IKEA Acquires 3D Home Furnishing Company Geomagical Labs To Enhance Virtual Shopping

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group and the owner of ikea.com, has announced the acquisition of Silicon Valley-based AI imaging and 3D technology company, Geomagical Labs. The financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed yet.

According to Ingka Group, the acquisition of Geomagical Labs is a part of IKEA's digital transformation. Geomagic's technology will enhance IKEA's customers to experiment with home furnishing by mobile capturing 3D photos of a room. IKEA will integrate Geomagic's technology into its app and website. This will facilitate direct purchases by virtually viewing IKEA's furniture using photorealistic 3D representations to their place.

Ingka Group, IKEA Retail's Chief Digital Officer, Barbara Martin Coppola said, with Geomagical Labs, IKEA wants to bring its home furnishing expertise to many people in new ways, in a period when people are spending more time at their homes. IKEA could support its customers with their everyday life through an enhanced digital meeting with Geomagic's technology by assisting them in their unique design needs.

To date, IKEA has invested more than $200 million and acquired 23 companies to fulfill its vision by making a positive contribution to the sector, and it will continue the same, Barbara adds.

In 1997, Ping Fu founded AI-based 3D enterprise software firm, Geomagical Labs. Currently, Geomagic is a leading provider of 3D imaging software that creates photorealistic 3D representations of physical objects. Geomagic's technology is used by design professionals to improve quality and shorten the time for reverse engineering and inspecting the parts and products through Geomagic's platforms like Geomagic Studio, Geomagic Qualify, and Geomagic Wrap.

Geomagic's first product of scanning a room via any smartphone to create a panoramic 3D picture in minutes by removing all the furniture and then equipping all new items. This product interested IKEA for the acquisition and implementation of Geomagic’s technology into its website and app to enable customers to start a more accurate virtual model of the furnishing to their space.

Earlier Geomagical Labs, IKEA had developed an AR-based visualization tool with Apple. Still, Geomagic technology is far more accurate. Besides, Geomagic will also empower IKEA to build more features and in-house tools in the future.