Tile: The No. 1 Smart Tracker in the U.S. for Finding Lost Items by Sound

Tile Inc., a leading company in smart location services that handles the smart tracker (anti-loss tag) "Tile," which is available in 230 countries and regions worldwide, has partnered with JapanTaxi Co., Ltd., the operator of the No. 1 taxi app, and otta Inc., a provider of monitoring services for children and the elderly. Starting Wednesday, December 11, approximately 20,000 "JapanTaxi Tablets" installed in taxis nationwide will function as "Mobile Tile Access Points" that detect "Tile" Bluetooth signals.

This dramatically increases the probability of finding lost items if those attached with a "Tile" are misplaced, as taxis can detect their signals. It brings us one step closer to realizing a world where "precious items are never lost."

*Source: App Annie. Survey of download numbers for taxi-hailing apps in Japan (iOS/Google Play combined). Survey period: April 1, 2018 - March 31, 2019.

●What are "Tile Access Points"?
"Tile Access Points" constantly search for "Tiles." By communicating with the server and expanding the "Tile" community, which consists of users in 230 countries and regions worldwide, they improve the probability of finding lost items more than ever before.

In the future, by installing access points in locations prone to lost and found items, such as stations and airports, Tile aims to fulfill its mission to "eliminate the time, resources, and frustration associated with searching for lost items." This partnership for Tile Access Points marks the second collaboration in Tile's history, following a partnership with an airport in Silicon Valley.

●Background of the Three-Company Partnership
JapanTaxi, with its vision of "making people happy through mobility," and otta, with its vision of "creating a smart city where everyone can live with peace of mind," resonated with Tile's goal of "realizing a world where precious items are never lost," leading to this partnership. JapanTaxi, otta, and Tile have each provided the following comments regarding this collaboration.

Kazuhiro Iwata, Director, Executive Officer, CTO, JapanTaxi
"At our company, we aim to improve the world the more our taxis operate. We expect this initiative to contribute to that goal."

Fumikazu Yamamoto, President and Representative Director, otta
"To create a city where everyone can live with peace of mind, we have promoted a city-wide monitoring network. Being able to help provide the peace of mind that comes from finding lost items using our monitoring network is, we believe, one aspect of the 'smart city where everyone can live with peace of mind' that we aim to achieve."

CJ Prober, CEO, Tile
"Tile has experienced rapid growth this year, and we are particularly proud to be launching this partnership with JapanTaxi. The introduction of taxi-based access points in Japan pushes the boundaries of two of Tile's key initiatives: international growth and network expansion. We look forward to working with the JapanTaxi team."

●About "JapanTaxi Tablet" Access Points
Launch Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Locations: Hokkaido, Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Aichi, Ishikawa, Toyama, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Fukuoka Prefectures
Taxis equipped with "JapanTaxi Tablet"
https://japantaxi.jp/wallet/#area

Details:
The otta app will be implemented on approximately 20,000 "JapanTaxi Tablets" nationwide. The otta app will detect "Tile" Bluetooth signals and connect to the "Tile" server, updating location information. This allows the owner to be notified of the location of any "Tile"-equipped items nearby, whether the taxi is parked or in motion.

During a nationwide test period in late August, the system successfully detected up to 60,000 "Tiles" per day. The use of taxis as "Mobile Tile Access Points" is a first for "Tile," which operates in 230 countries and regions worldwide.