-free navigation, manage and track operations, facilitate the management, and improve the work efficiency of employees in offices and warehouses.
With the new investment, Mapxus is well-positioned to continue to innovate and develop technology solutions for the future of indoor mapping and location-based services. The potential applications of Mapxus's technology are wide-ranging, with opportunities for both government and factory use.
"At Mapxus, we are dedicated to making indoor mapping more accessible and user-friendly and creating a truly inclusive city experience. Our innovative indoor map data infrastructure is designed to empower businesses and individuals, enabling them to improve work efficiency and enhance daily experiences. With the support of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, we are excited to continue innovating and developing technology solutions that will shape the future of indoor mapping and location-based services." said Ocean Ng, Founder and Chief Operation Officer of Mapxus.
"We are thrilled to have Kawasaki Heavy Industries lead this round of investment in Mapxus," said Dr John Chan, Founder and CEO of Mapxus. "With this new funding, we will accelerate our indoor map data infrastructure development in Japan (iPNT-K) with Kawasaki and expand our service coverage in Southeast Asia. We aim to enable businesses to revolutionise their interactions with physical spaces and deliver a comfortable, intuitive, and seamless indoor-outdoor experience for everyone."
Furthermore, Mapxus has recently joined hands with NOIZChain to co-create Honio, the world's first indoor location-based Game-Fi metaverse. Honio aims to connect the virtual and physical worlds through a mobile app that rewards users for spending time in physical stores. It is expected to launch in Japan by 2023 and in other Southeast Asian markets by 2024.
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Ocean Ng, Founder and COO of Mapxus (right)
About Mapxus
Mapxus is a comprehensive indoor geographic information system (GIS) platform that provides global indoor mapping and navigation services, aiming to make indoor mapping smart and simple, and to create a barrier-free and inclusive city experience for everyone. With cutting-edge indoor mapping and navigation technology, Mapxus has quickly expanded its service to over 25 cities in the Asia-Pacific region, covering more than 1,500 venues across various building types including retail, universities, transit, and government buildings. Mapxus innovative indoor map data infrastructure is designed to empower people and businesses, improving daily experiences and work efficiency. Mapxus has raised over US$5 million to date from Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Beyond Ventures.
About Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock, ships and clinical testing equipment. It is also active in the production of industrial robots, gas turbines, pumps, boilers and other industrial products.
About iPNT-K
iPNT-K enables positioning in indoor spaces where GPS is not working well and provides location information as infrastructure rather than spot positioning. By connecting indoor location information seamlessly with iPNT-K, users can locate their position and reach their destination without getting lost. Furthermore, barrier-free and emergency route searches in indoor spaces become possible, enabling seamless indoor navigation.
iPNT-K allows users to grasp location information. It can also be used for marketing, such as advertising, commerce, real estate, etc., and to apply in various working areas, such as increasing production efficiency in factories. Indoor and outdoor objects can be grasped and managed seamlessly, and it is especially suitable for locating and managing devices such as warehouses, offices, hospitals and factories.