UK-based location pinpointing app called what3words has added $1 million to its seed funding round, TechCrunch reported.
Several unnamed investors provided the most recent investment which was also participated in by one backer who was also involved in the company's previous round. In November last year, the startup bagged $500,000 for its seed funding round. Guy Westlake of Shutl and other angel investors participated in that financing, the report said.
Proceeds from the recent round will be deployed towards growing its sales team, allowing voice-recognition features and adding more languages. As of the moment, what3words supports English, Spanish, Russian and Swedish. It plans to add German, French and Arabic in the near future, the report said.
The startup basically makes it easier to determine where an address is located since it divides the world into squares measuring 3m x 3m and gives it a unique three-word sequence to label its location. This allows for greater accuracy compared to a postcode. Instead of the postcode or zipcode system currently used in various countries worldwide, the startup is also offering a worldwide labeling system, the report said.
The company defends its logic of using three-word sequences like "lung.lots.transmitted" or "meowing.creatively.drives" by saying that these unique words to describe a location are easier to remember compared to the numbers and letters that company with current street addresses. However, the company will have to work harder to change how people give their addresses since the traditional way of sharing street numbers and names is still being widely used, the reports said.
The startup is monetizing its offering by offering OneWords, a shorter label that is used to describe a certain location on the map. For as long as no one has claimed the OneWord yet, users can pay £1.49 and get to own the address for one year. The price for the OneWord has increased from the £0.99 price tag it had in 2013, the report said.
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