Mappls MapmyIndia has reached out to Perplexity AI to explore a potential partnership, just days after Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas remarked that “maps are the hardest.” The Indian mapping company highlighted its highly detailed, house-level mapping capabilities across India and positioned itself as an ideal partner for AI-driven applications.
MapmyIndia stated that it has been creating comprehensive digital maps of India since 1995, covering both urban and rural areas with pinpoint accuracy. The company said this level of precision is the result of decades of field data collection and continuous updates—something even major global mapping providers have found difficult to match.
It emphasized that maps should be seen not merely as datasets, but as a crucial layer of infrastructure powering logistics, governance, commerce, and large-scale consumer services.
Following its earlier collaboration with Zoho, MapmyIndia expressed openness to work with Perplexity AI, offering its mapping technology as a robust Indian alternative that can be integrated into AI-based search engines, digital assistants, and enterprise solutions.
According to the company, its Mappls and MapmyIndia apps now serve over 35 million users and continue to expand internationally. It described its platform as a “swadeshi” digital foundation—built in India, for India, yet ready to compete globally.
As part of India’s broader push for homegrown technology, Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu praised the Mappls app, calling it the outcome of “decades of R&D, much longer than Google Maps.”
MapmyIndia said it remains committed to building a sovereign technology layer independent of Silicon Valley’s dominance. “We have nothing against foreign firms, but the playing field was never level,” said Rakesh Verma, the company’s founder and managing director. “For years, handset makers were pressured to preload only Google Maps.”
Verma added that “Google Maps has conquered India much like the East India Company once did,” noting that while fair competition would have been acceptable, the company’s presence was “hidden from users for 10 years.”
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