MapMyIndia: The OG of Indian digital mapping

"Our idea was clear: we are building a digital map product, and won’t give the IP to anybody. But, we can provide it as a service," said Rakesh Verma, Chairman of C.E. Info Systems.

Friday December 10, 2021 , 3 min Read

Good Morning,

Digital mapping company CE Info Systems — better known as MapmyIndia — saw a strong response as the quota of shares for retail investors was oversubscribed by 3.28 times at market close on the first day of the issue. The Rs 1,039.61 crore initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday at a price band of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,033 per share.

The issue size of a little over one crore equity shares is entirely an offer-for-sale by the shareholders of the company. Ahead of the opening for public subscription, MapmyIndia raised Rs 311.88 crore from 24 marquee investors in its anchor book on Wednesday.

In meeting after meeting ahead of the subscription, Rakesh Kumar Verma, Chairman and Managing Director of C.E. Info Systems, heard a key question that he and wife, Rashmi, had discussed at length first in in 1995 when MapmyIndia launched — three years before Google was born.

Most investors are curious to understand: How will MapmyIndia make money off digital maps? The answer has its roots in a conversation between Rakesh and Rashmi in 1994.

YourStory unpacks the journey of MapMyIndia. Read More.

The Interview

Ecommerce in India continues to be a competition of access and affordability. India has seven different customer segments, with each having their own value proposition

In a conversation with YourStory, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart, talks about the state of the ecommerce sector in India, growth areas, and the role of access and affordability in enabling this.

Editor’s Pick: App Friday

Created by former journalist and MBA graduate Eugenia Kuyda in 2013, Replika is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot app where you can talk to your AI companion about almost everything – just like you might talk to a friend.

Run by Luka Inc, Replika currently has over five million downloads on the Google Play Store, with a 4.3 rating. The app is also available on the Apple App store. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

AI-powered travel platform

With tourism now making a comeback after being in limbo for over a year due to COVID-19, travel websites have again started gaining traction.

An online Business-to-Consumer (B2C) travel portal, Hookrooms provides business and leisure travellers with accessible and cost-effective way of discovering and booking a wide range of accommodation, in every part of the world. Read more.

News & Updates

Ola is in talks to raise over $1 billion in funding through a mix of equity and debt over the next few months as the ride-hailing platform prepares for hitting the IPO route next year, according to sources.

Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), a group company of listed entity Paytm, said that it has been approved as a scheduled payments bank by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday. This will help PPBL expand its business opportunities.