Location Labs, a provider of mobile services, was launched in 2001 by Tasso Roumeliotis, founder and CEO. Tasso’s inspiration for Location Labs came from his fascination with the omnipresence of mobile devices.
Tasso’s vision was that location-based services on mobile phones would yield life-changing services. The greatest challenge facing the company was the initial timing of markets for location-based technologies. When the company launched, commercial availability of GPS was delayed. This put a roadblock in front of the company’s home market in the United States.
Not to be turned away, Tasso turned the company’s attention to markets where mobile technology was more advanced such as Korea, and launched his first product with SK Telecom. The Asian carrier incorporated Location Labs’ patented infrastructure software, which generates alert notifications based on user movement, to power the first-ever location-based alert wireless service.
By taking a global perspective and focusing on markets that were ready for the technology at that time, Tasso was able to secure an early foothold for his business and was able to fund significant development of the company’s location services for many years. Investing ahead of the curve in the largest markets has allowed Location Labs to create the most sophisticated solutions, with platforms and services currently used by all the largest carriers in the U.S. and more than a dozen globally.
With more than 4,500 developers, Location Labs is the established leader in innovations for location-based services on mobile phones, powering cutting-edge applications. Services include location-based fraud detection — users receive alerts if a credit card transaction occurred where they weren’t — Mercedes Drive2 technology, uShip shipper tracker and Foursquare auto check-ins.
Location Labs has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception. Today, GPS and location technologies are built into every phone, making Location Labs the most successful company in its industry. The company is poised for aggressive growth in 2011 with plans to expand its product leadership even further.
HOW TO REACH: Location Labs, (888) 918-6266 or www.locationlabs.com
