Uber just can’t seem to stop making the news, whether it’s good or bad. Now the company has just picked up Microsoft’s mapping technology, which is used in Bing Maps, so they can break free from relying on Google Maps. On top of purchasing the technology behind Bing Maps Uber is also picking up one hundred of the Microsoft engineers that currently work on Bing Maps. This purchase is going to help them break away from Google Maps. Neither Uber nor Microsoft have disclosed what the purchase price was for all the technology and personnel. But a spokesperson for each company did have some comments.
“Mapping is at the heart of what makes Uber great. So we’ll continue to work with partners, as well as invest in our own technology, to build the best possible experience for riders and drivers.”
Speaking about the acquisition, a Microsoft spokesperson added: “Over the past year, we have taken many actions to focus the company’s efforts around our core business strategy.
“In keeping with these efforts, we will no longer collect mapping imagery ourselves, and instead will continue to partner with premium content and imagery providers for underlying data while concentrating our resources on the core user experience.
“With this decision, we will transfer many of our imagery acquisition operations to Uber.”
Uber is rolling full steam ahead in its quest to become the world’s car transport service and it will be interesting to see what they do with the Microsoft mapping technology they just purchased. No word on whether Bing Maps will continue to be available to the Internet community.
What do you think of Uber’s big purchase? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
[button link=”http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2415513/uber-buys-microsofts-mapping-tech-to-lessen-reliance-on-google-maps” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: The Inquirer[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
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