● what3words is at the IAA Mobility Conference in Munich this year as a UK Pavilion co-exhibiting company

● The global addressing technology enables people around the world to identify and share any precise location using just three words

● Clare Jones, CCO at what3words, will be speaking on two panels at the conference - ‘Pan-European eCall - Mission Future’ and ‘Mobility Revolution Revisited: Experts Face Off’

● what3words has been adopted by some of the world’s biggest automotive and mobility brands, including Mercedes-Benz, Ford, and Tom Tom

Munich, 6th September 2021: Traditional street addressing is failing to meet the demands of today’s on-the-go services like taxi-hailing, food delivery, same-day deliveries and e-commerce. Globally, 70% of addresses will not take you to the front door, with 74% of people saying guests, services and deliveries struggle to find them . Inaccurate addressing is costly to businesses, 1 frustrating for customers and is hampering innovation.

And when it comes to navigation, speaking a street address into a voice interface can be time consuming and frustrating. Thousands of duplicates exist and road names are easily confused, for example, Lawn Road and Lorne Road, which sound exactly the same when spoken. Numbers can make things even more confusing; saying ‘Take me to 241st Street’ can sound exactly the same as ‘Take me to 2, 41st Street’.

what3words solves these problems and is the simplest way to talk about location. The company has taken the globe, and divided it into a grid of 3m (10ft) squares, giving each one a unique 3 word address, made of three words from the dictionary. For example, the front door to what3words’ London office can be found at ///filled.count.soap. what3words is currently available in more than 48 languages, allowing more than half of the world’s countries to use them in at least one of their official languages.

what3words can be used for free by individuals via an app for iOS and Android. It can be easily integrated by businesses, governments and NGOs into apps, platforms or websites with just a few lines of code. Businesses are adopting what3words to improve their customer experience and increase efficiency while reducing costs and their environmental impact. Thousands of businesses and millions of people across 193 countries are using what3words in sectors including automotive, mobility, e-commerce, logistics, travel, infrastructure and emergency services.

what3words has gained significant traction in the automobility space. Traditionally, entering a street address into a sat nav can be frustrating and time consuming when you’re often misunderstood. 3 word addresses are 25% faster to enter by voice than street addresses and what3words voice enables 135% increase in address recognition. what3words’ partners include Mercedes-Benz, who launched the world’s first car with built-in what3words voice navigation in 2018. Since then, many of the world’s biggest automakers and OEMs have followed, including Ford, TomTom, HERE, Lotus cars, Tata Motors, and Triumph Motorcycles. Now, millions of drivers around the world can navigate anywhere by speaking just three words to their car. Car makers Mercedes-Benz, Subaru and SAIC also invested in what3words’ Series C funding round, alongside Intel Capital, Sony and Ingka (parent company of IKEA).

Mapbox, a mapping and location cloud platform for developers, now offers what3words support in Dash, their turnkey application that carmakers use to create custom in-car navigation. Head over to the what3words booth at IAA (Hall A2, Stand A09, Messe München, West Entrance Am Messeturm) to learn more about how the Mapbox integration works along with other what3words enabled products.

Last year, Mercedes-Benz and international parcel delivery service DPD carried out a delivery test using what3words addresses that resulted in a 15% efficiency gain. Global logistics giant Aramex has integrated what3words to optimise its last mile operations in the Middle East, increasing efficiency by over 40%. Meanwhile, Domino’s Pizza is delivering food hotter and faster to 3 word addresses around the world, whilst travellers are navigating with ease with the help of Lonely Planet’s and Airbnb’s 3 word address listings.

Future-facing companies have been quick to adopt what3words, such as IBM’s #AccessibleOlli. The autonomous vehicle built for people with disabilities uses what3words to navigate passengers to precise destinations, increasing their ability to travel independently. Similarly, Royal Mail joined forces with DronePrep, Skyports and what3words to become the first nationwide UK parcel carrier to deliver a parcel for recipients via an unmanned aerial vehicle. Individuals are using the what3words app to navigate the world more easily and to meet friends in places without addresses such as parks, beaches or at crowded festivals. 3 word addresses are being used by running clubs to set meeting points, by off-roading fans in the deserts of the Middle East, and by hotels to guide guests to their entrance without complicated written directions.

On Wednesday 8th September at 10:00 at the IAA Mobility Conference, CCO Clare Jones will represent what3words on a panel called "Pan-European eCall - Mission Future" where she will discuss the rapid adoption of what3words by thousands of emergency services in the UK, US, Germany, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Emergency organisations and NGOs including the United Nations are using
the technology to locate people in need and deliver aid exactly where it's needed. The panel will explore the EU-wide emergency call system and provide information about the 40 emergency contact centres in Germany now using and accepting what3words addresses, as well as learnings from the recent flood disasters in western Germany and Bavaria where local authorities used what3words within their response plans.

Clare will be on another panel moderated by Lukas Neckermann, CCO of Splyt, on Thursday 9th September at 16:00 called ‘Mobility Revolution Revisited: Experts Face-Off’ in the Sustainability lounge.

Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO comments, ‘In a few short years, we have experienced huge growth; we are now a team of over 120, with offices in the UK, USA, South Africa and Mongolia. We are continuing to see how businesses, governments and services worldwide use what3words to become more efficient and improve their customer experience. At the same time, we are showing how better addressing can reduce businesses’ environmental impact, ease pressure on crowded cities, fuel economic growth in developing nations and save lives.’

1 Based on a survey of 3,000 respondents aged 18-70 across the UK, US and Germany conducted by OnePoll.

About what3words
Find your what3words address here.
Co-founded in London in 2013 by Chris Sheldrick, what3words is the simplest way to talk about location. The system covers the entire world, never needs updating, and works offline. A what3words address is a
human-friendly way to share very precise locations with other people, or to input them into platforms and machines such as ride-hailing apps or e-commerce checkouts. It is optimised for voice input and contains built-in error prevention to immediately identify and correct input mistakes.

The free what3words app, available for iOS and Android, and the online map enable people to find, share and navigate to what3words addresses in over 45 languages to date. Millions of what3words addresses are in use
around the world, with thousands of businesses using them to save money, be more efficient and provide a better customer experience. what3words is integrated into apps, platforms and websites, with just a few lines of code. Products are available for free or for a nominal fee for qualifying NGOs. Its partners include Mercedes-Benz, Triumph Motorcycles, Premier Inn, the AA and many emergency services across the world.

what3words has a team of over 100 people, across offices in the UK, USA, Germany and Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. The company has raised over £100 million in capital from investors such as Daimler, Intel, Aramex, Deutsche Bahn, Subaru and the Sony Investment Fund.