Battery Ventures private equity has acquired a significant stake in Latitude Geographics Group Ltd., a provider of web-based mapping software and related Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 1999, Victoria, B.C. based Latitude develops software called Geocortex that helps customers maximize the potential of their investment in web mapping technology made by Esri, the world leader in GIS whose software is the most powerful mapping and spatial data analytics technology available. Latitude’s business centers on government customers, as well as industry sectors like energy and public safety, and is focused on making it as easy as possible for organizations to deliver mapping and GIS technology to their end users.
“We are extremely excited to partner with Battery, a firm with a long history of helping software firms like Latitude reach their potential,” said Steven Myhill-Jones, Latitude’s CEO. “Additionally, I think Battery’s interest in the mapping/GIS space through its investment in fellow-Esri partner AED-SICAD in Germany demonstrates the firm’s long-term strategic commitment to the GIS market. Battery’s resources and expertise will help us grow and expand Latitude even more internationally; we look forward to working with their team.”
Latitude’s technology “was extremely attractive to us, as was the company’s growing and diverse set of customers,” said Battery Partner Morad Elhafed, who led the investment. “Global GIS is a multi-billion dollar market that has demonstrated consistent growth across all verticals over the years. Given its deep alignment with leading GIS vendor Esri, Latitude is well-positioned to benefit from and help drive ongoing developments in GIS.”
Battery Ventures’ private equity team has invested in many industry-specific software companies like Latitude, a category of companies which generally offer customers highly specialized products as well as high-quality support and services. Current investments include AED-SICAD, Alogent, Clubessential, ClearCare, Concurrent Real-Time, CrunchTime, DrillingInfo, Enviance, Forterro, Newforma and WebPT.
photo credit: Latitude Geographics Group Ltd.