Maps.me

Maps.me is a mobile app for Android, iOS and BlackBerry that provides offline maps using OpenStreetMap data. It was formerly known as MapsWithMe. In November 2014, it was acquired by Mail.Ru Group and became part of it's My.com brand. In September 2015, the app was open sourced[5] and a free and open-source software version was additionally made available on F-droid[6] until the application was sold to the payment processor Daegu Limited, part of Parity.com, which changed the application user interface and content,[7][8] which led Alexander Borsuk and Viktor Govako (former MapsWithMe founders) to release an open source ad-and tracker-free fork called 'Organic Maps' in response.[9]

Maps.me
Original author(s)Yury Melnichek, Alexander Borsuk, Viktor Govako, Siarhei Rachytski
Developer(s)MapsWithMe GmbH, My.com
Initial release2011
Stable release
12.0.1[1] / January 15, 2021 (2021-01-15)
Repository
Written inC++, Objective-C, Java
Operating systemAndroid, iOS, BlackBerry
Size232 MB Android[2] / 302.5 MB iOS[3]
LicenseApache License 2.0[4]
Websitemaps.me

History

Maps.me was founded by Yury Melnichek, Alexander Borsuk, Viktor Govako and Siarhei Rachytski.[10] Under the leadership of Alexander, MapsWithMe onboarded 2.5M users worldwide.

In November 2014, it was acquired by Mail.Ru Group and became part of its My.com brand.[11] In September 2015, the app was open sourced[12] and a free and open-source software version was additionally made available on F-droid.[13]

In November 2020 Mail.ru Group sold Maps.me to the payment processor Daegu Limited, part of Parity.com Group.[14] Daegu Limited changed the application user interface and content.[15][16] Following this acquisition in January 2021, a fork — Organic Maps — was created by Alexander and Viktor, and is developed by the FOSS community.[17]

MapsWithMe GmbH

The application was formerly known as MapsWithMe and initially developed by Zurich-based MapsWithMe GmbH with a development office in Minsk.

In 2012, MapsWithMe came in first in the Startup Monthly competition in Vilnius. The team won a nine-week traineeship in Silicon Valley as a prize.[18]

Mail.ru Group

In November 2014, Maps.me was acquired by Mail.Ru Group for 542 million Russian rubles (around US$14 million at that time) to be integrated with My.com, and the app was made free of charge.[19] The engineering team was relocated to the Mail.Ru Group office in Moscow to continue working on the project.

In 2019, its revenue amounted to 159 million rubles (US$2.5 million) with an EBITDA loss of 25 million rubles (US$0.39 million).[14]

Daegu Ltd and partners

On November 2, 2020, Daegu Limited bought Maps.me for 1.56 billion Russian rubles (approximately US$20 million at that time).[20] Daegu Limited is announced to be part of Parity.com Group.[21]

On September 18, 2022, Maps.me announced the launch of a mobile app wallet with a prepaid Mastercard in partnership with Monavate.[22]

See also

References
  1. "Google Play Store". Retrieved 15 Jan 2021. and "App Store". Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
  2. "Maps.me". Play Store.
  3. "Maps.me". iTunes App Store. Apple. 26 July 2023.
  4. "mapsme/omim". GitHub. 9 December 2021.
  5. "MAPS.ME source code". GitHub. 9 December 2021.
  6. "Maps". F-Droid. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
  7. "Maps.me sale to a payment processor removed Open Street Map". GitHub.
  8. "Github Issues comment". GitHub.
  9. "Faites connaissance avec Organic Maps, un Google Maps open source". FrAndroid (in French). 10 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  10. "Belarusian startup Mapswithme wins Startup Monthly in LithuaniaGoalEurope". 2019-03-31. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  11. Lunden, Ingrid (2014-11-13). "Mail.ru Buys Maps.Me To Integrate Crowdsourced Maps Into Its My.com App Portal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  12. "MAPS.ME source code". GitHub. 9 December 2021.
  13. "Maps". F-Droid. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
  14. "Mail.ru Group sells MAPS.ME". Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  15. "Maps.me sale to a payment processor removed OpenStreetMap". GitHub.
  16. "Github Issues comment". GitHub.
  17. "Github - Organic Maps". GitHub. 9 December 2021.
  18. "Belarusian startup Mapswithme wins Startup Monthly in Lithuania". 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  19. "Mail.Ru Group, One of the Largest Internet Companies in Europe, Acquires MAPS.ME". 13 Nov 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 9 Dec 2014.
  20. "Mail.ru Group sells MAPS.ME – Company Announcement - FT.com". markets.ft.com. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  21. "Mail.ru Group sells MAPS.ME – Company Announcement". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  22. "Monavate Provides Prepaid Cards for Maps.me". Pymnts. 2022-09-06. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
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