Back ويز Arabic Waze Azerbaijani Waze Byelorussian Waze Breton Waze Catalan Waze Czech Waze German Waze Spanish Waze Estonian ویز (نرمافزار) Persian
 | |
| Developer(s) | |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2006 (as FreeMap Israel) |
| Available in | 50 languages[1] |
| Type | Satellite navigation software |
| License | |
| Website | waze |
Waze Mobile Ltd,[2] (/weɪz/; Hebrew: ווייז מובייל בע"מ) doing business as Waze (Hebrew: ווייז), formerly FreeMap Israel, is a subsidiary company of Google that provides satellite navigation software on smartphones and other computers that support the Global Positioning System (GPS). In addition to turn-by-turn navigation, it incorporates user-submitted travel times and route details while downloading location-dependent information over a cellular network. Waze describes its application as a community-driven initiative that is free to download and use.
The software was originally developed in Israel by Waze Mobile, a company founded by Israeli entrepreneurs Ehud Shabtai, Amir Shinar, and Uri Levine, veterans of the Israeli intelligence unit 8200.[3][4] Funding for the initial project was provided by two Israeli venture capital firms, Magma and Vertex Ventures Israel, as well as by an early-stage American venture capital firm, Bluerun Ventures. In June 2013, Waze Mobile was acquired by Google for US$1.3 billion.[5][6][7]
The application generates revenue through hyperlocal advertising to an estimated 130 million users.[8]
- ^ Waze Staff (August 21, 2018). "Waze's 50th Language: It's a Tie!". Medium. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- ^ "ווייז מוביל בע"מ". OpenCorporates. February 11, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ From The Israeli Army Unit 8200 To Silicon Valley - TechCrunch, 20 March 2015
- ^ Israeli military intelligence unit drives country’s hi-tech boom - The Guardian, 12 August 2013
- ^ "Google buys Waze map app for $1.3bn". the Guardian. June 11, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ Cohan, Peter. "Four Reasons Google Bought Waze". Forbes. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ Kelleher, Suzanne Rowan. "Did Google Just Deliver A Death Blow To Waze?". Forbes. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ Pressman, Aaron; Lashinsky, Adam (October 11, 2019). "Why Waze Doesn't Share Traffic Data With Google Maps—Data Sheet". Fortune. Retrieved October 11, 2019.