Most customers prefer to see the product before making a purchase. That is the reason why the likes of Amazon have had difficulty moving items online. A San Francisco and Bengaluru-based startup has just raised a new funding round to scale its operations.
Avataar said on Friday that it has raised $45 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Tiger Global, and there was also participation from Sequoia Capital India. The startup has raised over $50 million, with some of it financed by the founder and chief executive in the early years.
Avataar helps direct-to-consumer brands and e-commerce marketplaces with shaping their consumer journeys with 3D renditions of products. Avataar's plug-and-play technology can be integrated into a firm's system to allow customers to see the products in their living room using a phone's camera.
The startup currently works with a number of firms, including the top two e- commerce marketplaces across furniture, large appliances and other categories, according to the founder and chief executive of Avataar. He wouldn't share the names of the clients because of confidentiality agreements. Some firms have acknowledged collaborating with Avataar.
In a demo, Aluru dragged and dropped several products from his partner e-commerce marketplace's app into his living room, changing the color and the SKUs without having to move the virtual items in the house. The items can be interacted with. Users can open and close the door of a virtual refrigerator.
Changes to Avataar's offerings are not required by brands. Avataar can make a virtual and 3D version of the product images if they are in at least1080p resolution. If you are using an Apple device or a phone that is made by a company that makes a mobile operating system, there is a good chance that it has the graphical power to support viewing and interactive virtual objects.
He said that brands are seeing more than 3.5x sales conversion because of the camera being the homescreen. The startup relays engagement information to the partner brands who then personalize their offerings to better serve the customers.
As companies realize the benefits of the technology, they are adapting it. The trend is projected to grow from here.
He did not reveal the brand names of the firms that used Avataar's technology to carry virtual launches. We are integrated across most platforms. If you are watching 3D on a large volume service, it is likely powered by us.
Avataar's founding team. From left to right, are: Prashanth Aluru, Gaurav Baid, and Sravanth Aluru. The image is called Avataar.
Almost all people who use social and communication apps will be using augmented reality by the year 2025, according to a recent report by the company. There are over 100 million customers who shop using augmented reality.
The startup is going to be at the forefront as metaverse makes inroads and engages with several key players in the space.
The metaverse is not evenly distributed. Shailesh Lakhani, MD at Sequoia India, said that Avataar.me is leading the way in bringing scale creation capabilities to the largest brands to enable commerce.
Sequoia Capital India is excited to re-iterate its commitment in their Series B round, and they have been a delight to work with.
The digital and digitally influenced marketplace is projected to grow to $18 trillion by 2025, offering a monetization opportunity of over $50 billion over the next decade for the underlying platforms driving the 2D to 3D commerce shift according to industry estimates.
For the first time in history, we are able to detect, understand, and manipulate consumers' physical reality using a live camera feed. While our patented capabilities are applicable to the overall metaverse evolution, we have started with an upfront focus onRedefining consumers' shopping experiences.
The platform will transform the consumer shopping experience at home on their mobile devices, through augmented reality glasses/wearables, or even in a physical store exploring an infinite aisle of a digitally enabled catalogue.
Evan Feinberg, partner at Tiger Global, said in a statement: "Consumers continue to look for a better experience when shopping online, and the innovative technology created by Avataar provides a powerful plug and play solution for its customers to meet this demand." Avataar and its management team are well positioned in this fast-growing market as the digital world shifts from 2D to 3D.
