Today, London-based deeptech navigation startup Waymap announced the completion of a £7 million funding round.
In modern cities, navigation apps play a crucial role; however, they don't work for everyone. These apps also face limitations due to GPS, rendering them ineffective indoors or underground.
This presents a considerable challenge for individuals with heightened navigation requirements, especially the hundreds of millions of people living with visual impairments worldwide and the 1.3 billion people with disabilities. Higher accuracy in indoor and outdoor navigation also benefits everyone, drastically improving efficiency as commuters move around the built environment.
Waymap offers a world-leading precise navigation app that works indoors, outdoors, and underground. Independent of GPS, WiFi, or mobile data, its accurate and reliable step-by-step navigation relies solely on a revolutionary algorithm, SmartStep, which uses only the smartphone's motion sensors and the user's steps.
This technology uses nothing but the gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer and compass built into smartphones to locate users with up to 1-metre accuracy.
Initially designed to enhance the lives of blind users, its utility extends to all. The technology enables navigation around transit networks and busy shopping centres, adapting to users' habits.
The investment, led by the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, will enable Waymap to continue expanding internationally, growing the presence of mapped areas in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, to complement Waymap's current presence in North America and Europe. Original investor, Venrex, also participated alongside Comprador Holdings.
CEO and Founder Dr Tom Pey, who is also blind, commented:
"Waymap has set itself the goal of revolutionising how everyone accesses the world. It is a global undertaking and one that requires investors like TELUS that not only share our vision and values but have the strength of expertise and know-how to make this achievable.
At a time of reduced inward venture capital investment in the UK, we are proud to have bucked the trend.
This is, in no small way, down to the strength of our team, who are totally dedicated to making our towns and cities accessible for everyone."
Blair Miller, Managing Partner, TELUS Pollinator Fund, shared:
"We're pleased to celebrate our first investment in the UK by leading a financial round in Waymap, which underscores the strength and growth potential of the purpose-driven startup's product and its strong leadership that works tirelessly to help visually impaired people safely navigate their daily lives.
"By investing in Waymap, we can help them in their mission to foster greater accessibility, independent mobility and more efficient travel for everyone."
With the investment from the TELUS Pollinator Fund, the company also plans to continue investing in its leading 'sensor-fusion based' indoor localisation technology and explore AI, visual positioning and 5G edge computing for greater localisation accuracy.
Today, Waymap's flagship project involves deploying its technology across the entire Washington DC area in conjunction with the local Metro.
Lead image: Dr Tom Pey, co-founder and CEO of Waymap and Celso Zuccollo, COO of Waymap. Photo: uncredited.
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