Apple reportedly acquires mapping visualization startup Mapsense

Apple has reportedly acquired the San Francisco-based mapping data visualization company Mapsense.

The deal was struck earlier this month, according to a report by Re/code, which cites several unnamed sources.

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The report says Apple paid somewhere between $25 million and $30 million for Mapsense and all of its 12 employees, who will join the rest of the Apple folks down the Vally in Cupertino.

Mapsense makes tools for analyzing and visualizing location data, assets that Apple can use to keep pace with Google in mobile mapping technology. The cloud-based technology can overlay massive amounts of data on various map templates so that users can quickly derive meaning from the data. 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.

The technology was originally aimed at financial institutions, advertising firms, government agencies, and large corporations. The mapping tools will likely now evolve and become integrated into Apple products.

Mapsense raised a $2.5 million seed round in May, led by General Catalyst and with participation from Formation 8, Redpoint Ventures, and others.

Mapping and geo-location startups are hot right now. Just last week the mapping and geo-location startup CartoDB raised $23 million in venture capital.