Matterport Acquires UK-based Virtual Walkthrough
Immersive Media and VR Pioneer Continues Global Expansion with Acquisition of Virtual Tour Technology Company
SUNNYVALE, Calif. – July 14, 2016 – Leading immersive media company, Matterport®, today announced the acquisition of Virtual Walkthrough, a London-based company specializing in virtual tours for residential and commercial property.
“Virtual Walkthrough has a tremendous reputation in the UK and Europe, with notable real estate clients such as CBRE, Hammerson and Keller Williams and travel and hospitality clients such as Marriott and Intercontinental hotels. Virtual Walkthrough is a natural fit for Matterport, in terms of business focus, philosophy, and technology,” said Bill Brown, CEO of Matterport. “Both companies share the same vision of enabling people to experience places as if they were there. We’re excited to continue to expand our vision together, on a global scale, for more people and across more industries.”
Launched in 2014, Virtual Walkthrough was established to revitalize the ways in which residential and commercial properties are marketed online, creating fully navigable 360° online virtual tours, virtual reality (VR), as well as RICS standard floor plans, photographs and videos. The company has since extended its focus to also include leisure and venue space projects, from hotels to exhibition spaces. The company serves all aspects of the UK property market, and has more than 200 clients, including Hammerson, Sellmyhome.co.uk, Standard Life and CBRE.
Virtual Walkthrough will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary, and will continue to service clients as usual, though the intention over time is for the Virtual Walkthrough platform to integrate Matterport’s 3D technology as a replacement for its 360° tours, providing a superior experience for customers. Virtual Walkthrough will eventually sell the Matterport Pro Camera and Cloud Services and will serve as the European business development headquarters for Matterport.
“With Matterport’s 3D solution, Virtual Walkthrough will be able to provide a more immersive /realistic experience to clients in the UK and Europe,” said James Morris-Manuel, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Virtual Walkthrough. “Matterport’s advanced technology, including a simple capture system, virtual reality support and more, will allow us to provide additional value to customers and to expand globally.”
The acquisition comes on the heels of Matterport’s recent international market entry into the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia in Q2 2016. Matterport has experienced strong international demand, and already has customers in over 50 countries. The acquisition positions the company to continue its international expansion.
About MatterportHeadquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, Matterport is an immersive media technology company that delivers an end-to-end system for creating, modifying, distributing, and navigating immersive 3D and virtual reality (VR) versions of real-world spaces on web and mobile devices. The Matterport Pro Camera and Cloud Services make it quick and easy to turn real-world places into immersive virtual experiences.
With the introduction of the Matterport 3D Showcase web player, Matterport has made it incredibly easy for anyone to move through virtual spaces as if they were there, from any desktop or mobile browser. With the addition of VR Showcase, users can now experience Matterport Spaces from a Samsung Gear VR headset or Google Cardboard (in “early-access”), with additional device support coming soon.
