- Nextech has been selected as an early access partner for Google’s 3D AR search program through which its current Threedy.ai customers’ 3D models will soon appear in organic Google search results
- Threedy.ai provides a scalable 3D model creation platform
- Nextech announced the expansion of its partnership with Kohl’s Corporation, one of the largest department store chains in the US and Threedy.ai’s customer
- Nextech has closed the previously announced acquisition of UK-based spatial computing company, ARWAY Ltd, in an all-stock transaction
In 2019, during its annual I/O Conference, Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), announced that moving forward, its search engine would start displaying 3D and augmented reality (“AR”) objects as a search engine results page (“SERP”) feature. This would mark a departure from the site’s original, single focus on indexing and subsequently displaying 2D data such as text and images.
In an interview with Steve Darling from Proactive (https://ibn.fm/OhJdW), however, Nextech AR Solutions (CSE: NTAR) (OTCQB: NEXCF) CTO of Visual Computing and Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), Nima Sarshar, noted that the roll-out was slow, even though Google had partnered with a few brands like Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT). As a result, Google recently expanded the number of brands by selecting Toronto-based Nextech as an early access partner for its 3D AR search program. With this, Nextech, one of the leaders in the rapidly growing AR industry, will give exclusive early access of the 3D search program to its current Threedy.ai customers (https://ibn.fm/ciJKm).
Threedy.ai is a scalable 3D model creation platform that generates 3D models from 2D photos using Nextech’s proprietary AI technology, enabling customers to build their 3D product catalogs and create immersive customer journeys. As a disruptive end-to-end solution, Threedy.ai syndicates and scales thousands of 3D visualizations to Google Search, Google Ad Network, and Web AR for e-commerce.
Nextech CEO Evan Gappelberg, who was also featured in the Proactive interview alongside Sarshar, noted that both Nextech and Google are working together on brand new technology – the indexing of 3D models. “So, the challenge for Google is: ‘How do we make it relevant for consumers?’ Meaning having 1, 10, 50, 100 assets is nothing when you are talking about billions of searches,” stated Evan. “The key here is our technology has the ability to create assets at scale, hundreds of thousands and millions. I am not aware of anyone else who can bring that kind of value to Google.”
Evan further pointed that Nextech is able to provide value to Google because of its customers, who, by virtue of the Google-Nextech collaboration, similarly benefit because their assets are indexed and shown in search. “Not everyone can say that. … If you have an e-commerce site and you hire ABC AR Company to turn your asset into a 3D asset, it’s not going to be indexed. It won’t be searchable unless Google invites you in. We’ve been invited in,” Evan explained.
This early access partnership, announced August 24, is bound to benefit Threedy.ai customers, including Kohl’s, Pier 1, Lighting Plus, and Kmart Australia, whose 3D models will soon appear in organic Google search results. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that a few days later, on August 31, Nextech announced the expansion of its partnership with Kohl’s Corporation, one of the largest department store chains in the United States (https://ibn.fm/oapUn).
The expansion, which will see Kohl’s and Nextech significantly scale WebAR for e-commerce, creating thousands of new 3D models that will enhance the AR experience for customers, resulted from the partnership Kohl’s initially had with Threedy.ai, now part of Nextech following an acquisition closed in June.
“When 3D e-commerce solutions are done right, the results can be incredibly rewarding. Not only financially, but also the joy of seeing your product used by millions of customers practically overnight. Our ability to use our AI pipeline to create 3D models at scale is a real value proposition for large retailers like Kohl’s,” commented Sarshar.
Meanwhile, Nextech has inched closer to becoming a metaverse company by closing the previously announced acquisition of UK-based spatial computing company ARWAY Ltd. (“ARway”) (https://ibn.fm/fj4oK) in an all-stock transaction. As part of the transaction, Nextech issued 609,666 common shares in the capital of the company at an agreed value of CA$2.06 per share. Additionally, Nextech hired ARway’s key founders Baran Korkmaz (https://ibn.fm/ScKtX).
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.NextechAR.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to NEXCF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/NEXCF
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