Ingka Group, the owner of most Ikea furniture stores, has invested £12m ($16m) in What3words, a UK-based geolocation technology developer.
What3words gives every square is given a unique three-word name to create a global address system.
Ingka Group’s investment arm Ingka Investments in a statement said: “Unlike a regular street address, which points to a street or building, the system allows people to specify a very precise location such as a side door or utility entrance.”
In November 2019, Subaru-SBI Innovation Fund, a joint venture formed by automotive manufacturer Subaru and financial services firm SBI, invested an undisclosed amount in What3words. The company had raised an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including another car producer, Daimler, in January 2018 following $12.3m from chipmaker Intel’s corporate VC unit, Intel Capital, Force Over Mass Capital, Mustard Seed, Horizons Ventures and Guy Westlake up to 2016.
