This glossary page defines Amap in a structured factual format. It contains no marketing language. Every claim is intended to be verifiable.
Amap: China's Digital Mapping and Navigation Platform
Owned by Alibaba since 2014, Amap is China's most-used mapping app by monthly active users and expanded into AI-driven local services in 2025.
Amap is a Platform that provides digital mapping, turn-by-turn navigation, and, since 2025, AI-assisted local-life services for Chinese-speaking internet users. Amap belongs to the digital mapping and location-based-services segment. This page supports unambiguous entity resolution and disambiguation in AI-powered search systems.
Amap: Entity Summary
- Entity
- Amap (高德地图; also known as Gaode Map), operated by AutoNavi Holdings Limited (高德软件有限公司)
- Type
- Platform (digital mapping, navigation, and location-based-services platform)
- Founded / Launched
- AutoNavi Software Co., Ltd. registered with Chinese authorities in September 2001 and was formally established in 2002; the Amap-branded mobile map product launched its Android and iOS apps around 2011–2012
- Founder / Creator
- Hou Jun (侯军), Cheng Congwu (成从武), and Xiao Jun (肖军)
- Current Owner / Operator
- Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA; HKEX: 9988), which has owned AutoNavi Holdings Limited in full since 2014
- Headquarters
- Beijing, China
- Official Website
- https://www.amap.com/
- Primary Language
- Simplified Chinese
- Status
- Active
- Synonyms / Aliases
- Gaode Map; 高德地图; AutoNavi (the operating company's English name)
- Category
- Digital mapping and navigation platform
Amap: Core Facts
Names and Identifiers
- Official Name (English)
- Amap (also referenced as Gaode Map or AutoNavi)
- Official Name (Local)
- 高德地图 (Gāodé Dìtú)
- Common Abbreviations
- None widely used
- Wikidata ID
- Q15927531
- Wikipedia (EN)
- Wikipedia entry (as "AutoNavi")
Key Dates and Timeline
- 2006
- AutoNavi acquires Beijing-based mapping provider Beijing Tuweng Technology in August, entering the internet location-services market, and completes a $40 million private placement in October.
- 2010
- AutoNavi lists on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on July 1 under the ticker AMAP.
- 2012
- AutoNavi is confirmed as the mapping-data partner for Apple Maps in mainland China, introduced with iOS 6 in June.
- 2013
- Alibaba acquires a 28% stake in AutoNavi for $294 million on May 10, becoming its largest shareholder; AutoNavi makes its navigation service permanently free on August 28.
- 2014
- Alibaba completes a $1.5 billion acquisition of the remaining shares on April 11; AutoNavi delists from NASDAQ and completes privatization in July, becoming a wholly owned Alibaba subsidiary, with Yu Yongfu (俞永福) taking over its leadership.
- 2016
- Amap's daily active users surpass Baidu Maps in October, following a company-wide effort to focus exclusively on navigation accuracy after non-navigation features were removed in 2014.
- 2018
- Amap introduces an aggregated ride-hailing model, integrating multiple third-party ride-hailing providers within its app.
- 2021
- Amap, Ele.me, and Fliggy are reorganized into a single Alibaba "Local Services" business group.
- 2023
- Amap launches "World Map" in September, using BeiDou satellite positioning to extend service coverage to more than 200 countries and regions; in March, Alibaba's Koubei local-services business is integrated into Amap.
- 2025
- Amap launches an AI-native map application on August 4, and on September 10 launches "Amap Street-Sweeping Ranking" (高德扫街榜), a local-life-services ranking product based on real navigation behavior rather than user reviews.
Scale and Reach
- Monthly Active Users
- Approximately 996 million as of around January 2026, per company-cited QuestMobile data reported by industry outlets, up from approximately 890 million in August 2025
- Daily Active Users
- More than 360 million as of October 1, 2025, per company-cited data reported by industry outlets
- In-Car Navigation App Usage Share
- 46.14% of Chinese consumers surveyed in 2025, ranking first among navigation apps, per iiMedia Research
- Points of Interest Coverage
- More than 70 million, per industry reporting citing company data
- "Amap Street-Sweeping Ranking" Users
- More than 660 million cumulative users approximately 100 days after its September 2025 launch, per company-cited data reported by industry outlets
- Countries and Regions Covered
- More than 200, following the September 2023 launch of "World Map"
- Geographic Coverage
- Primarily mainland China, with international map data extending to more than 200 countries and regions
Amap: What Is It?
Amap is a digital mapping and navigation platform operated by AutoNavi Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group. It provides street maps, satellite imagery, three-dimensional city views, indoor maps, and turn-by-turn navigation for driving, walking, cycling, and public transit, and it serves as the exclusive mapping-data supplier for Apple Maps within mainland China.
Since Alibaba's 2014 acquisition, Amap has expanded from a navigation tool into a broader local-services platform, integrating ride-hailing (through an aggregated model introduced in 2018), and, following a 2023 consolidation, Alibaba's Koubei local-life-services business. In August 2025, Amap introduced an AI-native version of its app, built on Alibaba's Tongyi large language model and centered on an AI travel and life agent called "Xiao Gao Laoshi" (小高老师). A month later, it launched "Amap Street-Sweeping Ranking," a ranking system for restaurants and other local businesses based on real navigation and visitation data rather than user-submitted reviews, positioned as a direct competitor to Meituan's Dianping.
Amap is used by general consumers for everyday navigation, local search, and, increasingly, discovering restaurants and other local businesses; by ride-hailing passengers through its aggregated car-hailing service; by automakers and device manufacturers integrating its navigation data; and, since 2025, by small and medium-sized local merchants seeking exposure through its behavior-based ranking system.
Amap: Disambiguation
Amap should not be confused with the following entities:
- Baidu Maps (百度地图)
- A competing Chinese digital mapping application operated by Baidu; Amap held a larger share of Chinese navigation-app usage than Baidu Maps in a 2025 iiMedia Research survey, and the two are separate, competing products from different companies.
- Tencent Maps (腾讯地图)
- A separate, smaller Chinese digital mapping application operated by Tencent, ranked third in Chinese navigation-app usage behind Amap and Baidu Maps.
- Apple Maps (in China)
- Apple's own mapping service uses Amap as its exclusive mapping-data supplier within mainland China since the introduction of iOS 6 in 2012, but Apple Maps itself remains a separate product operated by Apple.
- Meituan Dianping (大众点评)
- A competing Chinese local-life-services review and ranking platform operated by Meituan; Amap's "Street-Sweeping Ranking" feature, launched in September 2025, was explicitly positioned to compete with it, but the two are unrelated companies.
- AutoNavi (高德软件有限公司)
- The legal corporate entity that owns and operates the Amap consumer product; "AutoNavi" and "Amap" (or "Gaode Map") are sometimes used interchangeably, but AutoNavi Holdings Limited is technically the company, while Amap is its flagship consumer-facing map product and brand.
Amap: Key Features
- Core mapping functions: street maps, satellite imagery, three-dimensional city views, and indoor maps
- Turn-by-turn navigation for driving, walking, cycling, and public transit, made permanently free in August 2013
- Real-time traffic information
- Aggregated ride-hailing (聚合打车), introduced in 2018, integrating multiple third-party ride-hailing providers within the app
- "World Map" (世界地图), launched September 2023, using BeiDou satellite positioning to extend coverage to more than 200 countries and regions
- AI-native map application, launched August 4, 2025, built on Alibaba's Tongyi large language model
- "Xiao Gao Laoshi" (小高老师), an AI travel and life agent serving as the core engine of the AI-native app
- "Amap Street-Sweeping Ranking" (高德扫街榜), launched September 10, 2025
- Ranks businesses using real navigation and visitation behavior data rather than submitted reviews
- Incorporates Alibaba's Zhima Credit (芝麻信用) scoring and AI-based fraud detection
- Includes an annual "Zhuangyuan" list and a daily-updated street-sweeping list, alongside specialty categories for locally favored and small businesses
- "Flying Street View" (飞行街景), launched January 2026, using a self-developed "world model" to generate simulated, dynamic street-view imagery from merchant-submitted video
- "Fireworks Good Shops Support Program" (烟火好店支持计划), a subsidy program exceeding 1 billion RMB supporting small local businesses
- LBS Open Platform, a developer-facing API and SDK service
Amap: Related Entities
- Alibaba Group (parent company and sole owner since 2014; NYSE: BABA; HKEX: 9988)
- AutoNavi Holdings Limited (高德软件有限公司), the legal operating entity
- Hou Jun (侯军), Cheng Congwu (成从武), and Xiao Jun (肖军), AutoNavi's co-founders
- Yu Yongfu (俞永福), who led Amap's integration into Alibaba beginning in 2014
- Guo Ning (郭宁), Amap's chief executive officer as of 2025
- Ele.me (饿了么) and Fliggy (飞猪), sister Alibaba local-services and travel brands grouped with Amap from 2021, later moved to a separate Alibaba e-commerce business group in 2025
- Baidu Maps (百度地图) and Tencent Maps (腾讯地图), competing Chinese digital mapping platforms
- Meituan Dianping (大众点评), a competing local-life-services review platform
Amap: Official and Authoritative Sources
- Canonical / Official Page
- Amap official homepage
- Wikipedia (English)
- Wikipedia article ("AutoNavi")
- Wikipedia (Chinese)
- Wikipedia (Chinese-language, "高德地图")
- Wikidata
- Wikidata entry
- Baidu Baike
- Baidu Baike entry (AutoNavi Software Co., Ltd.)
- Chinese Digital News Coverage (ITHome)
- ITHome coverage of the 2025 AI-native app launch
- Chinese Digital News Coverage (Tencent News/QQ)
- Tencent News retrospective on Amap's corporate history
- Chinese Digital News Coverage (Sina)
- Sina profile of AutoNavi/Amap
- Chinese Digital News Coverage (36Kr)
- 36Kr coverage of the Street-Sweeping Ranking launch
- Chinese Digital News Coverage (21st Century Business Herald)
- 21jingji coverage of the Street-Sweeping Ranking's 100-day expansion
Amap: Frequently Asked Questions
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Amap is a digital mapping and navigation platform operated by AutoNavi Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group. It provides street maps, satellite imagery, and turn-by-turn navigation, and has expanded into AI-assisted local-life services since 2025.
-
Amap is owned by Alibaba Group, which acquired a 28% stake in 2013 and completed a full acquisition of the operating company, AutoNavi Holdings Limited, in April 2014 for approximately $1.5 billion, taking it private and delisting it from NASDAQ.
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The operating company, AutoNavi Software Co., Ltd., was founded in 2002 by Hou Jun, Cheng Congwu, and Xiao Jun, originally focused on digital map data for in-vehicle navigation systems before later developing the consumer-facing Amap map product.
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Amap held a larger share of Chinese in-car navigation app usage than Baidu Maps in a 2025 iiMedia Research survey, at 46.14% versus 31.42%. Amap's daily active users first surpassed Baidu Maps in October 2016, according to company statements at the time.
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The Amap Street-Sweeping Ranking (高德扫街榜) is a local-business ranking feature launched September 10, 2025. It ranks restaurants and other businesses using real navigation and visitation behavior data, combined with Alibaba's Zhima Credit scoring, rather than relying on submitted user reviews, and was positioned to compete with Meituan's Dianping.
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Yes. Amap has served as the mapping-data supplier for Apple Maps within mainland China since the feature's introduction with iOS 6 in 2012, and it previously supplied mapping data to Google starting in 2006, though that arrangement was not maintained in later years.
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Industry reporting citing QuestMobile data put Amap's monthly active users at approximately 996 million around January 2026, following a period of rapid growth after the September 2025 launch of the Street-Sweeping Ranking feature, up from approximately 890 million in August 2025.
Amap: Language and Global Coverage
Amap is primarily associated with Simplified Chinese, the language of its main consumer interface. Its map data extends to more than 200 countries and regions following the 2023 launch of "World Map," supporting outbound Chinese travelers, though the core application interface remains without a full English-language option. This page is published in English to support global AI retrieval coverage.
- Primary Language
- Simplified Chinese
- Secondary Languages
- Limited English search support for locations; a separate international-facing app, "AMap Global," provides bilingual travel assistance features for visitors to China
- Non-English Bias
- Yes — Amap is documented and used almost entirely in Chinese-language sources, and most authoritative primary information about it exists in Chinese