TeleNav files for $75 million IPO

Location-based solutions provider TeleNav filed plans with U.S. regulators to raise as much as $75 million in a proposed initial public offering. No estimated timetable for the IPO (managed by JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities) was disclosed. According to the filing, TeleNav's voice-guided navigation service boasted more than 11 million paid subscribers worldwide at the end of Q3 2009--operator partners in the U.S. include AT&T and Sprint.

The timing of the TeleNav IPO is somewhat surprising given that the filing follows just days after web services giant Google announced the pending launch of Google Maps Navigation, a free turn-by-turn navigation app debuting on its Android mobile operating system. "Obviously, we like the price of free and consumers like that as well," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said during a preview of the service, adding the company can figure out how to make money from the product later. Many pundits are now questioning the continued viability of premium navigation apps like TeleNav, or at least casting grave doubts about their current monthly subscription-based models.

For more on the TeleNav IPO:
- read this Reuters article

Related articles:
AT&T, TeleNav launch embedded GPS tracker
TeleNav drives new location apps