Indian digital mapping firm MapmyIndia has invited Perplexity AI to collaborate, following a remark by the startup’s CEO Aravind Srinivas that “maps are the hardest” products to build. In its response on X on Friday, MapmyIndia wrote, “Like we’ve proudly partnered with @Zoho, we’d love to partner with @perplexity_ai too,” signalling an open call for collaboration.
The post came shortly after Srinivas tweeted earlier on October 24, “YouTube and Maps are the hardest. Maybe even impossible. The rest are hard but doable,” referring to the immense technical complexity behind such platforms.
A swadeshi success story
Founded in 1995, MapmyIndia, also known for its consumer-facing Mappls app, has spent nearly three decades creating and refining detailed maps of India. The company says its database goes “down to house-number-level detail,” a level of precision it claims even global giants have struggled to match.
“While many believed world-class maps could only come from global giants, @MapmyIndia quietly made the impossible possible,” the firm wrote, adding that its technology powers navigation, logistics, mobility, and governance across the country.
What next for MapmyIndia
Today, MapmyIndia serves more than 35 million users and is expanding globally, with a plan to develop India’s role in the global digital ecosystem. “Because maps aren’t just data — they’re the foundation of a nation’s digital future,” the company said in its post.
Reiterating its ethos, the statement concluded with a patriotic note: “Built in India. For India. For the world by @MapmyIndia, a swadeshi company.”
Netizens react to MapmyIndia’s post
MapmyIndia’s post triggered a lively discussion on X, with users both praising the company and offering feedback. An X user named Abhishek Dwivedi commented, “Where can we request an update of an area? A lot has happened in my our area since 2024 but mappls shows it as an empty field?”
Another user, @gyaan_random, shared a different perspective on MapmyIndia’s messaging, “Why do you have to market yourself as an Indian company, swadeshi company? And I see most Indian companies trying to do this. When you’re trying to build a global brand, I think it might be limiting for the users and employees of the company to have this limiting vision. I think Indian companies should change their mindset about advertising themselves as Indian and swadeshi companies. Let’s build a global brand, and think we can build for the world. US companies have this mindset. In podcasts/interviews most founders would talk about how they are solving for humanity and not just for their country.”
Meanwhile, another user named Kabyik endorsed the idea of a Perplexity–MapmyIndia partnership, writing, “@AravSrinivas Need this collab for real, google maps just dont work in my gully, i cant move out of perplexity, so why not bring @mappls @MapmyIndia to @perplexity_ai.”
