Amazon and Microsoft are considering using their technology to power Here, a mapping technology firm for self driving cars, according to a news report.
Amazon and Microsoft have been slow to move into the smart car sector, but the move, reported by Reuters, suggests this may soon change.
Here is the mapping business formerly owned by Nokia and recently acquired by a consortium of German automakers.
Sources are telling Reuters that both companies are interested in providing cloud computing capabilities to Here. The car companies involved in Here; BMW, Audi, and Mercedes’ parent company Daimler, are all interested in building self-driving cars.
In addition, Amazon is said to be interested in becoming a shareholder in Here, which would ensure the e-commerce giant becomes the primary provider of cloud computing to the company.
That would be helpful as Here continues to collect mounds of data from the sensors mounted on the roofs of thousands of self-driving BMW, Audi, and Mercedes vehicles.
“Amazon would take a stake as part of a broader deal to lock them in as a provider of cloud computing services,” one source familiar with the talks said.
“Microsoft is also interested in closer ties to HERE,” another source familiar with the talks said.
Microsoft declined to comment. Amazon did not respond to requests to comment.
Self-driving and connected car services could become a $50 billion market, analysts at Exane BNP Paribas have estimated.