2GIS is a Russian local search company that develops digital maps and guides of cities in Russia, Kazakhstan, Italy, Czech Republic, Chile, The UAE, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Their headquarters are located in Novosibirsk.
As of 2021, according to company data, 2GIS digital maps covered 765 cities in operating countries, processing more than 20.5 million search queries daily. Also company said a global audience of more than 56 million monthly users.
All versions of the application are free of charge, and the company's main source of income is advertising on their website. Digital maps come in three versions: PC, Web and Mobile, including iOS and Android platforms.
2GIS (2 geoinformation system) is one of the largest Internet companies in Russia according to Forbes. In 2021, 2GIS was rated 25th in the 30 Most Valuable Companies in the Russian Internet segment rating by Forbes magazine. The estimated value of the company was $189 million.
In 2016, the Wall Street Journal named 2GIS as a recognized Russian startup targeting global markets amid Russian economic crisis and Western sanctions. Mashable included 2GIS in its list of Russia's “20 hottest startups".
In June 2020, 72% of 2GIS shares were purchased by Sberbank, another 3% went to O2O Holding LLC — the joint venture of Sberbank and Mail.ru Group. Within the Sber ecosystem, 2GIS took over the development of tools for integration of its maps and directories into applications of the ecosystem and third-party companies.
History
Emergence of DoubleGIS
The project originated within the Novosibirsk company Technograd Plus. It was engaged in the production of professional geographic information systems by order of NGTS and other organizations. On the mass market, "Tekhnograd Plus" offered several circulations of CDs with the map of Novosibirsk. The company also released a CD "Construction Companies and Organizations", a supplement to the newspaper "Stroyka".
In 1998, after the crisis, many customers "Tekhnograd Plus" were unable to pay for expensive development of "not the first need. There was a need to find new customers and ways to apply GIS. Moreover, a lot of pirated copies of CDs had been dispersed from the previously released ones, and it became pointless to sell them.
It was decided to release a free product that would serve as a demo version of a professional GIS. The experience with the "Stroyka" newspaper showed that the electronic directory, united with the city map, could be of interest to advertisers. Alexander Sysoev formulated the concept of the new project: free distribution and return on investment through advertising. The product was named DoubleGIS: GeoInformation System plus City Information Guide.
Early Years
The first release of DoubleGIS was released on April 25, 1999. In the spring of 2001, the interface of DoubleGIS 2.0 was developed, a bit later the company's web-site was launched and an updates service appeared.
At first, the company tried to cooperate with third-party organizations - it bought databases, applied to advertising agencies, invited specialists to create a rubricator. But this practice proved ineffective. The company decided to develop its own services for each of the basic business processes. That's why in the same year of 2001 information and sales departments started to be formed.
In 2002, the DoubleGIS application was distributed free of charge on CDs to 15 thousand offices of Novosibirsk.
Further Development
In 2004 the project was spun off into an independent business unit - "DoubleGIS" LLC. In the same year DublGIS opened its first branch office in Omsk, as well as concluded commercial concession agreements with partners in Tomsk, Barnaul, and Novokuznetsk. That was the moment of DublGIS expansion into Russian cities.
In 2006 the company launched online and Windows Mobile version of the guidebook. DublGIS in Novosibirsk split into a managing company and a branch to sell advertising positions.
In 2007 a franchise in Odesa and branches in Chelyabinsk and Perm were opened.
In 2007, DoubleGIS 3.0, a new version of the program with an interface in the style of MS Office 2007 is released.
In 2010, the first CodeFest IT conference is held.
In 2011, the company conducts a rebranding, as a result of which, the products are called 2GIS (DvaGIS). After 12 years after the first release, 2GIS is brought to the capital - the Moscow directory is released. Release of mobile applications for Android and iOS.
In 2012, 2GIS is released in the Italian cities of Venice and Padua. This is the first release outside of the CIS.