---
title: "Navigation Start-Up what3words Gets More Money From Mercedes"
description: "The navigation start-up what3words splits the globe into 67 trillion squares and gives it a three-word address"
date: "2018-01-10"
modified: "2018-01-10"
authors:
  - name: "Dave Bartosiak"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/dave-bartosiak"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/17570/navigation-start-up-what3words-gets-more-money-from-mercedes"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "Mercedes-Benz News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "A-Class"
  - "GPS"
  - "investment"
  - "Mercedes-Benz"
  - "navigation"
  - "start-up"
---

# Navigation Start-Up what3words Gets More Money From Mercedes

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/01/merc1.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

They say, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Well in the business world, it’s “If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.” The auto business is becoming increasingly high-tech nowadays, making it tough to stay at the forefront. Rather than building up new technology from scratch automakers are doing the next best thing, [investing in start-ups](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/17101/mv-agusta-buys-back-mercedes-amgs-25-percent-share-of-the-company>). Looking for a new infotainment system, [Daimler has made a large investment in the start-up what3words.](<https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/New-infotainment-system-with-innovative-address-system-Daimler-invests-in-what3words.xhtml?oid=32742799>)

Start-up what3words has divided the world into 57 trillion three-by-three squares. Each one of these squares has been given a unique three-word address, allowing the company to easily map places where street addresses simply don’t exist. An algorithm then applies a list of about 25,000 words per language in a way that you won’t have easily confused name combinations right new to each other.

Mercedes is planning on using an entirely new infotainment system [in its new A-Class](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/6707/there-may-be-a-mercedes-a-class-sedan-on-its-way>). They call it the “Mercedes-Benz User Experience.” Set to be in production as early as this spring, navigation destinations can be searched for with the help of the new three-word address. For giggles, you can check out what your address would be at [https://map.what3words.com/](<https://map.what3words.com/>). I found out that the Daytona International Speedway can be found at weekend.half.waxing. Sounds funny but it does help minimize confusion.

https://youtube.com/embed/_sNj5n22zAY

Speaking on the expanded partnership Sajjad Khan, Vice President of Digital Vehicle & Mobility at Daimler said, "With Mercedes-Benz User Experience, we have moved one big step closer to our goal of making the vehicle into a mobile assistant. Our collaboration with what3words is heading in exactly this direction: Inputting locations in a simple way makes life easier for our customers and ensures a special experience. For this reason, we will further expand out cooperation with what3words in future and develop new fields of application."

Pretty soon we’ll just be yelling three-word phrases at our in-car displays. I supposed that’s better than four-letter words.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/bartosiastics>)