Will it shake the position of Google Maps? Sources say that giants such as Meta, Microsoft and Amazon have teamed up to create a new mapping application.

CTOnews.com news on December 16, quoting foreign science and technology media TechCrunch, reported that the Linux Foundation is planning to launch an open source mapping application and has courted four companies, Meta, Microsoft, mapping company TomTom and AWS, hoping to challenge Google Maps's dominant position in the mapping field.

CTOnews.com learned that the Linux Foundation led the creation of Overture Maps Foundation to encourage the development of open source mapping products that members can share and reuse among companies and applications. In addition, the project will also use open data already available from urban planning departments and open source projects such as OpenStreetMap. In addition to the above four companies, the Linux Foundation is inviting other companies and communities to join.

"Mapping the natural environment and every community in the world is a huge and complex challenge that cannot be managed and achieved by one organization alone," Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, said in a press release. "the industry needs to unite to do this for the benefit of all."

With the rapid development of the Internet of things, a variety of autopilot and scene applications need the help of maps and location data. These include Internet of things devices such as fitness trackers, self-driving cars, logistics applications, and so on.