what3words announced raising £14 million in a deal backed by ITV and Ingka Investments.

what3words, a London, UK-based geo-location SAAS developer, announced securing a funding round totalling £14 million ($19.3M).

The money was raised from investors including the IKEA group via Ingka Investments and the British media company ITV, and includes a media-for-equity component. Ingka is said to have contributed with close to £12 million while ITV is acquiring a minority stake valued at £2 million in return for advertising inventory, with an option to invest a further £2 million.

The investment will be used to launch what3words in new international markets while continuing to develop partners within the e-commerce and logistics sector.

what3words, founded in 2013 by Chris Sheldrick, Jack Waley-Cohen, Michael Dent and Mohan Ganesalingam, developed technology providing a simple way to communicate location, namely a uniquely accessible location service, which has divided the world into a grid of 3m squares, giving each its own three word identifier: a what3words address.  For example, ///filled.count.soap will take you to the exact front door to what3words’ London office.

what3words is available as a free app to consumers, whilst clients of the company include automobility brands Mercedes-Benz, Ford, the AA and Addison Lee, and delivery/ e-commerce platforms such as Hermes and BJS. In addition, hundreds of emergency control rooms in markets as diverse as the UK, India, North America and South Africa use the technology on a daily basis to reduce search times.