What3words

What3words is a proprietary geocode system designed to identify any location on Earth with a resolution of approximately 3 meters. Unlike traditional GPS coordinates that rely on long strings of numbers, What3words divides the world into 57 trillion squares and assigns each a unique combination of three dictionary words. The brand was founded in 2013 in the United Kingdom by Chris Sheldrick, Jack Waley-Cohen, Mohan Ganesalingam, and Michael Dent.

As a software-based service, its 'manufacturing' isn't tied to a physical factory but rather to digital infrastructure and servers distributed globally. The system is managed by What3words Limited, headquartered in London. The company operates a business-to-business model, licensing its technology to logistics firms, emergency services, and automotive manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover. Despite its widespread adoption in sectors like search and rescue and postal services, it remains a private, closed-source system protected by intellectual property laws and patents.