Siemens Acceleration, Innovationskapital and 3i are jointly investing in NordNav, a start-up company from Sweden that develops next generation GPS (Global Positioning System) and Galileo receivers.
By replacing the traditional hardware chipset in receivers with software, NordNav hopes to drive technology transition in the field of satellite navigation. The series A funding from the investor-group will allow NordNav to use its patent pending technology to develop and deploy a complete product portfolio and associated services.
Replacing the traditional hardware chipset receivers with software promises three distinct advantages: first of all, more flexibility as the software can be remotely updated and tailored to suit individual customer specifications. Secondly, substantial lower cost by reducing development and material costs and finally the possibility to efficiently integrate new technologies.
While adoption of location services has been mostly slow, one reason is that the necessary precise location information via a GPS-module is quite expensive and was therefore mainly implemented in high-end phones. NordNav’s solution allows the implementation of a GPS solution not only in the premium segment, but as well in mid to low-end segments — thus opening the mass market for location-based services, according to the vendor.
NordNav, which was founded in 2002, is a spin-off from the Luleå University of Technology in Sweden..
