Droom Technology Pvt Ltd, an online marketplace for new and used vehicles, has acquired Delhi-based augmented reality (AR) startup Visiolab Ideas, it said on Thursday.
AR uses tech to overlay the real physical world with visual elements, sound, and other sensory stimuli.
Gurugram-based Droom said the acquisition will help it enhance customer experience. As part of this move, both of Visiolab’s co-founders will join Droom.
While it did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, the company said it allocated Rs 50 crore last year for the development of AR, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence-based products.
Along with the acquisition of Visiolab, Droom is also introducing an AR-VR lab, allowing customers to take live virtual tours of vehicles in 3D.
“This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience,” chief strategy officer Akshay Singh said.
Visiolab, set up in 2018 by Navdeep Singh and Sahil Sethi, focusses on industries including automobile technology, ed-tech, entertainment, software-as-a-service, and retail.
The acquisition comes nearly a year after Droom acquired a non-banking financial company to strengthen its consumer and dealer lending arm, Droom Credit.
At the time, company founder Sandeep Aggarwal said the acquisition of Xeraphin Finvest Pvt. Ltd would help bolster loan-offering capabilities.
Aggarwal, who also co-founded e-commerce portal ShopClues, set up Droom in 2014. The company says it has built out an entire ecosystem around used automobiles.
In October 2018, Droom raised $30 million (around Rs 220 crore) in its Series E funding round, with the company saying it would use the capital to develop Droom Credit.
The Series E investment was led by the family office of Japanese investor Joe Hirao, who is the founder of ZIGExN.
In the same year in May, the company raised another $30 million (around Rs 204 crore) in its Series D round, which was led by Toyota Tsusho Corporation and existing investor Digital Garage of Japan. Toyota Tsusho is the trading arm of the Toyota Group.
