Uber has hired the man behind Google Maps on iPhone

Daniel Graf has been hired by Uber as the head of Marketplace Dynamics, according to Re/Code.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Graf lead the team responsible for making the third-party Google Maps app for iPhone after Apple removed it as the default option in favour of its own mapping software. The software, while not as popular as Apple's own, received over 10 million downloads in two days.

Graf will report to Jeff Holden, Uber's chief product officer who previously worked at Amazon.

Uber has made a habit of poaching key talent from Google, including Manik Gupta, who worked on Google Maps, and Brian McClendon, who also worked on Google Maps. Uber has also been hiring from Goldman Sachs.

Graf gives no details of what he will be doing at Uber. The company recently missed out on a bid to buy Nokia's HERE mapping technology, but reports suggest that the startup, which has a value of over $50 billion (£33 billion), is looking to make its own mapping software for drivers.