what3words, a platform that replaces traditional addresses with three words, has received $8.5m in funding in a round led by logistics specialist Aramex.
The Series B round also includes existing investors Intel Capital and Force Over Mass Capital and Mustard Seed.
what3words, which launched in 2013, divides the world into a grid of 57 trillion 3×3 metre squares with each square given three words to describe that specific spot.
You can see the three words applied to relevant address via the website but Buckingham Palace comes out as ‘daring.lion.race’ while Edinburgh Castle is ‘buck.ears.match’.
Aramex will use the technology for operations across the Middle East, Asia and Africa to make delivery more accurate.
what3words aims to help people find and share location and applications for travel include navigation apps, travel guides and destination marketing companies.
Chief executive and co-founder Chris Sheldrick describes the technology as “precise yet incredibly simple to use.” He says it solves the problem of “which entrance, which exit, which stadium gate, which car park” and other areas where traditional addressing doesn’t work.
The company plans to use the investment to launch a voice recognition service for smartphones and wearables as well as develop the address system in several Asian languages. It is currently available in 10 languages and an Arabic version is also on the cards.
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