Address in three words: This UK company is now helping MENA simplify navigation
Navigation and geocoding startup what3words has divided the globe into a grid of 3m X 3m squares and assigned each a unique combination of three random words: a what3words address.
Suppose you come across a broken streetlight on the road or see a pothole lying unserviced, how will you tell the authorities the exact address of these locations?
While GPS technology, with its use popularised by apps like Google Maps, has solved the mapping issue to an extent, there still are many challenges faced by delivery executives and logistics companies to reach clients, especially in remote locations.
This motivated Chris Sheldrick, Mohan Ganesalingam, Michael Dent, and Jack Waley-Cohan decided to start geocode system out of London in 2013.
“what3words has divided the globe into a grid of 3m X 3m, and assigned each square a unique, unchanging combination of three random words: a what3words address. The system covers the entire world, never needs updating, and works offline,” says Co-founder and CEO Chris in a conversation with YourStory Gulf Edition.
In November 2022, the startup launched its services in the GCC region, starting with Saudi Arabia. However, the company knows the region well as it has been partnering with the Saudi Red Crescent Authority since 2019.
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Three words defining the address
While Chris may be new to the world of mapping and logistics, he faced the same problem with addresses as everyone else. Prior to starting what3words, Chris was a part of the music industry.
“Every time we had to perform at a concert, we had to always reach the back of the venue. And the musicians would always be lost. I was the person with the addresses who was failing to get people to show up at the right place. Living on a farm in a small village in the UK, we didn’t have a specific address. It made me realise that addresses, as we know it, just don’t work well,” he narrates.
He contacted his mathematician friend Mohan, and the duo would often code together. The idea was to simplify GPS coordinates so that they could be understood by the layman. Mohan came up with the idea of using three words. He also roped in his friends Michael and Jack to start what3words.
“Using three words is more precise than putting an address. It is a human-friendly way of sharing a precise location with others or even to input on platforms like ride-hailing apps and delivery apps,” explains Chris.
The co-founders developed an algorithm and split the world into 57 trillion three-meter squares, each named with three unique words from the dictionary in 54 languages.
Initially, the quartet focused on developing the map. The 160-membered team used Google Maps and placed the grid on top of that, with each square named with three words. The app has evolved with over 54 languages.
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Mapping the world
Available for iOS and Android, what3words app’s map enables people with millions of addresses in use around the world. The app is targeted towards businesses to help them save money, be more efficient, and provide a better customer experience.
The app is plugged into other apps and websites, and is also optimised to take voice inputs. Looking at how complex and error-prone voice commands can get, the team designed the words as an error-prevention mechanism. This was one of the team’s core challenges.
“So one of the ways that we developed the system was by making sure that the addressed in one country do not have similar sounding words for the car navigation system to work out,” explains Chris.
In the Middle East, the team has already partnered with logistics companies Aramex and DTDC to deliver products for free or for a nominal fee to qualifying NGOs. The company’s other partners include Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Subaru of America, AirBnB, DPD, the AA, and many emergency services across the world.
Speaking of their expansion, Chris says the Middle East has always struggled with addresses. “A lot of things are done informally; many people were often asked to just draw a map when they went to register for certain services,” he adds.
The team first spoke to Aramex, the biggest delivery company in the region. The company invested in what3words and also became its biggest client.
To build an ecosystem, the team also partnered with super app Careem—a widely-used app in the region along with Aramex.
And this is the mindset the team has taken into other markets like the Middle East, like India, Japan, and Korea.
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Future plans
“We market to consumers who are based in places where addresses don't work very well. At the same time, we target those key third-party integrations,” adds Chris.
The B2C side of the business is free for consumers. The team charges the B2B clients based on the sector in which they are operating. For example, for car navigation, the company charges on the basis of the number of cars. In logistics, the price varied with the number of deliveries carried out by the company.
Some of the other startups in the geo-referencing space include OGOR, 4pi Lab, and Arms4AI, however, they offer their services for specific purposes.
In the Middle East, what3words also offers its services to Aleph, Asyad Express in Oman, Floward, Jeeny, MENA Assistance, OTaxi, and Zain to name a few.
The startup has raised over £100 million in funding. The team currently is looking at more third-party logistics integrations.
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Edited by Kanishk Singh