Sources report that Snap Inc. is acquiring Israeli company Cimagine Media for $35 million. Only a few million dollars have been invested in Cimagine, meaning that the exit will lead to a fine return for the Israel company's shareholders.
Snap Inc.'s product are the image messaging and multimedia mobile app Snapchat. and a wearable camera called Spectacles.
The app has become popular because it allows the pictures to be edited, mainly by adding mini-elements to them. Snap Inc.'s Wall Street IPO at a company valuation of $30 billion in scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.
Founded four years ago, Cimagine has developed an augmented reality (AR) solution with virtual elements that mainly provide more information about what is in front of us. These elements are combined with the real surroundings in real time and interactively. It was reported last week that Lumus, another Israeli company in the market, had raised $30 million. The acquisition of Cimagine provides further evidence of the burgeoning attractiveness of AR technology.
Cimagine's solution makes it possible to use a tablet or smartphone to assess the whether an object or electrical appliance fits into the space it must occupy. For example, when Coca Cola wants to place a soft drink machine in a grocery store, Cimagine's solution helps it spot the right place for it. The same applies to selecting living room furniture and the like.
CEO Yoni Nevo, a former ECI executive; VP product Nir Daube, a former Telco Systems executive; and VP R&D Ozi Egri, a former employee of Israeli company BATM; founded Cimagine. The company obtained most of its financing from various angels clubs. According to the Registrar of Companies, each of the founders owns 15% of Cimagine's share capital, and will therefore receive about $5 million (NIS 20 million).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 25, 2016
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