In this Research Note, we examine MapsPeople, a Danish public company providing indoor mapping and navigation software. This analysis covering their latest financial results, vertical market focus, Go-to-Market and growth strategies. It is based on press releases, investor presentations and their first Annual Report since their IPO in June 2021. The company currently has around 90 employees and is present in 40 countries.

Based in Nørresundby, Denmark, MapsPeople A/S was established in 1997 with indoor mapping at the core of the business. In 2009, the company pivoted into becoming a Software-as-a-Service company focusing on their dynamic mapping platform, MapsIndoors, a proprietary generic platform for the global market that allows people to navigate large and complex buildings and optimizes the exploitation of buildings via integrations with clients’ IT-systems.

The platform helps large corporate offices to optimize resource utilization, assists guests navigating to their seats at stadiums, displays vacant parking lots, or helps avoid long queues. The solution is primarily built on Google Maps, making the transition from outdoor to indoor seamless. MapsPeople has two primary revenue streams: MapsIndoors and Google Maps which is primarily aimed at the northern European market based on a Premier Partnership with Google.

In April 2021, MapsPeople commenced an Initial Public Offering and a listing on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market Denmark, planning to raise DKK 85 million. The offering was completed in May 2021 having received subscriptions for DKK 237 million. The Investor brochure issued at that time forecasted a 101% Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth, with DKK 174 million ($23.85M) in 2023. 

At the end of 2021, the company delivered total recognised revenue of DKK 28.8 million ($3.95M) representing growth of 15% from 2020. This led to an ARR of DKK 41.1 million ($5.63M), representing growth of 78% for MapsIndoors and a total growth of 50% for all revenue streams. The company has set an ARR guidance of DKK 75-85M for 2022 corresponding to 82-107% growth. 

The strategic vertical market focus on Corporate Offices, Sport & Entertainment and Conventions has borne fruit and accounted for 73% of the growth within MapsIndoors in 2021. A challenging Covid-19 market has continued to influence the convention centres market.

Their partner-based Go-to-Market strategy has also shown its value in 2021. Partner-based sales are the primary growth driver, specifically OEM partners, who integrate MapsIndoors as a component in their own SaaS solution. The partner channel accounted for 78% of total new business and expansion for MapsIndoors in 2021. By the end of the year, there were more than 50 revenue-generating partners, each focusing on a single industry.

In 2022, two further vertical markets, hospitality and healthcare, were addressed through partnerships, together with an expanded partnership in the office sector:

• MapsIndoors has been integrated into AeroGuest’s digital platform for mobile check-in at hotels.
• As part of a newly developed mobile app platform focused on patient experience in hospitals, US-based Forward Advantage is integrating the MapsIndoors platform.
• Ricoh Europe and MapsPeople have entered into a major partnership agreement concerning integration of the MapsIndoors Platform into Ricoh Spaces, a smart workplace platform designed to optimize businesses in areas such as desktop reservations, space reservations and wayfinding.

International expansion strategy: In addition to the European market, MapsPeople focuses on the US, where it established an office in Austin, Texas in 2018. In Munich, Germany, the company opened a new office in 2021. And in April 2022 the company announced that it was expanding its international business with a new subsidiary and office in Singapore. The office will serve as the hub office for Asia-Pacific (APAC), and by 2023, the organization is expected to cover all business-critical functions. MapsPeople already operates in several industries in APAC, including Corporate Offices, universities and sports arenas, and has also built strategic alliances with a number of partners.

The indoor mapping and navigation market is still relatively immature and represented by mainly smaller players, as outlined in Memoori’s Global Digital Workplace Report.

Our research on Startups in the Smart Buildings Space identified 49 new entrants offering indoor location-based platforms for the commercial office market. 

With few global competitors and as the only supplier with close collaboration with Google, MapsPeople is in a good position to execute its ambitious growth strategy and become a market leader in indoor mapping and navigation for large and complex buildings.

This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori.