US computer vision startup Occipital is launching an R&D office in Moscow, having absorbed the team of GeoCV, a startup with Russian roots.
“By joining the teams we will enable new computer vision applications, which bring value to consumers and businesses,” said Gleb Krivovyaz, GeoCV co-founder and CTO.
“Teaching devices to see and understand the world in 3D is a fundamental element for the next era of computing [of which] we’re just scratching the surface,” he added.
The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but the US company specified that is not acquiring GeoCV as a company and does not intend to support its flagship product, ‘Virtual Open House.’ The ex-GeoCV team will instead “be focused on advancing existing Occipital product lines.”
In an exchange with East-West Digital News, GeoCV co-founder and CEO Anton Yakubenko said that Virtual Open House “will continue to run automatically in the foreseeable future.” GeoCV customers will “still be able to capture, process, edit and host GeoCV 3D tours,” but “human tech support is no longer available.”
Attracting the GeoCV team is not enough for Occipital: the US company is also “aggressively recruiting for additional computer vision, 3D visualization and software engineering talent to grow the Moscow team further.”
GeoCV was founded in 2014 to apply 3D computer vision and a machine-learning approach to real estate visual marketing. Virtual Open House offers 3D+360° photorealistic walkthroughs with textured floor plans as well as professional photos and virtual staging.
Having established its headquarters in New-York City, the startup targeted essentially the US market. It completed several rounds of funding, dealing with such funds as Runa Capital and Emery Capital.
Occipital, on its side, has developed a “real-time tracking, mapping and perception technology.” This includes 3D capture instruments that can scan small objects, rooms, or outdoor spaces. Its new Moscow office is coming in addition to offices in Boulder (Colorado), San Francisco, Gainesville (Florida) and Madrid. The company was incepted in 2008.
