Information technology From your desk to your pocket: 20 years of Google Maps
Google Maps is one of the most popular apps and digital applications ever. Over two billion users a month use the service to locate places or navigate - whether by car, train, bike or on foot.
07.02.2025, 06:15
SDA
Every year, almost 780 billion kilometers are covered worldwide with this help. When Google Maps was launched 20 years ago on February 8, 2005 in the USA as a desktop application for web browsers, online maps were already available from other providers.
The most popular service at the time was provided by Mapquest, but the user experience was nowhere near as smooth as it is today. This was partly due to the slow data connections that were common at the time. But above all, the fact that the maps had to be recreated in real time every time a section was changed contributed to the mediocre user experience.
Breakthrough with tiles
It was only with the mapping project called "Where 2 Technologies" that the Danish brothers Lars and Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen achieved the conceptual breakthrough in 2003 that would make Google Maps possible two years later: "We simply draw all the maps in tiles in advance," Jens told his brother. "And we put a lot of computing power into creating them to make them really beautiful." The tiles were then to be assembled on the website.
However, after the Internet bubble burst in 2002, it was no easy task at the time to find financial backers for the actual technical implementation of the groundbreaking idea. The two brothers were on the verge of personal insolvency in 2004 before contacts were made with Google via the venture capitalist Ram Shriram.
After that, things took off: In October 2004, Google took over "Where 2 Technologies" and transformed the project into what would become Google Maps five months later. The acquisition was part of a strategic move by Google to compete with Yahoo, which also included the purchase of Keyhole, a company for the visualization of geodata. Google's shopping basket also included ZipDash, a start-up that analyzes traffic data to display estimated arrival times and delays en route. These three acquisitions formed the basis for the launch of Google Maps in the USA on February 8, 2005.
From your desk to your pocket
Just over a year later, on April 26, 2006, Google Maps was also launched in Germany, Spain, France and Italy. Google has now mapped more than 250 countries. Nine months later, Apple made a big entrance. When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs presented the first iPhone in San Francisco on January 24, 2007, Google Maps was pre-installed on every Apple smartphone. In September 2008, Google's own mobile operating system Android also received its map app. The map application moved from the desktop to the pocket and became ubiquitous.
Up to this point, Google had relied almost exclusively on data from specialist providers to calculate its maps. But that was about to change. In May 2007, the company began collecting its own map data using camera vehicles. This also resulted in the Street View service with photos of streets. To capture images in hard-to-reach places, Google later relied not only on camera cars, but also on snowmobiles, boats, sheep, camels and even scout groups.
20 years after its launch, Google Maps is an important part of the company's advertising business. Among other things, Google earns money by integrating advertisements into Google Maps. With its geodata and map display, Google is now also a supplier to the automotive industry. Electric car manufacturer Polestar, for example, relies entirely on data from the internet company. Other manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz combine Google services with data from specialist providers such as Here Technologies.
AI recognizes road changes
In terms of technology, Google Maps is currently focusing on the integration of artificial intelligence functions. For example, changes in traffic routing should be recognized as quickly as possible if a road is suddenly closed or a traffic light junction has been converted into a traffic circle.
AI should also help with the operation of the service. For example, in future it should be possible to ask Google Maps which places within a certain distance are suitable for celebrating your eight-year-old daughter's birthday.
