Matterport Expands into APAC with New Managing Director, Bruce Wells

Businesses and organizations across the globe are leveraging Matterport 3D digital twins to enable new levels of business creation, engagement, and creativity that has never been seen before -- and doing so without the need to physically be on-site at the property. Asia is home to over half the world's population, and over 80% of the 50 world's tallest buildings which makes up the largest region of built spaces. Spearheading Matterport’s growth in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, we’ve brought on a proven veteran, Bruce Wells, as our Managing Director. 

Bruce will advance strategic business objectives and lead the APAC vision, mission, and long term goals. Matterport will be driving adoption through various strategic partnerships, including expansion of the value-added reseller (VAR) program in APAC, to offer Matterport’s all-in-one 3D platform to new customers across industries including residential and commercial real estate, property management, architecture, engineering, construction, and insurance. 

Matterport works with a wide range of digital cameras that provide the flexibility to create Matterport 3D spaces of any size, scale, and complexity. In addition to our industry leading Matterport Pro2 camera, Matterport’s powerful 3D capture platform is also compatible with sophisticated Lidar cameras along with a family of affordable 360 cameras like the Insta360 ONE X and the Ricoh Theta V and Theta Z1 for ease and convenience of capturing a digital twin. And today, the company launched Matterport for iPhone, enabling users to capture and share 3D spaces for the first time using the phone in their pocket.

Prior to Matterport, Bruce ran a business consultancy to help companies launch or expand across key Asian markets, 8today Ltd.; served as VP & GM of Medallia, the global leader in customer experience management; and led Vision Critical, an insights-driven customer experience management company, as its President and Managing Director. With his well-established track record in APAC, Bruce has lived and worked in Asia for over 25 years in Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.  

Connect with Bruce on LinkedIn or contact him at [email protected].

What excites you about building Matterport’s presence in APAC?

Over the past few decades, the APAC region has seen unprecedented levels of growth especially in terms of economic development and infrastructure investment.  There is a growing appetite to leverage technologies that have multiplying effects in the marketplace which represents an incredible opportunity for Matterport. I'm thrilled to be leveraging my 25+ years in the region to lead our expansion and growth across the biggest, and arguably the most exciting, geography in the world. 

What impact do you think Matterport can make in APAC?  

Given the vast geographic distances between vendors, suppliers, consumers, partners, and other stakeholders, and the growing need for instantaneous information, Matterport will certainly unlock tremendous value for our customers and partners.   

In APAC, there’s the propensity to embrace new technologies, develop partnerships and encourage collaboration. I believe we'll see Matterport models expand further and wider across industries connected to the building lifecycle.

A recent example can be seen with the spreading of the Coronavirus. Industries that require employees, customers or stakeholders to be on-site need a technologically-advanced solution like Matterport. As COVID-19 continues to spread, our customers are telling us how their investment in our platform has helped them keep their businesses going. 

In Seoul, the National Museum of Korea adopted Matterport after being hit hard by the Coronavirus. Visitors can now tour the museum’s major exhibitions from any device in the safety of their homes.

Are there specific use cases you think would resonate the most in APAC?

In the short term, we still see commercial and residential real estate as the initial focus. This is where Matterport started and still has tremendous growth potential across the region due to travel times between various cities and the continued interest of international investors.  For example, a Singapore investor looking at property in Australia can now take a dimensionally accurate photo-realistic virtual tour of dozens of properties without leaving the comfort of his or her home. 

Like in the United States, we expect to see a wide range of adoption in architecture, engineering and construction; facilities management; travel and hospitality; insurance and restoration.

We’re expanding our value-added reseller program in APAC, and have seen immediate success in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.