Uber continues to snatch executives from Google Maps, and this time it is Manik Gupta who will join the Map Product department of the car hailing service.
Before joining Uber, Gupta occupied a similar position within Google. At his new workplace, Gupta will be in Brian McClendon's team, who was the leader of Google Maps and Google Earth development. McClendon joined Uber in June 2015, where he is VP of advanced technologies. This means that he is the person responsible for coordinating mapping, vehicle safety autonomous vehicle development. McClendon showed his support for Gupta's career move in a tweet.
Very excited that @manikgupta has joined @UberEng !
— Brian McClendon (@bmcclendon) December 2, 2015
During the last 12 months, Uber took big steps to update its location and mapping technology. The start-up has raised a whopping $8.21 billion and is one of the most famous app-based alternatives to hailing a cab.
Uber, however, aspires to be more than just a transportation company. That is why it hired some important names from the corporate and academic area. In fact, Uber donated $5.5 million to Carnegie Mellon University after it snagged more than a few of the institution's scientists, leaving one of top robotics institutions almost devoid of staff.
Earlier in 2015, Uber purchased a number of Microsoft Bing's assets, including 100 Bing experts in data and image collection. It also bought deCarta, a mapping tech startup which is supposed to overhaul UberPOOL and the way it estimates arrival times.
Uber's mapping vehicles are already at work on the road, in an attempt to minimize the company's reliance on exterior sources such as Google Maps.
"I am very excited by Uber's vision. There are very few companies that create such rapid and sustained change in consumer behavior and I am excited by what's next," Gupta wrote on his LinkedIn page.
He went on to underline how his entire professional life was dedicated to finding the perfect way in which moving X from point A to point B takes place, and confessed his appreciation for the "guidance and mentorship" that he received while working at Google.
"Uber's version of this problem fascinates me tremendously and I look forward to learning a lot more," Gupta concluded.
