Avataar raises $45M in a Series B round from Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India

San Francisco and Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision platform Avataar today announced it has raised $45 million or Rs 334 crore in a Series B funding round led by US-based Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital India. Sequoia is an existing investor in the startup.

According to the statement, The financing is one of the largest fundraising rounds in the Applied 3D/AR space.

Founded in 2014 by Prashanth Aluru, Sravanth Aluru, Gaurav Baid, and Mayank Tiwari, with a vision of creating a virtual life-size embodiment of our physical world that can co-exist within physical spaces and drive a paradigm shift in visual discovery experiences globally.

Avataar's platform powers various global e-commerce marketplaces and leading D2C brands, shaping consumer journeys with life-sized 3D product evaluation coupled with interactive feature discovery.

Through its patented rendering platform, Avataar claims to offer plug-and-play integration into the websites and mobile apps of its client partners. The startup says that their platform acts as an ‘Inside Engine’ powering multiple user experience shifts to interactive life-size Web 3.0, also known as the Metaverse.

With this round of funding, Avataar will focus on technology innovation and expanding the platform's global footprint.

“More than 60 percent of human sensory neural processing is visual in nature, and the lack of spatial depth on flat screens today drives a big experience gap between the digital (static 2D images and videos) and the physical world experiences," said Sravanth Aluru, Founder and CEO, Avataar.

"The digital world is undergoing a fundamental shift from static 2D content to a life-size virtual 3D world that is dynamic and superimposable onto our shared physical reality. Avataar aims to be the ‘Inside Engine’ powering many new consumer journeys in this shift," Sravanth said.

Avataar's backend SuperNova platform seamlessly ingests existing 2D product images/videos across categories like furniture, electronics, large appliances, fashion, and more, and offers a plug and play front-end integration for consumer visualization of life-size 3D avataars of products at scale.

As per the statement, The digital and digitally influenced marketplace is projected to grow to $18 trillion by 2025, offering a monetization opportunity of more than $50 billion over the next decade for the underlying platforms driving the 2D to 3D commerce shift.

Speaking on the investment, Evan Feinberg, Partner at Tiger Global, said:

“Consumers continue to look for a better eCommerce experience, and the innovative technology created by Avataar provides a powerful plug and play solution for its customers to meet this demand. As the digital world shifts from 2D to 3D, Avataar and its talented management team are well-positioned in this fast-growing market."

Avataar.me is leading the way in bringing scale creation capabilities to the largest brands to enable commerce – an application with tremendous promise in AR/VR environments. Sravanth, Gaurav, and Mayank have been a delight to work with and Sequoia Capital India is excited to re-iterate its commitment in their Series B round,” said Shailesh Lakhani, MD at Sequoia India.

Also Read:

• D2C brand Freecultr raises $5M in a Series A round for growth expansion

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