TomTom CEO says its maps destined for use in self-driving cars, from Reuters.
(Reuters) – Dutch navigation company TomTom aims to become a main provider of technology for self-driving cars as it charts its way back to success after seven lean years, chief executive Harold Goddijn said.
Goddijn told Reuters that an overhaul of TomTom’s digital mapping architecture lies behind a renaissance that has seen its automotive division win big contracts in recent months, prompting analyst upgrades and a 40 percent surge in its shares.
He said carmakers are now betting on TomTom as one of the few companies besidesGoogle capable of providing location data good enough and fast enough to meet the safety requirements for computer assisted driving — and ultimately, self-driving cars.
“We are seen by our customers as the guys with the right ideas on how you do those things,” he said in a interview, relishing the company’s comeback story.
A rare example of a global consumer electronics brand to come out of Europe in the 2000s, TomTom went into a tailspin after overpaying for digital map-maker TeleAtlas in 2008.
