Press Releases 2020

SoftBank and Mapbox Announce Joint Venture
to Transform Maps in Japan

May 20, 2020
Mapbox, Inc.
SoftBank Corp.

Mapbox, Inc. (“Mapbox”) and SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) today announced the establishment of a joint venture, Mapbox Japan, that will provide Mapbox's premier location data platform and global mapping services for developers in Japan. The JV will be launching a special support to organizations offering COVID-19 mapping services.

“I am very excited to bring Mapbox's technology to Japan to help enterprises enhance their existing mapping services while also creating new customizable location-based services and management tools,” said Eric Gan, Head of Business Development of SoftBank Corp. “We are seeing a significant rise in demand for Mapbox's products from retail, ride-share, hotel, office-sharing, payment, mobility and manufacturing industries. We are constantly discovering new use cases for our partners.”

“We love the way discerning Japanese customers push us to continue to improve and create new solutions,” affirmed Mapbox founder and CEO Eric Gundersen. “The opportunity to build new local services in Japan will also help us create new global offerings. SoftBank is an ideal partner that provides reach and access to an enormous number of entities in Japan.”

Mapbox employs advanced AI on its mapping platform that provides user-friendly APIs and SDKs for highly customizable and data enhanced products and services. Location-based technologies are widely recognized by enterprises as increasingly important for improving overall customer experience and solving challenges in capturing online to offline business.

Service features

Mapbox APIs and SDKs offer a high degree of design flexibility and customization, making it easier for application developers, systems integrators (SIers), and enterprises of any size to deliver powerful, location-based user engagement, data visualization, 3D, turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic, aerial imagery, and more. Mapbox customers can easily combine their own data, deploy custom features, and manage an end-to-end solution on-premise with solutions like Mapbox Atlas. Since Mapbox maps are AI-powered, customer solutions using Mapbox are continually refreshed with the latest data.

Any developer can start using Mapbox for free allowing for immediate sign up and build without friction. Additionally, Mapbox offers a wide-range of support options for customers -- from free community resources to paid support with guaranteed response times and dedicated assistance. For customers who require solution development, our Mapbox Partner Program works with the best systems integrators (SIers) in Japan.

Special support measures

Taking the spread of COVID-19 into consideration, Mapbox Japan will offer up to 3 months of special support at no charge for organizations that utilize Mapbox to provide COVID-19 monitoring and related services. By developing customer services that incorporate Mapbox, infection cases and statistical data can be displayed on maps. By combining various Mapbox dashboards, customers can display their proprietary data with even greater impact.*

  • Free-of-charge period:June 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020
  • Application period:May 20, 2020 to May 31, 2020

For more details, please visit www.mapbox.jp.

[Note]
  1. *
    Offer applies to media companies that provide news and other information as well as content creators and providers for news outlets. For other types of operators and usage on social media and other non-news forms of information distribution, please inquire for more details. Furthermore, customer support is not applicable to this special support. This special support may also be subject to change without prior notice.

About Mapbox

Mapbox provides a global map and location services including search, real-time traffic, and navigation in applications and platforms reaching more than 600 million monthly active users. Our services power industry leaders including CNN, Facebook, IBM, Instacart, Lonely Planet, Porsche, Snap, Tableau, and The Weather Channel. Mapbox, started in Washington D.C. in 2010, was founded by Eric Gundersen.

  • SoftBank, the SoftBank name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of SoftBank Group Corp. in Japan and other countries.
  • Other company, product and service names in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies.