Chinese search engine company Baidu invested USD10 million in IndoorAtlas Ltd, an indoor navigation technology company, as the company aims to expand indoor map services in buildings and commercial centers.
According to reports in foreign media, Baidu signed an exclusive agreement with IndoorAtlas Ltd for the Chinese market. However, both of the two parties have kept specific details away from the public.
As the founder of Baidu, Robin Li, who is already a billionaire, recently started an e-commerce group together with Dalian Wanda Group and Tencent. With this new investment in IndoorAtlas Ltd, Baidu will be able to provide indoor searches of venues like cafes and movie theaters, which will serve its users and gain huge advertising incomes.
IndoorAtlas Ltd is reportedly the world's first company to utilize magnetic anomalies inside buildings and smartphones to pinpoint indoor locations. The company claims that its search result accuracy is down to less than three meters without any additional infrastructure. The company was founded in 2012 as a spin-off from the University of Oulu, Finland, and it has an office in Mountain View, U.S. Apart from Finland, IndoorAtlas implemented research and development activities in Oxford, U.K.
