What iNavX does

iNavX (founded 2002, headquartered in San Francisco) is a mobile-first marine chartplotter application marketed as the "#1 handheld chartplotter." The product is distributed primarily through the iOS App Store (with Android availability) and is differentiated by aggregating charts from multiple third-party cartographic providers — NOAA (free for US waters), Navionics, Blue Latitude, Explorer Chartbooks, Waterway Guide, Delius Klasing, Imray, and the proprietary iNavX Professional+ series — inside a single app, alongside real-time GPS positioning, waypoint and route management, NMEA 0183/2000 instrument integration over WiFi, AIS target display, anchor alarms, and weather overlays from Theyr.

Revenue is generated through three streams: (i) one-time App Store purchase of the base application; (ii) in-app transactional purchases of third-party charts via the iNavX Chart Store; and (iii) recurring Theyr Premium Weather subscriptions sold on annual and monthly cadences. The product is positioned as a low-cost alternative to dedicated hardware chartplotters (e.g., $900+ Garmin units), with complementary NOAA RNC raster charts included automatically on download. Customer segments center on recreational boaters, professional sailors, fishing enthusiasts, and long-distance cruisers across North America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and parts of Europe.

The company operates without disclosed funding, public-company status, or leadership transparency in the source data; ownership and team details are absent. Distribution relies on App Store SEO, content marketing (blog and YouTube tutorials), and earned media in sailing publications (Practical Sailor, Cruising World, Cruising Magazine). The 2022 launch of the iNavX Professional+ Chart Series represents the most recent documented product-line expansion.

Name

iNavX

Website

https://inavx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Short description

iNavX is a San Francisco-based mobile chartplotter application that aggregates third-party nautical charts and weather/AIS overlays into a single iOS and Android app for recreational boaters, cruisers, racers, and anglers worldwide, monetizing via one-time app sales, in-app chart purchases, and recurring weather subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Navigation Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine Navigation Systems (ECDIS, Radar, GNSS, AIS) (IMAJAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fleet, Asset Tracking & Telematics Location Platforms (BPAMANAF)

Keywords

• Marine navigation software
• Mobile chartplotting
• Nautical chart apps
• Marine weather overlays
• AIS vessel tracking

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. App Sales: Base app download generating initial revenue through app store purchase
2. Chart Sales: In-app purchases of nautical charts from various providers including NOAA (free), Blue Latitude, Explorer Chartbooks, Waterway Guide, Delius Klasing, Imray, iNavX Professional
3. Weather Subscription: Theyr Premium Weather service offered as Annual or Monthly subscription providing high-resolution weather forecasts and overlays

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

iNavX develops and distributes a mobile chartplotter application (iOS/Android) that aggregates nautical charts from multiple chart providers — including NOAA (free), Imray, Explorer Chartbooks, Waterway Guide, Blue Latitude, and Delius Klasing — alongside real-time GPS navigation, AIS target display, NMEA instrument integration, and Theyr Premium Weather overlays. Revenue is generated via app store sales, in-app chart purchases, and annual/monthly weather subscriptions.

Product overview

iNavX is a mobile-first chartplotter platform (iOS and Android) that serves as the central hub, combining charts from multiple third-party providers with native navigation features. The core product is the iNavX mobile app, which users download to their devices and which automatically includes complementary NOAA RNC raster charts for US waters. Revenue is generated through the iNavX Chart Store, where users purchase premium charts from Imray, Explorer Chartbooks, Waterway Guide, Blue Latitude, and Delius Klasing, as well as weather subscriptions (Theyr Premium). The platform also supports real-time data overlays for AIS (SiiTech AIS LIVE) and weather (Theyr), and can connect to external marine instruments via NMEA protocols.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• iNavX Mobile Chartplotter App The #1 handheld chartplotter mobile application for iOS and Android, delivering charts from multiple chart providers with hundreds of navigation features including real-time GPS positioning, AIS targets, waypoint/route planning, NMEA instrument integration, and weather overlays. Users automatically receive complementary NOAA RNC raster charts upon download. Targets sailors, cruisers, and fishermen.
• iNavX Professional+ Chart Series Premium vector charts delivering country-specific coverage available at affordable prices through the iNavX in-app Chart Store.
• Theyr Premium Weather Subscription High-resolution weather forecast subscription service offering data from 10km down to 1km resolution on hourly time steps, including wind, pressure, temperature, precipitation, wave data, and tidal streams. Built on NOAA GFS, WRF/NMM, WW3 wave, NEXRAD Doppler radar, and NOC tidal stream data. Available as annual or monthly subscription.
• NOAA Nautical Charts (Free) Free high-resolution NOAA RNC raster United States marine charts covering West Coast, Gulf Coast, East Coast, Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii, and US Virgin Islands. Provides access to 1000+ NOAA nautical charts for US waters.
• Explorer Chartbooks — Bahamas Quilted charts of Exumas, Ragged Islands, Far Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and Near Bahamas with superior research and accuracy, including large-scale and small-scale charts, harbor closeup charts, and topographical features.
• Delius Klasing European Charts Detailed digital charts for European inland waterways and sea charts including German Northseacoast, Netherlands waters, Scandinavian waterways, Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea, and Mediterranean, with harbor plans, lock VHF channels, bridge clearance heights, and Points of Interest.
• Waterway Guide Cruising Charts Interactive cruising and boater guide chart enhancement overlay featuring mile-by-mile navigation, marina and anchorage listings, fuel pricing, and boating news. Available in regional editions for Atlantic ICW, Bahamas, Chesapeake Bay, Cuba, Great Lakes, Northern, and Southern regions.
• Blue Latitude Mexico Charts High-quality cruising guides and charts for Mexico's Pacific coast and Sea of Cortez, with up-to-date surveys and WGS84 accurate positioning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Save $900+ on chartplotter hardware
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)coreTechnology or IntegrationiNavX provides free access to 1000+ NOAA nautical charts covering US waters including Alaska, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, USA East, and USA West coasts. Charts include West Coast, Gulf Coast, East Coast, Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii, and US Virgin Islands.
• Explorer ChartbookscoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides detailed Bahamas charts including quilted charts of Exumas, Ragged Islands, Far Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and Near Bahamas with superior research, more data, and greater accuracy than other sources.
• Delius KlasingcoreTechnology or IntegrationHigh color raster charts for European inland waterways and sea charts including German Northseacoast, Netherlands waters, Scandinavian waterways, Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean. Includes detailed harbour plans and lock information.
• Waterway GuidecoreTechnology or IntegrationInteractive cruising guide with mile-by-mile navigation, marina listings, fuel pricing. Available for Atlantic ICW, Bahamas, Chesapeake Bay, Cuba, Great Lakes, Northern, and Southern regions.
• Theyr WeathercoreTechnology or IntegrationHighest resolution weather forecasts built on super high-precision data from 10km down to 1km resolution on hourly time steps. Provides wind, pressure, temperature, precipitation, wave data overlays.
• Blue Latitude PresscoreTechnology or IntegrationEstablished by cruisers for cruisers. Provides detailed Pacific Mexico and Sea of Cortez charts using up-to-date surveys and WGS84 accurate positioning.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• PredictWind: Specialist marine weather forecasting service widely used by sailors and cruisers. Direct comparison to the Theyr Premium Weather integration that iNavX resells; both target the same route-planning weather user need.
• OpenCPN: Open-source marine chartplotter application popular among cruisers for offshore route planning. Competes at the navigation software layer on a free, community-driven model that pressures iNavX's value proposition for cost-sensitive users.

Broad incumbents

• Garmin ActiveCaptain: Garmin's mobile companion app for its dominant chartplotter hardware line. Operates broadly across the marine navigation category with hardware-bundled content and competes head-to-head with iNavX for handheld chartplotter mindshare.
• Raymarine: Major marine electronics manufacturer of chartplotter hardware (Axiom series) with its own LightHouse chart experience. Competes indirectly by offering bundled hardware-software navigation experiences versus iNavX's phone-as-chartplotter approach.
• C-MAP: Major commercial marine cartography and chart provider (formerly Jeppesen marine, now part of the Navico group). Provides chart content used across multiple chartplotter platforms and competes with iNavX's content library through OEM relationships.
• Lowrance: Chartplotter and marine electronics brand under Navico, with mobile companion apps. Competes in the broader handheld chartplotter and chart content space with integrated hardware-software solutions.

Others

• Windy: Popular weather visualization platform with marine-grade forecasting features. Competes for the weather-overlay attention of boaters even though it is a general-purpose weather app rather than a marine navigation suite.
• MarineTraffic: AIS-based vessel tracking platform serving the marine community. Compares to iNavX's AIS LIVE integration from SiiTech — both surface real-time vessel position data on charts for boaters and cruisers.

Direct peers

• Aqua Map: Mobile chartplotter app directly competing with iNavX in the recreational boating and fishing segments, with similar chart store and weather overlay features.
• Navionics: The leading mobile marine chart app, now owned by Garmin. Directly competes with iNavX on handheld chartplotting and chart content licensing; iNavX even resells Navionics content, making it both partner and closest competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZCaQ5JtZi8iTUzFndakBew
• Xx.com/gpsnavx
• Facebookfacebook.com/inavx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about iNavX