Bosch has acquired a 5% stake in digital mapping company HERE, for an undisclosed fee to boost both services the businesses offer.
The aim of acquiring a percentage of the company is in the hope of boosting Bosch’s service business and gives HERE a step forward in achieving its goal to become a global provider of real-time services to customers both in and out of the automotive industry.
Used as an open platform HERE’s high definition 3D maps are being used to boost the development of self-driving cars and moving into smart cities.
Edzard Overbeek, the CEO of HERE Technologies, adds: “We are delighted to have brought on board a strong partner like Bosch, with its broad-based expertise in both the automotive and Internet of Things sectors. Bosch’s strong presence across the Americas, Asia and Europe also offers HERE attractive opportunities to further grow our business globally.”
Bosch has said the stake will also allow it to provide real-time location services from HERE to the Internet of Things (IoT) in the future, ahead of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is upon the industry.
Furthermore, Bosch is well known for being a supplier of automotive services but is also heavily invested in technology services and manufacturing across sensors, software and AI as well as hosting its own cloud platform. A further aim of the German company is to move away from just cars alone to a more connected industry and smart cities.
Bosch is more than cars,” said Dr Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch. “Industry 4.0, smart homes, and smart cities are rapidly growing areas of business for us, in which establishing and expanding data-based services will result in synergies with Here.”
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Continental has also acquired a 5% stake in HERE, with the partnership focusing specifically on driverless cars and mobility services.
The acquisition is subject to antitrust authorities’ approval, but if all goes to plan the deal is expected to be concluded by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
