Tech firm is dumping $500 million into breaking away from Google Maps

According to a report by the Financial Times, the tech company already has mapping vehicles going round the US and Mexico taking in data and gathering images for maps. The report adds that other countries will be seeing the mapping vehicles soon too.

Development of its own maps would mean that Uber would be able to reduce its reliance on Google Maps which currently powers the Uber app across the world.

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Last year, Uber already hired Brian McClendon, one of the world's leading digital mapping experts and the man who formerly ran Google Maps, to spearhead its mapping efforts.

“Accurate maps are at the heart of our service and backbone of our business,” McClendon said in a statement. “The ongoing need for maps tailored to the Uber experience is why we’re doubling down on our investment in mapping.”

Other investments which Uber has made in this regard include the acquisition of an imagery collection team from Microsoft's Bing last June and the acquisition of deCarta, a mapping company that developed the turn-by-turn directions behind General Motors' OnStar software.