Better Maps for the Geoweb – United Maps closes Series-A round

United Maps GmbH announces successful closing of a seven-digit Series-A round

Deploying its unique technology, United Maps GmbH optimizes quality, density and contents of vector maps. Market leading base maps from Navteq or Tele Atlas – well known from navigational devices made for vehicle traffic – are algorithmically combined and merged with supplemental cartographic data sets. The resulting new and comprehensive mapping products are perfectly fit for mobile and location based use cases.

United Maps premiers completely integrated geometries and fully compatible and routable data sets enabling multimodal routing: seamless navigation across all means of transport, from car to public mass transit and pedestrian options. Content rich United Maps offer new perspectives to LBS (location based media and services), business process optimizing and planning.

With GPS capabilities increasingly being available on mobile devices and smartphones, mobile navigation and mapping will become a mass market trend. Latest estimates see over 40% of German mobile users deploy some form of navigation on portable devices. As better and more informative vector maps are essential for a quick adoption, United Maps sees itself well positioned in a thriving market environment. After only six months of production, United Maps recently introduced ‘UM-DE‘: a comprehensive, nationwide vectormap in scales up to 1:2‘000.

The current consortium of High-Tech Gruenderfonds, SeedFonds Bayern and SpaceTec Capital Partners teamed up with ClusterFonds StartUp! and now massively extends the initial Seed-investment into a Series-A round. Taking United Maps to a next level, the investors substantiate United Maps‘ unique technology of algorithmically conflating vector data sets, thus manifesting its potential in a quickly growing market for professional Geodata and Geoservices.

“We are happy to successfully close this Series-A funding with our investors”, says Andreas Wiedmann, CEO and one of United Maps‘ three founders. Holger Heinen, Senior Investmentmanager with High-Tech Gruenderfonds, adds: “We invested further on because United Maps‘ approach, technology and the B2B model positions the company very well for a successful growth in the emerging Geoweb.“

With 16 professional cartographers, editors and GIS-experts, United Maps produces high-resolution vector cartography starting in November 2008. With UM-DE, the comprehensive and nationwide product covering Germany, further 200 European and worldwide cities and regions will follow.

Profile United Maps GmbH:
United Maps is focussed on vector cartography and geoinformation and was founded in 2008 by Andreas Wiedmann (CEO), Stefan Knecht (CIO) and Carsten Recknagel (COO). With proprietary algorithms, experienced cartographers and efficient workflows, basemaps by leading industry providers are enhanced and added into a new generation of maps for mobile devices, webservices and process optimization (BPO). With unique detail, topical layers and exhaustive editorial input and maintainance, United Maps’ products “fill the gap within road networks” with relevant content and leverage innovative applications and services in the geospace.
Besides data licensed from Navteq or Tele Atlas, United Maps licenses data sets from NMOs (national mapping agencies). For Germany, data from the “Bundesamt fuer Kartografie und Geodaesie” (BKG) and “Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Vermessungsverwaltungen der Laender der Bundesrepublik Deutschland” (AdV) is used.

Press contact United Maps GmbH:
United Maps GmbH
Stefan Knecht
Agnes-Pockels-Bogen 1
80992 München
Tel.: +49 89 4521 393 11
press@unitedmaps.net
blog.unitedmaps.net

About High-Tech Gruenderfonds:
The High-Tech Gründerfonds invests venture capital in young technology companies that transform promising scientific research into business enterprises. The seed financing of up to 500 T€ shall result in a technical prototype, a proof of concept or a proof of market. High-Tech Gründerfonds has access to a fund volume of around 272,0 million Euro. Investors in this public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry for Economy and Technology, the KfW Banking Group as well as the six industry companies BASF, Robert Bosch, Carl Zeiss, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom and Siemens.

Contact:
High-Tech Gruenderfonds Management GmbH
Holger Heinen
Senior Investmentmanager
Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2
53175 Bonn
Germany
Tel.: +49 228 965685 00
Fax: +49 228 965685 50
info@high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de

About Clusterfonds Start-Up! from Bayern Kapital:
Clusterfonds Start-Up! finances young technology-companies (age 12-24 months) that achieved “proof of technics”. It delivers a bridge from seed phase to start-up phase. Investment on principle will take place in cooperation with a coach. The fund is managed by Bayern Kapital GmbH. Bayern Kapital GmbH is a Bavarian venture capital company and was founded as part of the “Bavarian Future Initiative” as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the LfA Foerderbank Bayern (Bavaria‘s development bank) at the end of 1995. Bayern Kapital and its funds have invested about 145 Mio. Euro in more than 180 companies and currently manages funds to the value of 190 Mio. Euro. For more information please contact www.bayernkapital.de

About Seedfonds Bayern from Bayern Kapital:
Seedfonds Bayern exists since 2003 and has a volume of 22 Mio. Euro to invest venture capital in young and innovative Bavarian technology-companies with high prospects that are transferring promising research results to business enterprises. The fund is managed by Bayern Kapital GmbH. Bayern Kapital GmbH is a Bavarian venture capital company and was founded as part of the “Bavarian Future Initiative” as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the LfA Foerderbank Bayern (Bavaria‘s development bank) at the end of 1995. For more information please contact www.bayernkapital.de

Contact:
BayernKapital, Seed Fonds Bayern and ClusterFonds StartUp!
Rosi Keimerl
Senior Investmentmanager
Laendgasse 135 a
84028 Landshut
Germany
Tel.: +49 871 92325 0
Fax: +49 871 92325 55
info@bayernkapital.de
www.bayernkapital.de

About SpaceTec Capital Partners:
SpaceTec Capital Partners GmbH, Munich is a consulting and investment company in the market of geo- and satellite information. SpaceTec is focussed on engagements on applications and services with high development potential.

Contact:
SpaceTec Capital Partners GmbH
Rainer Horn
Managing Partner
Perchtinger Str. 5
81379 München
Germany
Tel.: +49 89 7249556 0
Fax: +49 89 7249556 9
horn@spaceteccapital.de
www.spaceteccapital.de