More than two decades ago, when Rakesh and Rashmi Verma decided to create a digital map of India, the couple were literally treading on new territory. long ago Google Revolutionizing web cartography, Verma charted the streets and landmarks of India’s major cities on foot.
But the big task of building his company MapmyIndia paid off on Tuesday. Meet Verma’s Startups Brilliant success during the start of your business After its initial public offering. Shares climbed nearly 35 per cent to Rs. 1,393.65, raising the couple’s net worth to approximately $586 million. It was a fittingly bold start for a company selling digital maps and geographic data covering India’s challenging topography.
A strong market debut for MapmyIndia, formally known as CE Info Systems Ltd, marked several recent highs. Earlier this month, the company reported that it had received bids for more than 150 times the number of shares in its initial public offering. Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Among them are people who have bought the company’s software.
The husband-and-wife team, who own about 54% of the company after the IPO, are the latest founders to strike gold during this year’s stock market boom. India’s startups, in particular, are buoyed by strong pandemic-driven demand for e-commerce and online services. Domestic businesses like MapmyIndia have led the way in new fundraising, setting IPO records and pricking the ears of investors looking for the next big market in Asia.
“When we started, nobody understood the mapping data,” Rakesh said in a telephone interview prior to the listing. “Now, 25 years later, mapping data is pervasive across businesses, industries, state-owned companies and ministries,” he said.
The startup reported a 31% profit margin for the last financial year with revenues of Rs 1.92 billion ($25 million) and a net profit of Rs 594.3 million. Its profit margin rose to 46% in the first two quarters of the current year ended September.
Rakesh, 71, and Rashmi, 65, started their company in the mid-1990s, when businesses had little interest in buying mapping data. At that time, public internet access was not introduced in India. Startups have yet to define the culture of today’s tech havens, including Bengaluru and Gurgaon.
As entrepreneurship deepened in India, Verma stood out for his staying power. Rashmi runs the technology arm of the business, serving as its Chief Technology Officer. Rakesh was instrumental in expanding into sectors ranging from automotive to state-owned companies.
His skills were sharpened abroad. In the late 1970s, after graduating from elite engineering schools in India, Verma moved to the US, where he completed his bachelor’s degree and began a successful corporate career. Rakesh climbed up the ranks in General Motors Company. Rashmi created the computer database at International Business Machines Corp. When the couple returned to India, they identified a niche in digital mapping that was beginning to take hold in the developed world.
At that time, “databases were tabular, data was thought in megabytes and there was no internet,” Rashmi said. CE Info Systems was incorporated in February 1995.
The couple said that the first few years of mapping India were more or less a nightmare. Rakesh would often join surveyors on the streets of Mumbai, where the team entered the addresses manually. As technology improved, triangulating the data helped capture the further corners of the country.
Gambling paid off. Barely a year after starting business, The Coca-Cola Company hired Verma to chart their distributorships, which over the years were delimited by vague markers such as “by a river” or “next to a highway”. it was done. gone. motorola, Ericsson AB and Qualcomm Inc. The company followed suit, contracting the company to map the area and locate its mobile towers. In 2004, Rakesh and Rashmi unveiled India’s first interactive map platform.
“Our data modeling is our key IP and it gives us a head start in this area,” Rakesh said. “We have mapped 99.99% of India, capturing every city, town, village and village.”
Globally, Google Maps dominates the consumer segment of the market, with over a billion users, far more than its competitors. The app benefits from high brand recall and its pre-installed software Android Device.
In contrast, MapmyIndia has excelled by selling licenses to the largest automakers including BMW AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes Benz, and selling to global brands such as McDonald’s Corp. Many of Verma’s clients are also local startups, including Paytm, digital payment platform, and Ola, a popular ride-sharing company. Qualcomm, Xenrin Company and Flipkart, which is now owned by Walmart Inc., are among the startup’s investors.
Taking the business public was a logical next step after the Indian government changed rules for mapping and geographic data collection this year. The new measures force foreign companies to buy data directly from Indian-owned companies, providing another buffer for MapMyIndia to capture the local market and become competitors like Apple Maps – which use the startup’s software. We do. Do – in customers. Across India, the company says it has a 95% market share of GPS navigation.
With the cash investment, Verma plans to expand after integrating maps of over 200 countries into its software platform. But the couple said Tuesday’s success will have no bearing on their lifestyle. He has no plans to travel to or from his home in the lush green suburb of Delhi. They will continue their half-an-hour commute to the company headquarters on the outskirts of the city.
“My work and my family, including my four grandchildren, are my enduring passion,” Rashmi said. “nothing changes.”
One thing is clear: the demand for geographic data is increasing. The Indian government has estimated the market to be $14 billion by the end of the decade, indicating the fastest growth rate in the world. Rakesh can’t help but wonder how things have come together.
“We are profitable, our future revenues are predictable and our valuations are easy to arrive at,” he said.