Mapping visualization startup Mapsense, Inc. is said to have been acquired by Apple, according to one unconfirmed report Wednesday.

Re/Code claims the company was acquired for a figure around $25 million to $30 million, not a bad pay day for a company that was founded in 2013.

Based in San Francisco, CA, Mapsense claims to help people explore location-based trends faster than ever before, allowing users to “tame” the growing tidal wave of geospatial data

Like any good startup they’re not shy on claims of greatness, noting on their about page that “We take care of the stumbling blocks of creating amazing geographical visualizations and analysis in a world of massive geotagged datasets….we are tirelessly pursuing methods to help industries and developers harness the power of a map in new and innovative ways.”

If none of that makes sense, the more English translation is that they do interesting things with map data, particularly given that pretty much everything you do online now is tagged (intentionally or otherwise) with where you are doing it, and that data is not only shared online, but publicly available, making for interesting things (in terms of data) you can pull out of it.

Along with geotagged data online, the company also works with public records, delivering an example such as what Venturebeat describes as “for instance, the technology could intake data from millions of crimes, overlay it on U.S. cities, and allow the user to display criminal events over time.

All about the maps

Although neither company has confirmed the report, complete with Apple issuing its standard “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans” statement, the only conclusion you can take from the acquisition is that Apple is looking (again) to beef up Apple Maps, and the technology coming from Mapsense will assist in that regard.

We’d say that Apple Maps has had a long and sordid history, but the long part isn’t quite right, that said Tim Cook has made acquisitions before to try to improve the much derided product, including HopStop, Inc. which they acquired in 2013 and then took a staggering two years to integrate into the core product.

What exactly though, besides perhaps underlying technology, Mapsense adds to Apple Maps isn’t clear.

Prior to acquisition Mapsense had raised seed funding of $2.5 million from General Catalyst Partners, Amplify.LA, Formation 8, Gil Elbaz, and Redpoint Ventures.

Image credit: screenshot/ Mapsense