While the western market is abuzz with VR with companies as big as Microsoft stepping in, India on the other hand is a nascent, but emerging market. And in a bid to be first movers in that emerging market segment, SmartVizX, a virtual reality (VR) solutions start-up which builds unique ‘Immersive Technology’ solutions using VR for the real estate and other industries, has raised over half a million US dollars from the Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India (SA&E India).
The round was led by Saurabh Srivastava, considered as one of the architects of the IT Industry and entrepreneurial eco-system in India, Mohit Goyal, Founding Member & Director, IAN, and Ajay Lavakare, Member, IAN and Co-President of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs India.
SmartVizX is the first virtual reality start-up that IAN & SA&E India have invested in and has generated a lot of excitement – the investment deal was over-subscribed in less than twenty minutes after opening. For SA&E, this is their second Indian investment, with previous investment being in data analytics startup Prophesee – again combined with IAN. This time too, SA&E’s Lavakare will join the board of SmartVizX.
SmartVizX is aiming to target two extremely diverse markets together — Real-Estate and the over $150Billion-by-2020 Virtual Reality segment.
We are thrilled by the kind of response we have received and the investors who we have on board. Not only have they helped us in assessing the opportunities in front of us but most importantly they bring an extensive amount of experience which will help us in realizing the true potential of our capabilities.
said Gautam Tewari, Founding Director, SmartVizX.
The Virtual Reality market is expected to rise to a $150 billion market by 2020 with multiple levels of functionality across sectors – some yet to be discovered. With virtual reality hardware such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive releasing their consumer version kits, the demand for VR driven content will grow exponentially.
The concept of virtual reality application for business is itself is a disruptive idea. The unique mix of architects and game developers at SmartVizX with the strategic expertise which the founders bring to the table makes us confident that they will be able to transform their vision into reality,
said Saurabh Srivasatava.
Virtual Reality is no longer a future dream; it is already one of the biggest technology trends this year. SmartVizX has identified key sectors with immense need for virtualisation and has a head-start in developing innovative product applications to meet these needs. The opportunity is immense and the team at SmartVizX is very well positioned to tap it,
said Ajay Lavakare.
Having worked with prominent brands like Rockworth, Quikr, PNB Metlife, and Developer Group, SmartVizX is upbeat about helping brands utilize potential of VR applications and creating products to maximize business outcomes.
The funding will be used to expand R&D and to launch a new Bangalore center within the first few months. The funds will also be used to grow the team, including hiring a new R&D head and a Chief Technology Officer, that will innovate on products & applications across sectors.
Founders say that the key focus areas for the company over the next 6 months will remain the real estate and AEC industries but it will also explore new avenues such as listing portals, e-commerce, and the furniture industry to enable better visualization of products & services and enable informed decision-making. SmartVizX also plans to build further virtualization tools in addition to testing new methods of engagement through this immersive technology.
SmartvizX was founded in February 2015 by Gautam Tewari and Tithi Tewari, who are veterans in the space of architecture and design, each with over 15 years of experience. They realized the potential of gamification in everyday decision making using Virtual Reality which allows users to engage and interact better with content and its numerous applications across diverse sectors.
