Qualcomm Ventures invests $9 mln in GIS firm MapMyIndia

Its existing backers - KPCB, Sherpalo Ventures and Nexus India Capital - have also participated in this round.

Qualcomm Ventures, the venture capital arm of wireless technologies and data solutions firm Qualcomm Inc, has invested $9 million in CE Infosystems. For Delhi-based CE Infosystems, which is better known as digital maps and navigation services provider MapMyIndia, this is the third round of venture capital funding. It had earlier raised funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Sherpalo Ventures and Nexus India Capital, who have also participated in this round.

MapMyIndia provides services and solutions based on geographic information systems and location-based business intelligence. It provides its services through handheld devices, mobile phones and automobiles.

MapMyIndia also plans to leverage Qualcomm's technology to strengthen its services. The company is also looking at overseas expansion now.

"With this new investment and collaboration with Qualcomm, we will engage all leading players of the ecosystem – handset manufacturers, mobile operators, automotive manufacturers, hardware vendors, chipset providers, and application developers," said Rakesh Verma, Promoter and Managing Director of MapmyIndia.

Another funded player in this space is Hyderabad-based SatNav Technologies, which raised $7 million from Sequoia Capital India last year.

Qualcomm Ventures' earlier investments in India include $3 million in Kirusa, a Mumbai-based voice SMS company, and Tessolve Services Pvt Ltd., a provider of solutions for semiconductor testing, packaging and failure analysis.

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