Snapchat parent company Snap, Inc. has reportedly acquired an Israeli startup called Cimagine that lets consumers visualize products that they potentially want to buy within the setting that intend to use them. Snap paid between $30 million and $40 million for the augmented reality commerce platform, according to Techcrunch, which represents the company’s first acquisition in Israel.
Cimagine has worked with Coca-Cola, HSN, John Lewis, U.K. e-tailer Shop Direct, and the California furniture franchise Jerome’s to provide trial effects for their respective websites and apps. Techcrunch speculates that Snapchat could employ similar technology for augmented reality ad campaigns, such as one conducted alongside Starbucks this summer that enabled users to superimpose lenses over their Frappuccinos.
In addition to providing a potential development center within the tech hub that is Israel, the acquisition could also represent a talent grab for Cimagine’s four co-founders, according to Techcrunch, who specialize in computer vision and image processing.
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Founded in 2012, Cimagine has raised an undisclosed amount of equity funding in three rounds from investors including 2B Angels, Explore. Dream. Discover., iVentures Asia, OurCrowd, PLUS Ventures, and Titanium Investments. Snap, meanwhile, has confidentially filed for a March 2017 IPO that is reported to value the ephemeral messaging (and wearables) company at $25 billion.
Check out Cimagine’s technology in action below:
