CloudMade, which provides collaborative data and tools to developers and OEMs for mapping and navigation applications, has acquired navigation software company OneStepAhead. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
OneStepAhead’s software provides a number of technologies, but CloudMade CEO Juha Christensen says that he is particularly excited about the startup’s device map caching, which and will allows developers to combine geodata in the cloud with data that sits on a device. This technology, says Christensen, will allow Cloudmade developers to create navigation and location-enabled applications with maps that are always up-to-date.
CloudMade, which just raised $12.3 million in new funding, plans to integrate OneStepAhead’s technology into its own offerings to allows consumers to access map data, points of interest, routing, navigation and other data around their location even when not connected to the Internet.
CloudMade’s platform allows third parties to create applications with stylized and customized map tiles, fully featured turn-by-turn navigation, in-app advertising, local search and data sets relevant to thousands of consumer activities. CloudMade distributes its collaborative mapping, package maps, geo services and advertising to developers and businesses; its main customers are mobile developers, OEMs and network operators. Some of the 12,000-plus developers using CloudMade’s API include Skobbler, OffMaps, Geocaching, Trails, Ride the City, GayCities, and Dopplr.
The startup uses data from partnership with OpenStreetMap (OSM), a wiki map of the world that has over 250,000 users worldwide (and is adding 3,500 new users per week), making over 7,000 edits per hour.