When was What3words founded?

What3words was founded in 2013 and raised its 1st funding round within a year of its incorporation.

Where is What3words located?

What3words is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is registered at WHAT3WORDS, STUDIO 301 GREAT WESTERN STUDIOS,65 ALFRED RD,LONDON,ENGLAND,W2 5EU.

Which legal entities is What3words associated with?

What3words is associated with What3words Limited and 1 other.

How many employees does What3words have?

As of May 31, 2026, the latest employee count at What3words is 181.

Is What3words a funded company?

What3words is a funded company, having raised a total of $231M across 16 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Seed round, raised on Mar 14, 2013.

How much is What3words worth?

The latest valuation of What3words is $***** as of Oct 25, 2022.

When was the latest funding round of What3words?

What3words' latest funding was a $***** Series C round on Jul 10, 2023, with participation from 0 investor.

Where does What3words rank among its competitors?

What3words ranks 2nd amongst 677 active competitors, of which 54 are funded. It stands 2nd in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Qianxun, which secured an undisclosed amount in Feb, 2026.

Who are the top competitors of What3words?

What3words' top competitors include NextNav, TomTom and Xona Space Systems. Among them, Qianxun secured the most recent funding round in February, 2026.

What3words - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding, Competitors & Financials

What3words is a series C company based in London (United Kingdom), founded in 2013 by Michael Dent, Abdul Guefor, John Wilfred Lazar, Chris Sheldrick, Stephen Waley Cohen and Mohan Ganesalingam. It operates as a Developer of a system assigning unique identifiers to small areas. What3words has raised $231M in funding from investors like Aramex, Horizons Ventures and Alpine, with a current valuation of $*****. The company has 677 active competitors, including 54 funded and 32 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like NextNav, TomTom and Xona Space Systems.

Company Details

Developer of a system assigning unique identifiers to small areas. This technology divides the surface into squares, assigning a distinct combination of three words to each segment. These identifiers provide a method for communicating precise coordinates for navigation and logistics. The system functions through a digital interface that allows users to identify, share, and store specific points. It operates independently of traditional street addressing conventions and remains functional without an active network connection. The technology integrates into various software applications to facilitate location identification for transport and delivery purposes.

Website: what3words.com/clip.apples.leap?redirect=true
Social
Email ID: *****@what3words.com
Phone Number: +44 **********
Registered Address: WHAT3WORDS, STUDIO 301 GREAT WESTERN STUDIOS,65 ALFRED RD,LONDON,ENGLAND,W2 5EU

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2013

Location

London, United Kingdom

Stage

Series C

Total Funding

$231M in 16 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series C, Jul 10, 2023, $*****

Post Money Valuation

$***** as on Oct 25, 2022

Investors

Aramex & 211 more

Ranked

2^nd among 677 active competitors

Employee Count

181 as on May 31, 2026

Investment & Acquisitions

Swiftcomplete

Similar Companies

NextNav & 866 more

View What3words' full profile

What3words is associated with 2 legal entities given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Documents
What3words Limited CIN: 8430008 , United Kingdom, Active	Mar 04, 2013	-	152 (As on Jan 31, 2022)
What3words Limited CIN: 8430008 , Germany, Active	Mar 04, 2013	£0 - £1M (As on Dec 31, 2019)	118 (As on Dec 31, 2020)

What3words has raised a total funding of $231M over 16 rounds. Its first funding round was on Mar 14, 2013. What3words has 88 institutional investors and 124 angel investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of What3words:

Filter this list

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Jul 10, 2023	1853585	Series C	9005020	5015696	1365502	7780562
Oct 25, 2022	5809932	Series C	7658460	1662757	1464698	5995940
Jul 13, 2022	2409681	Series C	7187227	9796116	2527828	8720795

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View details of What3words's funding rounds and investors

The founders of What3words are Michael Dent, Abdul Guefor, John Wilfred Lazar, Chris Sheldrick, Stephen Waley Cohen and Mohan Ganesalingam. Chris Sheldrick is the CEO of What3words.

Here are the details of What3words' key team members:

Michael Dent: Co-Founder & CTO of What3words and founder of 1 other company. They are also an angel investor in 1 startup.
Abdul Guefor: Co-Founder of What3words. They serve on the board of 1 company.
John Wilfred Lazar: Co-Founder of What3words. They are also an angel investor in 1 startup.
Chris Sheldrick: Co-Founder & CEO of What3words.
Contact Info: 1 email address
Stephen Waley Cohen: Co-Founder of What3words.

What3words' Board of Directors

What3words's board has 3 active members. Abdul Guefor is part of team and Christopher John Ralph Sheldrick and Georges Massing are independent board members.

Here is the list of What3words' board of directors:

Name	Type	Representing	Status	Duration
Abdul Guefor	Team	-	Current	9y 9m
Christopher John Ralph Sheldrick	Independent board member	-	Current	13y 0m
xspncxx	Independent board member	-	Current	7y 5m
idryqbw	Independent board member	-	Past	3y 9m
rkhawvl	Independent board member	-	Past	1y 1m
hkiwjqr	Independent board member	-	Past	6y 6m
ywqp{fp	Independent board member	-	Past	6y 3m
vya{jlo	Independent board member	-	Past	3y 3m

View details of What3words's Founder profiles and Board Members

What3words' employee count trend

What3words has 181 employees as of May 26. Here is What3words's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of What3words include NextNav, TomTom and Xona Space Systems. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of What3words, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	NextNav 2008, Sunnyvale (United States), Public	Provider of an indoor positioning solution for enterprises	$284M	New Enterprise Associates, Fortress Investment ... & 8 others	73/100
2nd	What3words 2013, London (United Kingdom), Series C	Developer of a system assigning unique identifiers to small areas	$231M	Allen & Company, Mercedes-Benz & 210 others	64/100
3rd	TomTom 1991, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Public	Provider of maps, navigation software, traffic data, and location technology	-	Aimforthemoon, Artiman & 2 others	68/100
4th	Xona Space Systems 2019, Palo Alto (United States), Series B	Developer of positioning, navigation, and timing infrastructure for connected systems	$150M	Seraphim, Craft Ventures & 28 others	66/100
5th	Kinexon 2012, Munich (Germany), Series A	Provider of real-time location systems for industrial automation and operations	$130M	Thomas H Lee Partners, T Capital & 21 others	63/100
6th	Focal Point Positioning 2015, Cambridge (United Kingdom), Series C	Provider of AI-based software to increase the accuracy of GNSS in devices	$69.2M	Molten Ventures, Gresham House Ventures & 24 others	60/100
7th	Humatics 2015, Boston (United States), Series B	Control systems for robots that would enable collaborative nature in robots	$83.2M	Blackhorn Ventures, Fontinalis Partners & 15 others	60/100
8th	MazeMap 2013, Trondheim (Norway), Seed	Provider of positioning and navigation systems for indoors	-	Televenture, EIC Fund & 2 others	59/100
9th	Fixposition 2017, Schlieren (Switzerland), Seed	Provider of positioning services for multiple applications	$9.35M	True Ventures, Cultivation Capital & 11 others	58/100
10th	Qianxun 2015, Shanghai (China), Series B	Provider of satellite-based positioning system solutions	$141M	SIG, Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China ... & 5 others	57/100