Google’s stranglehold on the mapping space could be challenged by new initiative from Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and others
by Sheena Vasani from The Verge - All Posts on (#66WRV)
Illustration: The Verge Meta, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and mapping company TomTom have launched a new mapping initiative in partnership with The Linux Foundation that could challenge the dominance Google holds in the mapping world, TechCrunch reports.
The recently launched Overture Maps Foundation aims to encourage the development of new map products with openly available databases members can contribute to and reuse across companies and apps. It will additionally use open data that already exists from city planning departments as well as open-source projects like OpenStreetMap.
While there are only four companies at the moment driving the initiative, the foundation intends on inviting other businesses and communities to join as well.
Mapping the...