Google Maps is not free. So you have likely used Google Maps before. Maybe to find directions to that new restaurant everyone's talking about or to explore a neighborhood halfway across the world without even leaving your couch. But it doesn't stop there. Think about it.
We rely on Google Maps to avoid traffic on our way to work, find the fastest route during road trips, plan vacations, locate gas stations, check live public transit updates and even decide where to eat based on reviews and photos. Whether you are looking for a ride share, tracking a package or finding out how long the wait is at your favorite coffee shop, Google Maps is everywhere. For over a billion people, it's not just a tool.
It's the ultimate travel companion, tour guide, restaurant critic, and traffic expert rolled into one. But we might forget one important fact. Google Maps is completely free.
And unlike... other free Google tools like search or Gmail, running a mapping service is expensive. It requires satellites, street-view cars, planes, and servers to capture, process, and maintain data.
Google even blurs faces license slates and other personal information to protect privacy. Keeping Google Maps accurate and functional is a massive effort. But here's the surprising part.
Google Maps make over $11 billion in revenue annually, about the same as TikTok. If it were a standalone company, its valuation would be approximately $62 billion, as much as Mercedes-Benz or PayPal. So how did Google Maps become such a valuable part of Google's business?
Let's dive into its incredible story. The humble beginning of Google Maps. Let's rewind the clock to 2003. The world didn't have Google Maps yet.
But instead, it was four guys from Sydney, Australia. Lars Remusen, Jens Remusen, Noel Gordon and Stephen Ma, who had the vision to create a mapping platform. And they started off with a pretty... simple idea to build a desktop mapping program. But as you can imagine, mapping the entire world is no small feat.
And by 2004, they realized they needed more resources. So they turned to Google. But Google wasn't convinced.
Why would we need maps? They probably thought. But then, the founders came up with a game-changing idea to convert their desktop app into a web platform.
And this move was the key that unlocked everything. Google decided to take a chance on them and acquire their company, Where2 Technologies, for an undisclosed amount. Some estimates suggested it was under $50 million, which was a steal.
But here's where things get get even more interesting. Google didn't just talk with wear 2 technologies. Around the same time, they also bought Keyhole, a company that specializes in mapping the entire planet. You might recognize this as the technology behind Google Earth and Google Earth.
picked up that company for just $35 million. But the real hidden gem was ZipDash, a company Google bought for just $2 million. ZipDash had a unique technology which offered real-time traffic data from mobile phones. So now Google had all the pieces, the mapping technology, the global view from Keyhole and real-time traffic data from Zipdash.
In February 2005, after months of refining these technologies, Google Maps finally launched. And guess what? It went viral. But here's the twist. The excitement didn't last long.
In 2005, the competition was fierce. Yahoo Maps and MapQuest had already built strong user bases. They had been around for years and for most of the people, they got the jobs done. Even though Google Maps was way more advanced, people didn't feel the need to switch right away.
In its first year, Google Maps was not the giant it is today. It was good, but it was just okay. Google could have easily let it stay as a small niche project, but they didn't.
Instead, They made a bold decision to rebuild it from scratch. A complete do-over. After the lackluster response to Google Maps in its first year, Google decided to completely rewrite the platform.
While it was better than the competitors like MapQuest and Yahoo Maps, it was still slow. So their top priority became speed and improving their user experience. After about a year of work, Google Maps became nearly instantaneous and this set the stage for some game-changing features.
First up, Satellite View Google used images from their Keyhole whole acquisition to create this feature and the fun fact is satellite view isn't actually from satellites it's from low-flying planes and it quickly became one of the most popular feature even though most people just loved having a bird eye view of their home then in 2007 they took it even further with street views a massive project where cars drove around the world to capture every street this lets people virtually walk through cities street views became a massive hit. But the real game changer came with smartphones. Android, the world's most popular operating system, comes with Google Maps pre-installed.
This made Google Maps virtually unavoidable, driving its dominance. Today, Google Maps boasts over 1 billion monthly active users. And even though Google acquired the core companies for less than $100 million, the real cost of developing and maintaining the platform was huge.
One expert estimates, estimates, the initial investment of cars, cameras, computers and manpower was over $400 million. And Google didn't stop there. They kept updating and expanding, spending billions to keep Google Maps running smoothly and relevant. But how does Google Maps make money? Google Maps has two main ways of making money.
The first is through ads. But instead of being intrusive, it's done in a helpful and subtle way. search for businesses like Walmart or Starbucks on Google Maps, you are actually seeing premium listings. These businesses pay to highlight their locations and logos, making it easier for users to find them. It's a win-win.
Users get more visibility and businesses increase their presence without annoying ads. The second and much more interesting way Google makes money is through APIs. You know how when you visit a restaurant's website, there's a map showing its location, location.
That's thanks to Google's APIs, which businesses pay to use. Big companies like FedEx, Uber, Airbnb, and Zillow all use Google Maps on their platforms, and they pay a lot for it. One of the most common APIs is Google Places, which is used for address autofill when entering, billing, or shipping information. It costs about 3 cents per use, which might not sound like much.
But if 3 billion people use it, that's $1 billion in revenue just through one API. With hundreds of API, this all adds up to $11 billion in revenue for Google. Thanks to Google Maps, Google has mapped The entire globe with pinpoint precision, every property, address and location is accounted for.
And if that's not enough, they also track billions of people in real time. This immense power alone makes Google the real winner, even if Google Maps didn't earn a dime. But it does. 11 billion dollars annually to be exact. And if you like detailed tech videos like these, don't forget to subscribe to Mobile App Daily for more amazing tech insights.