Apple has purchased Locationary, a Toronto-based map-focused startup that specializes in highly specific location data and business profile information. The company collects information such as hours of operation, products, services and rich media and can overlay it on a business's location on a map.

Canada's Globe and Mail reported the purchase July 19, and Apple confirmed it to AllThingsD, which linked to a Sept. 30, 2012, article that Locationary CEO Grant Ritchie wrote for TechCrunch, detailing five major mapping issues that Apple needed to solve.

It seems Apple agreed—or thought Ritchie would be a great asset for helping get the job done.

Source: eWeek