Combined technologies will dramatically transform location enabled apps and user experiences

Menlo Park, CA, January 7, 2011 – CloudMade, the location services company, has acquired OneStepAhead, a key company setting the pace in the design and implementation of next generation navigation software. The acquisition comes in the wake of CloudMade’s $12.3M Series B funding led by Greylock Partners, and merges CloudMade’s expertise in the fields of geo-platforms and developer tools with OneStepAhead’s unique on-device map caching, update and rendering technologies. 

This acquisition will further CloudMade’s quest to build the world’s most comprehensive map and geo-platform by enabling companies to completely transform location experiences for consumers, whether on a mobile phone or personal navigation device (PND).

Operators, mobile phone and PND manufacturers can now create low-cost, custom-built navigation and location-enabled applications with maps that are always up-to-date, fast to load and navigable even in areas of poor network coverage. To distinguish themselves further, companies can tailor their products for numerous special interest activities including: jogging, hiking, cycling, mountain biking, or skiing by including maps that provide only the relevant trails, landscapes and points of interest for each activity.

“Consumer appetite for devices and apps using location is becoming increasingly sophisticated, giving rise to the need for faster, more personalized experiences,” said Jim Brown, CTO, CloudMade.  “We’re fast-forwarding geospatial innovation with this acquisition, empowering operators and OEMs of all sizes to deliver unparalleled location-enabled products to consumers today.”

“We’re extremely excited to be a part of CloudMade, which is transforming location enabled apps by combining crowdsourced maps with all types of geo-content and live data,” said Nihat Küçük CEO, OneStepAhead. “Merging our strong onboard rendering and navigation technologies with offboard services from CloudMade creates a hybrid mapping technology which presents huge opportunities for device manufacturers and operators looking to gain a competitive advantage in the location market. We’re thrilled to be part of making this a reality.”

The combined CloudMade and OSA platform allows consumers to access map data, points of interest (POI), routing, navigation and other data around their location even when not connected to the Internet. Its hybrid architecture also supports online connectivity, enabling the amalgamation of additional POIs and streaming of live data services, such as weather forecasts or traffic data.

The platform reduces mobile data charges for consumers because they do not need to be always online in order to view map and location information. Consumers will also no longer be burdened with regularly downloading large map updates as new updates are incrementally delivered whenever network connectivity is available.

Companies with a branded store-finder application won’t need to update and push out a completely new application to millions of users when store locations change or are added.  Using the CloudMade mapping platform, every app can now be dynamically updated in the background over the air, including all types of geo content and points of interest data.

This acquisition will also result in a cross-platform solution with maps that automatically resize to fit the native screen resolution of each device. This allows companies to provide a consistent look and feel for their map-based applications across all major product portfolios.

CloudMade integrates its platform with OpenStreetMap, a wiki map of the world with over 300,000 users worldwide, a user-base that doubles every eight months, making over 7,000 edits per hour. Because its contributors capture map data that is relevant to their interests, which could be anything from cycling, jogging, hunting and skiing to diving or climbing and they map and update their neighborhoods regularly, CloudMade is able to provide a level of map detail, freshness and relevance not offered by any other map provider.

OneStepAhead adds Stuttgart to CloudMade's list of office locations that include London, UK, Menlo Park, CA and Kyiv, Ukraine. The company brings over 20 years experience in geospatial technologies to CloudMade, spanning areas such as: Location Based Services, Digital Mapping, Telematics, Traffic Information and Personal Navigation Systems. Its customer portfolio includes many Fortune 500 companies and is testament to the quality and innovative nature of its work.
For more information on CloudMade’s mapping platform or product portfolio www.cloudmade.com or sales enquires to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

About CloudMade

CloudMade’s 16,200-strong developer community powers many market leading location and map based applications from prominent mobile and web developers. Its mapping platform and tools enable thousands of developers and organizations around the world to create innovative geo-enabled products. CloudMade provides third-party developers, operators, mobile phone and PND manufacturers with everything they need to build compelling location based products. From map tiles and metadata to turn-by-turn navigation and location based advertising. Comprehensive libraries for both web and mobile developers wishing to build applications on CloudMade’s mapping platform are available from www.CloudMade.com

CloudMade was awarded‚ ‘Best Emerging Startup’ at the Mobile Premier Awards at Mobile World Congress 2010.


About OneStepAhead

The market of Geospatial Technology is starting to boom globally. During the last decade OneStepAhead became more and more in a front-runners market position thanks to its unique software technologies and innovations power. OneStepAhead continuously broadens its geographical scope of activities and core competence fields: Location Based Services, Digital Mapping, Telematics, Traffic Information and Personal Navigation Systems. Founded in 1999, OneStepAhead focused on becoming Geospatial Technology Services Company operating on a global scale and combining extensive software development capability in its "center of excellence" in Stuttgart with local customer interface and project management. OneStepAhead ‘s  industry specific domain expertise, people and processes, technologies, tools and training sets it ahead of the competition. The company draws on this strong foundation to create measurable business impact for customers around the world, resulting in long-term relationships with several of the most recognized names in their respective industries.