Droom, one of India’s largest online automobile transactional marketplace has acquired Delhi-NCR based AR (augmented reality) startup Visiolab Ideas for an undisclosed amount. Droom says with this the company will introduce an AR-VR lab to enhance customer experience in their vehicle buying research. Under the acquisition, both co-founders of the company will join the Droom team.

The company says it will leverage technological innovations powered by AR, Virtual Reality (VR) in addition to tools using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Big Data to offer new products and solutions for automobile commerce. With this Droom will introduce live virtual tour of vehicles to customers who can experience it in 3D. The company says it has allocated Rs 50 crore last year towards building new and innovative products using AI, AR, and VR.

Commenting on the development, Akshay Singh, chief strategy officer, Droom said, “We are excited to welcome the Visiolab Ideas team to become a part of Droom.  At Droom we have built industry-leading technology-focused products like OBV, Eco, Droom History, Droom Discovery, and Droom Credit for bridging the gap in buying and selling vehicles online. This acquisition will further enhance our capabilities in offering delightful customer experiences and a completely online vehicle buying experience.”

Navdeep Singh, founder and CEO, Visiolab Ideas said: "Augmented Reality is the future, not just in the automotive sector, but for education, healthcare, and almost all of the major fields in the market. That is what got us in this field and gave us the motivation to develop the technology that could bring the showroom experience to your doorstep, in the comfort of your homes. We are delighted that Droom gave us a platform to contribute towards India’s online auto marketplace."

At present, Droom has a presence in over 1,031 cities across India, more than 350,000 auto, over 45 million monthly visitors, more than 12 million app downloads, and more than 6.5 million Facebook followers.