“Indoor GPS” company YFind raises US$1.18M from Innosight and Walden

Singapore-based YFind, an indoor positioning company, has raised S$1.5M (US$$1.18M) from Innosight Ventures and Walden International, it announced in a press release.

The company has developed patent-pending technology called YFind Positioning System enables users to find out there exact location in indoor or dense urban environments, with less than three meters accuracy.

The technology is WiFi-based, purportedly low cost, and works on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry. Applications for it include mobile advertising, business intelligence, and asset management.

The funds will be used to accelerate development of these applications.

Yong Soo Ping, director at Walden International Singapore, said that they are “very impressed” by the accuracy and reliability of YFind Positioning System.

Pete Bonee, partner at Innosight Ventures, calls the technology disruptive. Both individuals will join the YFind Board.

The Indoor Positioning System is a relatively young field that could see rapid development and deployment in the future. Google Maps and Bing Maps have such a feature, although it isn’t very accurate yet.

Several startups are also developing their own solutions. These include: US companies Lighthouse Signal Systems and Meridian, as well as Australian company Locata.

YFind was incorporated in October 2010 by co-founders Dr Ting See Ho, Melvin Yuan, and Dr Han Yang.

Dr Ting was an Assistant Professor at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU), specializing in wireless communications. Yuan is a digital marketing strategist, formerly Vice President of Digital Strategies at a leading global PR consultancy.

Dr. Han is a researcher in wireless technology. They are joined by founding partner – Hoo Shao Pin, a seasoned technopreneur.

In 2011, they received SPRING Singapore’s Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme (TECS) Proof-of-Concept & Proof-of-Value grants, as well as co-funding support from IDA’s Digital Concierge Programme.

The company was also recognized by the Singapore IT Federation (SITF) as Start-up of the Year 2011.

Innosight Ventures is the venture investing arm of Innosight, a global innovation and strategy consulting firm, co-founded by Harvard Professor and innovation thought-leader Clayton Christensen in 2000. It has invested in Singapore startups like Wildfire, iTwin, Chope, and TMGamer.