Mr. Rakesh Kumar Verma
Co-Founder, Managing Director and Group Chairman
Rakesh Kumar Verma is a visionary entrepreneur, philanthropist, and one of the foremost
pioneers of India's geospatial industry. Honoured by his alma mater, BITS Pilani, with
the prestigious BITS Ratna Award (2023), its highest honour, after earlier receiving the
Distinguished Alumnus Award (2022), he is widely recognised as India's Original
Digital Map Product Maker. Most recently, he received the Geospatial Leadership –
Lifetime Achievement Award (2025) at the 16th Geospatial World Forum in Madrid,
Spain, for laying the foundation of India's digital mapping industry. His pioneering
customer-funded approach to building MapmyIndia into a world-class technology
enterprise exemplifies the business model articulated in Harvard Business Review by
Prof John Mullins, Associate Professor at London Business School. Mr. Verma holds a
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani (1972) and an MBA from
Eastern Washington University, USA (1979).
Driven by a higher purpose to contribute to India's technological progress and build a
technologically self-reliant India, a vision that aligns closely with today's Atmanirbhar
Bharat, Mr. Verma returned from the United States in 1990. Even before he knew the field
in which he would make his greatest contribution, he was determined to build world-class
indigenous technology in India. He had a conviction that nearly 80% of all data would
eventually have a location component and that location intelligence would transform the
way people, businesses, and governments make decisions. Recognising that digitally
mapping a country as vast and diverse as India would require decades of perseverance
and sustained investment, he founded MapmyIndia.
Starting with just ₹1 lakh of personal seed capital, Mr. Verma built MapmyIndia into India's
leading digital maps and deep-tech company through an unwavering commitment to
innovation, customer trust, and financial discipline. Over more than three decades, the
company raised only about ₹130 crore of external equity, reflecting his philosophy of
building a sustainable, customer-funded enterprise. This culminated in MapmyIndia's
landmark IPO in 2021, oversubscribed 154 times, propelling the company to unicorn
status with a market capitalisation exceeding ₹9,300 crore. Today, the company is debtfree, with nearly ₹700 crore in cash and treasury investments, employs over 1,400
professionals, and contributes to the livelihoods of nearly 10,000 people through its
employees, their families, and the wider ecosystem, while powering governments,
enterprises, and millions of users across India and beyond.
Beyond entrepreneurship, Mr. Verma has played a defining role in shaping India's
geospatial ecosystem and public policy. For over a decade, he persistently championed
the vision of an Atmanirbhar India in the geospatial sector, advocating the liberalisation
of India's mapping industry and a level playing field for indigenous technology companies.
His sustained efforts, including participation in high-level deliberations with the Hon'ble
Prime Minister of India, contributed to the consultative process that culminated in the
launch of the National Geospatial Policy and the opening up of India's geospatial industry.
Most recently, under his chairmanship, the Geospatial Industrial Development Board
(GIDB) convened a landmark meeting at the Department of Science & Technology to
accelerate implementation of the National Geospatial Policy. Over the years, he has also
served on the Government of India's Planning Commission National Committee on GIS,
the Department of Science & Technology's Legal Sub-Committee for the National
Geospatial Policy, chaired FICCI's National Geospatial Committee, served as President
of the Survey and Mapping Association of India (SAMA), and been a member of FICCI's
Executive Council.
Mr. Verma has also made significant contributions to strengthening the partnership
between industry and academia. He currently serves on the Executive Boards of FORE
Society and FORE School of Management, and earlier served on the Governing Body
of BITS Pilani. A respected thought leader and keynote speaker, he has addressed
leading industry forums and premier educational institutions, including delivering the
Convocation Address at FORE School of Management.
A firm believer in giving back to society, Mr. Verma has made enduring contributions to
education and innovation. At BITS Pilani, he established the Rakesh Verma Convention
Centre, comprising a 200-seat convention facility and a 100-room residential complex,
and the MapmyIndia Innovation Lab at the BITS Pilani Incubation and Innovation
Centre. He continues to mentor entrepreneurs, invest in emerging ventures, and support
India's growing innovation ecosystem.
At 75, Mr. Verma continues to lead MapmyIndia as CMD, advancing its mission of building
world-class, indigenous technologies for an Atmanirbhar India.
