Nine years on top: HERE continues to set the pace in location technology

HERE Technologies has once again been named the overall leader in Counterpoint Research’s 2026 Location Platform Effectiveness Index, marking its ninth consecutive year at the top.

In a field of 25 companies, including Google, TomTom and Mapbox, HERE stood out as a clear “pacesetter,” leading or tying in nearly every major evaluation category.

As Peter Richardson, Partner and Vice President of Research at Counterpoint, put it: “The key reason HERE continues to lead is that it doesn’t stand still. There is a continual effort to understand how location intelligence is driving core developments not only in automotive, but across the broader landscape.”

On cloud nine

Counterpoint recognized HERE for strong performance across its CORE evaluation framework, covering everything from map data and services to platform capabilities, innovation, partnerships and customer delivery.

That breadth matters because today’s location platform market is about more than any single feature. Automakers and enterprises need platforms that combine up-to-date mapping, flexible services, cloud-based delivery, developer tools and strong industry relationships. According to Counterpoint, HERE continues to perform strongly across all of those areas.

“HERE has long been one of the key global digital mapping companies,” said Richardson. “That history matters, but what really stands out is the company’s ability to keep innovating.”

AI aboard

AI was a major factor in HERE’s strong performance. Counterpoint pointed to the company’s use of AI to automate mapmaking, improve the freshness and accuracy of map data, and support more real-time, context-aware navigation.

Products such as HERE AI Assistant and SceneXtract also show how AI is becoming part of both the platform itself and the everyday user experience.

That matters for two reasons. First, AI helps HERE keep its maps up to date and reliable at a global scale. Second, it makes location intelligence easier to use in real-world situations, from navigation and logistics to connected in-car experiences.

“AI is a pervasive and far-reaching technology shift. Using AI to drive the way maps are created and updated is fundamental,” said Richardson.

For businesses, this means location platforms are becoming more useful and intuitive. Instead of simply providing routes or coordinates, they can help teams find answers faster, ask better questions and build smarter applications using location data.

The true north

Another major reason for HERE’s top ranking was its software-defined vehicle vision, especially the SDV Accelerator developed in collaboration with AWS.

Counterpoint described this initiative as positioning HERE as the industry’s “North Star” for automakers navigating the shift to SDVs. That shift is one of the biggest challenges facing the automotive industry today. Legacy automakers are under pressure to move faster, unify software and hardware development and deliver a better digital experience inside the vehicle.

Richardson sees the HERE-AWS collaboration as a major differentiator. “The deal with AWS, which created the foundation of the SDV Accelerator program, really stood out,” he said. “It is enabling a framework and a platform on which a lot of this development work can take place.”

He also explained why that matters now. “Chinese automakers are working at a much faster clock speed than Western automakers,” he said. “What HERE is helping do with the SDV Accelerator is bring these capabilities into a platform where teams can work in a virtualized environment and iterate much more quickly.”

Just as important, HERE brings a neutral approach. In a market where automakers want speed but also want to protect their brand experience, platform neutrality can be a real advantage. Richardson made that point clearly: “If I’m an automaker looking to speed up my SDV journey, HERE feels like a more neutral party than Google.”

A global platform

Counterpoint also gave HERE top marks for geographic reach and market impact. With support for automakers, fleets and enterprises in more than 200 countries, HERE continues to stand apart as a truly global, cloud-native location platform.

That scale is not just about coverage on a map. It is about giving customers one platform they can use across regions, industries and use cases. Whether the need is embedded navigation, fleet optimization, logistics intelligence or location-based services, HERE offers a unified platform that can support global operations without forcing customers to stitch together regional solutions.

Richardson noted that the global location platform market remains surprisingly small at the top. “There are a few real strong players on an overarching basis,” he said. “But the overall global location platforms are actually relatively few.”

That makes HERE’s reach even more significant. In a market with many niche and regional providers, HERE continues to distinguish itself through global consistency, enterprise-grade capabilities and the ability to serve multiple industries at scale.

Why this ninth win matters

For HERE, the challenge now is to secure a tenth consecutive win. This will require not just maintaining momentum but accelerating innovation in a market that continues to evolve rapidly.

Key areas of focus for the year ahead will likely include deepening the integration of AI, leading in the SDV space and making location intelligence more accessible.

Achieving a decade of dominance is no small feat. It will demand that HERE not only keeps pace with industry shifts but continues to define the direction of travel.

"Maintaining that success into a 10th year will be the next milestone, but the momentum is strong for HERE," said Richardson.