The American manufacturer of microchips Qualcomm has acquired the Ukrainian company Augmented Pixels, which specialises in augmented reality. Sources inside the startup confirmed information about the deal.
Augmented Pixels was founded in 2013 by an Odessa programmer Vitaliy Goncharuk. His profile on the Linkdein social network states that he now holds the position of Qualcomm’s director of engineering.
The parties do not disclose the amount of the agreement. In 2021, Forbes estimated Augmented Pixels at $20-40 million. The company attracted $7 million in investment. Qualcomm was one of Augmented Pixels‘ largest customers. As of December 14, its market capitalization is $ 211.7 billion. The revenue for 2021 is $33.6 billion. Among the startup’s investors are AVentures Capital, ICU, Ciklum founder Torben Maygaard, as well as The Hive and Steltec Capital.
Since 2015, the startup Augmented Pixels head office is located in Palo Alto, California, but development is underway in Ukrainian offices in Kyiv, Lviv, and other cities. The startup is developing augmented reality navigation and accurate 3D geolocation. Also they help robots and drones to move in areas where GPS is not available, such as warehouses or workshops. The field of cartography has been developing for the last three years – in 2021, Augmented Pixels launched a platform for creating 3D-maps GlobalMap.AI (Crowdsourcing platform for 3D mapping the Earth), CoprMap AI (Enterprise multiplatform software for indoor AR navigation, 3D mapping and facility management based on AI analytics).
Qualcomm is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of microchips, including for smartphones and GPS navigation. Despite the global shortage of semiconductors in the fourth quarter of 2021, the company’s sales increased by 56% compared to last year. We managed to increase revenue by increasing the demand for smartphones. The company expects to continue to grow through virtual and augmented reality devices. In 2021, the chipmaker made several significant acquisitions. In March, Qualcomm bought the young American microchip developer Nuvia for $1.4 billion. In October, it acquired Swedish technology developer Veoneer for $4.5 billion.
Augmented Pixels is a startup in AR / VR, navigation, and digital cartography. It was founded by the Odessan Vitaly Goncharuk in 2010. Among its products are technologies that allow works to navigate autonomously in a space where GPS navigation is unavailable. The startup has raised approximately $7 million during its existence, and the last round of $2 million was raised in February 2021.