HERE, which is a mapping company with power location services in about 100 million cars, recently announced that it was going to buy an Advanced Telematic System (ATS) to improve its data distribution as well as data updates. HERE is set to buy the developer from Berlin to boost its OTA (over-the-air) technology.
The Advanced Telematic Systems (ATS) works based on how wireless devices, i.e., smartphones, cars and other hardware get their information updated safe and securely and also helps get feedback information for the improvement of how the whole system operates.
This ATS acquisition will definitely make HERE one of the major players in this area. Previously, HERE had limited capabilities, especially in OTA technology. The financial terms of this acquisition deal have not yet been disclosed to the public although it’s clear that the whole deal is set to be completed not later than the first quarter of 2018.
ATS was founded in 2014 by Dirk Poschl, Arthur Taylor, and Armin Schmidt and had already raised over $12 million from the consortium of US, Japanese, and Taiwanese VCs. Pitchbook notes that they include Japans IT-Farm Corporation, iD Ventures America-which was previously known as Acer Technology Venture- and the Taiwanese ODM maker Wistron-previously a manufacturing arm of Acer before it was spun out)
Schmidt, the ATS’s CEO, believes that it’s a great opportunity for ATS to combine efforts with HERE. This is because HERE has a deep relationship with OEMs and also ATS’s global clients. The CEO confirmed that a partner network would deliver newer and better commercial which will enhance the functionalities of HERE products and services.
The primary concern of the deal is about HERE changing with times and also continuing to modernize with current changes in technology.
It’s worth noting that HERE was once part of Nokia although it spun out in a €2.3 billion deal. HERE is owned by a consortium that is made up of the carmakers BMW, Daimler, Intel and Audi. Today, HERE claims to be the world’s largest provider of mapping data due to its 100 million installs in the automotive industry.
The history of HERE is an old one. HERE was originally formed as part of Nokia’s acquisition of Navteq, back in 2007. Navteq had been in existence since 1985. The long existence period contributed to the desire for the company to acquire, invest and introduce more modern technology.
For OTA, OTS’s solutions are built in and around open source over-the-air technology. In June, it joined Uptane (a security framework that is supported by the U.S. Homeland Security Department) which is designed for software that functions on connected and autonomous cars. Their idea is that vehicles can be deadly in case they are hacked. They aim to prevent such activities from happening.
There are other companies like Google, Mapbox, and others which are also involved in the building of mapping systems to power the car of the future and even to some extent the present(for fancy cars). These are HERE’s greatest competitors, and thus it wants ATS and its technology to prevent customers from migrating to their competitors.
OTA technology has been in existence for many years as a method for mobile users to update settings on their phones that may be on this network although in the recent past it has taken a more productive turn.
The systems in cars are very complex, and cover HD maps and also real-time images of road environments, navigation, entertainment information and services and many more. However, software engineers have started using the network of these devices as new data gathering tools to help continue to get feedback information to the central system to improve the overall working of the devices.
This device network feedback information is essential in mapping due to the constant changes in roads and their conditions. This means that images from satellites and modern maps may not do the mapping job entirely by themselves.
In general, software and data delivery is an important factor for the future growth and success in the automotive industry. This is because vehicles are becoming more autonomous and connected. The bold step to acquire ATS is an essential strategy of investment for HERE to complement its portfolio as the premium automotive cloud provider.