Venice, California-based Snapchat completed its first acquisition in Israel this week, buying an augmented reality platform named Cimagine for between $30-$40 million.
Snapchat, which recently re-branded as Snap Inc., has reportedly made roughly half a dozen smaller acquisitions this year.
According to TechCrunch, Cimagine allows consumers to visualize and preview furniture products they want to buy right in the location where they are being sold. And it appears Snapchat will use Cimagine’s technology to monetize user engagement over their platform by applying this same technology to a host of different retailers.
Cimagine’s four co-founders — Ozi Egri, Amiram Avraham, Nir Daube and CEO Yoni Nevo — are each reportedly specialists in the fields of computer vision and image processing.
The augmented reality platform reportedly already has several international clients, including Jerome’s furniture stores in Southern California; Shop Direct, a digital retailer located in the United Kingdom; and the world-renowned Coca-Cola.
Snapchat was created in September 2011, and although its annal revenue is less than $1 billion, TechCrunch notes an IPO that values the company at approximately $25 billion is expected early next year.
A different report from Bloomberg this October notes that SnapChat could even be valued at $40 billion. Bloomberg has suggested the company might be able to raise up to $4 billion in cash.
SnapChat currently employs 20 people in Israel, and this acquisition is expected to see that number grow. The app’s strongest appeal appears to be among users between the ages of 12 to 34.
Outside of California, Israel is the world’s leader in tehnology and innovation. The collaboration between Israel and the Golden State continues to grow at a rapid pace.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Periscope and Twitter @AdelleNaz
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.