25/02/2016

24th February 2016 – London based tech company what3words has successfully fought off competition from over 100 other startups to be crowned the KPMG Presents: Best British Mobile Startup 2016.

what3words is a universal addressing system based on a global grid of 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares. Each square has been pre-allocated a fixed and unique 3 word address. The what3words geocoder – both online and as an app – turns geographic coordinates into these 3 word addresses and vice-versa.

The award, presented by Ed Vaizey, UK Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, was organised by KPMG’s High Growth Technology Group. Pitching competitions took place in Manchester, Reading and London to find four outstanding finalists from over 100 applicants.

The finalists made their way to the ‘Four Years From Now’ technology startup conference (“4YFN”) at Mobile World Congress 2016, where they presented their ideas to an audience of thousands. what3words was selected for a 4YFN judging panel made up of industry stalwarts including:

  • Bindi Karia, startup expert and former trailblazer for Silicon Valley Bank’s early-stage banking in Europe
  • Martin Harriman, chairman of judges at Pitch@Palace and former head of Telefonica Digital UK
  • Barry Carter, Partner at KPMG and deals specialist in the technology and innovation sector
  • Jeff Reece, senior VP of global account management in communications and enterprise computing at Flextronics

Patrick Imbach, who leads KPMG’s High Growth Technology Group in Shoreditch, said: “To have to choose a winner from the huge number of really good applicants for this award was very tough but we believe what3words stood out from the crowd as doing something really innovative and different.

“Our contestants represent a cross section of the UK’s mobile startup ecosystem covering everything from Wearables and Healthtech to Fintech and EDtech. Some of these companies are already making a huge impact in their fields, others are hidden gems getting ready to reveal themselves to the world; undoubtedly, all of them are doing fantastic things and we are excited that they were part of the competition.”

Giles Rhys Jones, CMO of what3words, said: “Poor addressing is costly, frustrating and dangerous. We are delighted that our simple 3 word solution has been selected by such a prestigious panel of judges. The field was incredibly strong and shows that mobile innovation from the UK can have a significant impact and solve major global issues.”

Mobile World Congress is the largest annual gathering for the mobile industry, organised by the GSMA, and held in the Mobile World Capital of Barcelona. The event features 140 guest speakers and is attended by more than 3,500 press and industry analysts. This year saw CEO guest speakers from ARM, China Mobile, WPP, Telefónica and BT.

About what3words

what3words gives every place in the world an easy-to-share, easy-to-find address, thanks to an algorithm and a global grid of 3mx3m squares where each square is identified by a fixed and unique 3 word address. The what3words API is being integrated into businesses, apps and services across the world. It works across all platforms and devices, in multiple languages, offline and with voice recognition.

About KPMG

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates from 22 offices across the UK with approximately 12,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a revenue of £1.96 billion in the year ended September 2015. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. It operates in 155 countries and has 174,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.