Apple Hires The Founder And CEO Of Indoor Positioning Startup Wifarer
May 1, 2014
Back in 2012, I had the opportunity to discuss Wifarer, an indoor positioning startup, with its founder and CEO, Philip Stanger. TechCrunch is now reporting that Stanger is no longer with the company. Instead, he is working at Apple in a “leadership role.”
With offices in San Jose, Calif. and Victoria, British Columbia, Wifarer has promoted its services as a way for customers to “conquer the great indoors.” To do so, it offers facility owners location based services, search, and positioning tools.
Stanger’s move to Apple could prove interesting.
TechCrunch said it had once received tips that Apple was going to acquire Wifarer. Instead, Stanger is now an Apple employee. Interestingly enough, Stanger’s wife, Lise Murphy, is now the CEO of Wifarer. She had previously served as the company’s vice president of marketing.
In March 2013, Apple purchased WiFiSLAM, an indoor positioning startup based in Silicon Valley. Other mapping companies acquired by Apple include Placebase, Poly9, and C3 in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively.
For more on Wifarer, be sure to read my previous report, located here.