NextBillion.ai Recognized on Fast Company's 2021 World's Most Innovative Companies List

March 12, 2021 at 21:26 PM EST

AI-powered mapping platform for enterprises among top-ranked in the Most Innovative Company Asia-Pacific category

San Francisco, California Mar 12, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - NextBillion.ai, the world's first-ever decentralized and customizable mapping platform for enterprises, today announced that it has been named to Fast Company's prestigious annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies (MIC) for 2021, ranking No. 5 in the Asia-Pacific sector.

The list honors the businesses that have not only found a way to be resilient in the past year but also turned those challenges into impact-making processes. These companies did more than survive, they thrived--making an impact on their industries and culture as a whole. The 2021 MIC list features 463 businesses from 29 countries.

"We are thrilled that NextBillion.ai has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies in Asia-Pacific. For us, innovation sits at the heart of everything we do and is the driving force behind our vision to build enterprise-first-and-only mapping solutions that are customizable and cost-effective," said Ajay Bulusu, co-founder of NextBillion.ai.

Founded in January 2020, NextBillion.ai went live with its first APIs - Distance Matrix and Directions API - in March 2020. The company marked its 6 months in business by raising $7 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Falcon Edge Capital, as well as going live with Map Data as a Service (MDaaS).

With a razor-sharp focus on building an efficient location ecosystem for enterprises and filling every gap in the underlying mapping technology, the deep-tech start-up has enabled some of the most powerful global brands to reimagine and rethink maps. In the short span of one year, NextBillion.ai has mapped over 200,000 kilometers of roads, managed more than 100,000 restrictions, and handled over 200,000 million API calls.

Fast Company's editors and writers sought out the most groundbreaking businesses across the globe and industries. They also judged nominations received through their application process.

The World's Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy.

"In a year of unprecedented challenges, the companies on this list exhibit fearlessness, ingenuity, and creativity in the face of crisis," said Fast Company Deputy Editor David Lidsky, who oversaw the issue with Senior Editor Amy Farley.

Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2021) is now available online here, as well as in-app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning March 16, 2021.

About NextBillion.ai

NextBillion.ai is the first and only AI-powered mapping platform built for enterprises that enables logistics-heavy OR location-dependent enterprises across industries to tackle highly complex mapping problems with the help of a decentralized and tailored map stack. The company offers custom-made location tools and APIs to modern enterprises such as last-mile delivery, telematics, food delivery, automotive, and ride-hailing/ride-sharing. NextBillion.ai helps enterprises to adopt an AI-first approach at scale for every use case and geography. Headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore with employees in the US, India, and China, NextBillion.ai is backed by Falcon Edge Capital and Lightspeed India Partners. With its presence in the United States, the UK, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines, the company continues to expand globally, including Africa and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.nextbillion.ai.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Stephanie Mehta. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.