Newscorp backed online real estate platform PropTiger, has announced the acquisition of Out of Box Interaction (OoBI), an interactive UI design firm for an undisclosed amount.
PropTiger mentioned that the reason behind acquisition is that it wants to improve the design of its website and want to display projects of real estate in a more immersive way.
Dhruv Agarwala, co-founder of PropTiger.com said,
The acquisition of OoBI will help us in adding a new dimension to our customers’ home search process by making digital information more tangible and interactive. It will work as PropTiger’s design and innovation studio and offer products to delight inform and engage home buyers,
After the deal closes, the team of OoBi, along with its founders will continue to work with the company. It currently offers various marketing products for real estate projects, including mobile apps with features like augmented reality, multi-touch kiosks, tables and screen for presentation at marketing offices and property expos, etc.
OoBi was founded by Atish Patel and Kumar Ahir. It has developed products and solutions for more than 42 top real estate developers in India, including Godrej properties, Karle Infra, RMZ Corp, Olympia, and many more, facilitating the sale of over 270 projects across the country. Currently, it is based in three cities – Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. After the deal, the company is looking at pan-India reach.
Atish Patel, Co-Founder of OoBI, said,
Buying a home is an investment of a lifetime; traditional media cannot adequately showcase important aspects of properties that are under development and doesn’t really provide sufficient information to justify an investment. Moreover, what is available in the market in the name of virtual reality is very basic. What OoBI’s design and innovation studio will offer to real estate developers and PropTiger.com customers will take the home buying experience to the next level,.
PropTiger.com was founded in 2011 by Harvard Business School alumni Dhruv Agarwala and Kartik Varma along with Prashan Agarwal. It sold off 25 per cent stake to global media giant News Corp for $30 million. Earlier in April 2012, the company raised $5 million from Accel Partners and SAIF Partners.
It seems that the start-ups in real estate verticals are looking at acquisitions to expand their reach and technology bandwidth. Recently, Housing.com acquired Indian Real Estate Forum for $1.2 million. It is also in talks to acquire PropEquity, a real estate analytic firm for Rs. 80 crore.
