Committed to innovating and developing technology solutions for the future of indoor mapping and location-based services
HONG KONG, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Beyond Ventures is pleased to announce that its portfolio company Mapxus, the leading indoor Geographic Information System (GIS) platform that provides global indoor mapping and navigation services, has successfully completed the 1st closing of its Series B funding round, raising over US$5 million despite the economic doldrums. The funding round was led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a leading Japanese corporation with a diverse business portfolio spanning various industries centred around technology.
Starting in August 2021, Mapxus collaborated exclusively with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to provide indoor technology such as digital maps, Wi-Fi fingerprint positioning and SDK for indoor map data infrastructure service in Japan, which is named iPNT-K. According to market research and consulting company Seed Planning, Japan's indoor location-based services market size is expected to grow to JPY 1,170 billion by 2035. With the iPNT-K solution, businesses can apply indoor navigation in commercial facilities such as shopping centres, train stations, and airports to perform location-based marketing, traffic analysis, barrier-free navigation, manage and track operations, facilitate the management, and improve the work efficiency of employees in offices and warehouses.
With the new investment, Mapxus is well-positioned to continue to innovate and develop technology solutions for the future of indoor mapping and location-based services. The potential applications of Mapxus's technology are wide-ranging, with opportunities for both government and factory use.
Lap Man, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Beyond Ventures said: "We are so proud to be the first equity investor to support Mapxus since its early stages in 2019, and have witnessed its growth journey despite the social movement in Hong Kong in 2019-2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic over 3 years, driven by the management team's unwavering passion to offer the best-in-class indoor mapping and location-based services. We are also amazed at the courage and execution capability of John and Ocean when we proposed them entering the Japanese market in 2019 with the support of our mentor, which helped them overcome significant challenges in Hong Kong. Since then, they have successfully gained a strong foothold in Japan and expanded to other Asian markets such as Singapore and Taiwan. We strongly believe that the support of the global conglomerate Kawasaki will undoubtedly propel Mapxus to the next level."
"We are grateful to have had the investment and advice of Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Beyond Ventures, supporting Mapxus' growth journey since 2019. At Mapxus, we are dedicated to making indoor mapping more accessible and user-friendly and creating a truly inclusive city experience. Our innovative indoor map data infrastructure is designed to empower businesses and individuals, enabling them to improve work efficiency and enhance daily experiences. With the support of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, we are excited to continue innovating and developing technology solutions that will shape the future of indoor mapping and location-based services." said Ocean Ng, Founder and Chief Operation Officer of Mapxus.
"We are thrilled to have Kawasaki Heavy Industries lead this round of investment in Mapxus," said Dr John Chan, Founder and CEO of Mapxus. "With this new funding, we will accelerate our indoor map data infrastructure development in Japan (iPNT-K) with Kawasaki and expand our service coverage in Southeast Asia. We aim to enable businesses to revolutionise their interactions with physical spaces and deliver a comfortable, intuitive, and seamless indoor-outdoor experience for everyone."
Furthermore, Mapxus has recently joined hands with NOIZChain to co-create Honio, the world's first indoor location-based Game-Fi metaverse. Honio aims to connect the virtual and physical worlds through a mobile app that rewards users for spending time in physical stores. It is expected to launch in Japan by 2023 and in other Southeast Asian markets by 2024.
About Beyond Ventures
Beyond Ventures, the Hong Kong-based venture capital firm, was co-founded by Lap Man and Marvin Hung in 2017 with the goal to revitalize and transform Hong Kong's innovation ecosystem by being the city's most impactful venture capital firm. The firm unites venture capital experts and local conglomerates with visionary entrepreneurs, providing start-ups with the capital and guidance they need to thrive.
The name "Beyond Ventures" originates from the popular rock-and-roll band Beyond, which emerged in early 1990s Hong Kong. Since raising its first fund in 2017, Beyond Ventures has successfully invested in and helped develop portfolio companies which include SenseTime (stock code: 20.HK), Smartsens (stock code: 688213.SH), Prenetics (Nasdaq: PRE), YOHO (stock code: 2347.HK), HKTaxi (acquired by Uber in 2021) and EXLskills (acquired by John Wiley & Sons in 2022.). To date the portfolio has produced four IPOs and two trade sales.
Beyond Ventures draws on support from well-known Hong Kong conglomerates including Hop Hing Group, Far East Consortium, Chinney Alliance Group and Chinachem Group, leading private equity firms Hony Capital and GAW Capital, Hong Kong VC firm, eGarden as well as famous university The University of Hong Kong.
Please visit www.beyondventures.hk for more information.
About Mapxus
Mapxus is a comprehensive indoor geographic information system (GIS) platform that provides global indoor mapping and navigation services, aiming to make indoor mapping smart and simple, and to create a barrier-free and inclusive city experience for everyone. With cutting-edge indoor mapping and navigation technology, Mapxus has quickly expanded its service to over 25 cities in the Asia-Pacific region, covering more than 1,500 venues across various building types including retail, universities, transit, and government buildings. Mapxus innovative indoor map data infrastructure is designed to empower people and businesses, improving daily experiences and work efficiency. Mapxus has raised over US$10 million to date from Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Beyond Ventures.
