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Journalism of Courage
Every time you open Google Maps to find a café or find an alternate route to beat traffic, you’re relying on a mapping giant. But what if we told you that India has its own quietly dominant mapping engine, powering over 3 million vehicles, helping government agencies track assets, and serving some of the biggest brands across industries?
A few months ago, I found this out while booking a cab that showed “Powered by Mappls.” That sparked a deeper dive, and what I found was surprising.
MapmyIndia, the company behind Mappls, isn’t just surviving in Google’s shadow; it’s thriving. With Rs 515 crore in revenue, 39% EBITDA margins, and an order book of Rs 1,500 crore, this homegrown tech player is quietly, profitably, and with global ambitions building the backbone of India’s digital mobility infrastructure.
But with a valuation hovering near 75x earnings, the real question is: can MapmyIndia sustain this pace and deliver on its Rs 1,000 crore revenue target by FY28?
Let’s dig in.
If you’ve ever used Google Maps, you already get the basics: digital navigation, turn-by-turn directions, maybe even some traffic updates. MapmyIndia is doing the same thing quietly and differently for India’s businesses, carmakers, and even the government.
Unlike Google, which runs on ads and collects user data to make money, MapmyIndia sells its mapping tech to companies as a service. Think of it as a B2B engine that powers connected cars, logistics tracking, drone-based mapping for city planning, and even location verification for fintech apps.
Over time, the business has evolved into three major buckets:
This is its bread and butter. Carmakers like Hyundai, Mahindra, and Tata pre-install MapmyIndia’s maps in millions of vehicles. The company licenses this software to everyone from EV startups to logistics firms.
GPS trackers, driver behaviour monitors, and connected vehicle systems – MapmyIndia makes and rents these too. Once installed in trucks or buses, they transmit real-time data back to control rooms or apps.
Want to digitise land records? Map COVID zones? Run an incident dashboard across national highways? MapmyIndia is building all that too.
The best part? All of this runs on their own map data. They’re not using a foreign provider’s system. It’s all in-house, made for India, and increasingly, made for Southeast Asia too.
To understand how MapmyIndia makes money and where it’s going, you need to look at its two broad revenue lines: Map-led and IoT-led.
Let’s break that down.
This is the cleaner, software-heavy part of the business. It includes everything from map APIs to in-car navigation software.
In FY25, it brought in Rs 345 crore, about 75% of the total revenue.
It grew 29% year-on-year, which is solid by any standard.
More impressively, it runs at a 47% EBITDA margin, which means for every Rs 100 earned, Rs 47 is profit before taxes.
This is what investors love: a scalable software business with low overhead and recurring revenue from long-term contracts.
This is the hardware-and-software mix. MapmyIndia sells GPS devices and sensors but is now pushing customers to pay monthly for cloud-based tracking and analytics.
In short, this part of the business is transitioning from one-time device sales to long-term SaaS income. That transition is slower at first but stickier in the long run.
MapmyIndia’s customers fall into two major camps:
Think carmakers, EV startups, and OEM suppliers. This segment clocked Rs 211 crore in FY25, up 13%.
Auto remains its comfort zone. But the bigger surprise is the below-business vertical.
This includes e-commerce, banks, delivery apps, logistics firms, and government projects.
Even the Mappls app, MapmyIndia’s direct-to-consumer play, crossed 30 million downloads. With minimal marketing.
It’s clear: MapmyIndia isn’t just riding the auto wave anymore; it’s plugging into India’s broader digital transformation.
Now, let’s get to the real scorecard with how much money is coming in and how profitably it is coming.
Here’s how FY25 looked:
Rs 463 crore | Up 22% YoY
Not as rapid as earlier years, but that’s mainly due to slower IoT hardware sales. The business picked up pace again in Q4 with 34% YoY growth — a strong finish.
Rs 180 crore | Margin: 39%
Still elite-level profitability. Margins dipped slightly from FY24’s 41%, but that’s expected when you push new products and take on more government work (which usually has thinner margins).
Rs 148 crore | Margin: 29%
Down slightly from 32% the year before. But still exceptional for a company not yet at Rs 500 crore scale.
Rs 660 crore
The company is debt-free, cash-rich, and doesn’t burn money. This gives it the muscle to expand into Southeast Asia, build new products, and maybe even acquire startups.
Rs 1,500 crore
This is the big one. That’s the total value of contracts signed but not yet executed. It’s more than 3 years’ worth of current revenue, offering strong visibility into future growth.
MapmyIndia’s management has made its ambition loud and clear: hit Rs 1,000 crore in annual revenue by FY28. That means doubling revenue over the next three years. So the natural question is, can they really pull it off?
Here’s what gives them a fighting chance:
The company’s biggest strength is its in-house map data. Unlike others who license or crowdsource, MapmyIndia owns every layer from roads to landmarks to 3D terrain.
This is their moat.
As more industries, such as logistics, real estate, and fintech, start integrating maps into their platforms, that core IP becomes more valuable, not less.
Sure, hardware sales slowed this year. But that’s by design. Instead of pushing GPS devices for one-time gains, MapmyIndia is shifting to subscription-led telematics.
If this model scales, say, 3-4 lakh IoT devices running on paid plans, the revenue base becomes recurring, sticky, and far more valuable.
MapmyIndia is now building maps for Southeast Asia through its JV in Indonesia. The idea is to replicate its India model in countries where Google Maps doesn’t have a deep local grip.
Revenue from this region is still small. But the long-term opportunity is big, and early signs are promising.
From digitising land records to enabling smart highways, the government is becoming a serious customer. These contracts come with lower margins, but they help scale.
Meanwhile, with every EV or connected vehicle launched, MapmyIndia’s software becomes harder to ignore. Whether it’s EV routing or ADAS, they’re ready with plug-and-play tools.
So yes, Rs 1,000 crore by FY28 is aggressive but not unrealistic, especially with a Rs 1,500 crore order book already in hand.
Let’s talk about what matters to investors: the stock price.
MapmyIndia trades at about 75 times forward earnings. That’s expensive, no sugarcoating it. For comparison, even some fast-growing IT firms or auto ancillaries trade closer to 25-30x.
So, what are you paying for?
If the company hits Rs 1,000 crore revenue by FY28 and maintains current margins, earnings could more than double. Even with the same valuation multiple, the stock price could see a decent run-up.
But there are risks:
MapmyIndia is profitable, cash-rich, and deeply embedded in some of the most promising parts of India’s digital infrastructure, from connected cars to e-commerce logistics to smart governance.
Its growth ambitions, including doubling revenue by FY28, are backed by a solid order book and a diversified business model. But with that comes high expectations already baked into the stock price. At current valuations, the market prices strong execution, sustained margins, and continued expansion.
The next leg of the journey will depend on how well the company scales its IoT and enterprise offerings, balances growth with profitability, and builds on early international momentum.
As with any high-growth story, the opportunity is compelling, but so is the need to deliver.
Note: This article relies on data from annual and industry reports. We have used our assumptions for forecasting.
Parth Parikh heads the growth and content vertical at Finsire. He holds an FRM Charter and an MBA in Finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.
