Replacing addresses with three words… the world of What3words

Founder Chris Sheldrick, who was formerly in the music business, came up with the idea with his friend Mohan, a mathematician. Recounting his earlier days, Sheldrick said he was organising concerts where most people got lost trying to find the right entrance via longitudes and latitudes. This is when he abandoned normal addresses.

“Musicians detest using latitudes and longitudes. When I sat down with Mohan, our idea was how can we make something really accurate? Like latitude and longitude, but make it feel super simple. And that’s when we realised, if we cut the world up into three metre squares – 57 trillion of them, there’s enough combinations of three words to uniquely name each one,” Sheldrick told indianexpress.com.

What3words which has a presence in nearly 200 countries is currently expanding its user base in seven Asian nations. (Image: What3words)

The innovation introduced by What3words could pave the way for much more. According to Sheldrick in less than a decade, the application has become a must-have app on smartphones in the UK. The rise to becoming a household name was not instant. However, the company’s emphasis on being a handy app in times of emergency has been one of its biggest USPs.

“We gained mass public awareness through things like emergency services. We are now in 85% of the police, fire, and ambulance services in the UK. Users can use what3words to avail help in emergencies,” said Sheldrick adding that the company has already started with the ambulance service in Maharashtra called BVG.

The CEO said his company is aiming to adopt a similar strategy and messaging to promote the application among Indian consumers. “India is one of our top focus markets, we expect in the next two years, to be something that every Indian user knows and will have on their phone,” he said.

The application which has a presence in nearly 200 countries is currently expanding its user base in seven Asian nations. What3words is aiming to focus on e-commerce, retail, logistics, and food delivery segments in the Indian market.

The application offers services in 12 Indian languages making it accessible in almost every corner of the country. (Image: What3words)

Asked about the response from Indian stakeholders, Sheldrick said they were very engaged with the app and the reception has been fantastic. According to the CEO, Indian consumers and stakeholders have been appreciative of the fact that the app is offered in 12 Indian languages.

What3words has a website and apps on iOS and Android apps. The app is offered in 54 languages and the company has already tied up with Indian companies such as Tata, Mahindra, and DTDC.