Facebook acquires crowdsourced mapping company

San Francisco: Facebook Inc on Thursday acquired Swedish mapping technology company Mapillary, which collects images from tens of thousands of contributors to build immersive and up-to-date maps, the companies said.

Mapillary Chief Executive Officer Jan Erik Solem, who founded the Malmö-based startup after leaving Apple Inc in 2013, said his company’s technology would be used to power products like Facebook Marketplace and supply data to humanitarian organizations.

Solem had sold a facial recognition startup, Polar Rose, to Apple in 2010.

Facebook confirmed the transaction, but declined to disclose the terms. Mapillary did not immediately respond to a request for comment.