UK-based mapping technology provider What3words has completed an $8.5m series B round led by logistics firm Aramex that included Intel Capital, semiconductor maker Intel’s corporate venturing arm.
The round also featured Force Over Mass Capital and Mustard Seed, and follows a $3.5m series A round led by Intel Capital and backed by Horizons Ventures in November 2015. Mustard Seed and angel investor Guy Westlake had invested $500,000 in 2013.
What3words has created an online platform that aids logistics and other service providers in pinpointing addresses by dividing the world into three-meter square areas, each of which is identified by a three-word code.
The platform is available in 10 languages and is being utilised across more than 170 countries. Aramex uses it to help it deliver packages in 60 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Aramex CEO Hussein Hachem said: “The partnership is also perfectly aligned with our commitment to becoming a technology-based enterprise, looking for new and innovative solutions to enhance our operations. We look forward to reaping the rewards and efficiencies the integration with What3words will create for our business.”
The round will fund the launch of a voice recognition product and an Arabic version, as well as the growth of What3words’ team and a global expansion that will include the development of the addressing system in additional Asian languages.