AR/VR: Visualizing a room within a room

A leading augmented and virtual reality technology provider, iStaging, has announced that it has secured $5m in pre-Series A funding. The funding round was led by cross-border venture capital firm WI Harper alongside iStaging’s seed investor, Taya Venture Capital.

iStaging caters to service providers to the home market, most notably furniture makers and real estate agents. The company’s AR and VR products include a comprehensive set of tools — from platform-centric apps on mobile devices to VR glasses for visualization. iStaging’s innovations enable businesses in its target market segments to provide their clients with the capability to visualize the end-product in a realistic setting — be it avant-garde furniture pieces or properties for sale/rent.

With this round of funding, iStaging is expanding deeper into territories where it currently has satellite sales offices, namely in Redwood City, California and Paris, France. Further expansion in these two geographical regions is now in the cards. Additionally, and in cooperation with its partners in China, the company will continue to make progress in this vast, burgeoning market. “We are extremely happy to benefit from the network of support that our VC investors bring to the table,” said Johnny Lee, iStaging CEO and Founder.

“The funding will reinforce our efforts to develop and promote the best-in-class AR and VR tools for our target markets, added Kevin Basset, iStaging’s Head of Marketing. “The most used technologies are those that complement your daily work. iStaging provides exactly that. As an example, with our VR Maker, real estate agents have everything they need to capture, create, and allow their clients to visualize hundreds of properties virtually before selecting the ones to visit in person. That’s a powerful tool for increasing efficiency and winning sales, and it’s something we’re excited to promote in the US, Europe and China.”

WI Harper and Taya Venture Capital’s investments in iStaging are strategic decisions for the two firms:

“AR/VR is one of the most exciting and eye-catching technologies in this era, and will be the promise for the next generation of technology. iStaging is one of our proud portfolio start-ups which has already grown and developed to become a very promising company. It’s a great feeling to witness them close this round quickly, and sign up with so many interested international strategic partners,” said Peter Liu, Founder and Chairman of WI Harper.

“Taya Ventures is proud to be an early investor in iStaging and looks forward to supporting the next phase of its growth. iStaging’s augmented and virtual reality technologies are on the verge of an inflection point, and will significantly improve the utilization of time and resources by home-buyers, homeowners, and real estate agents alike. Taya Ventures envisions iStaging making the world smaller and more accessible to all, and is excited to see the numerous applications of iStaging’s technology unfold over the coming years.” added Ryan Shen, Chairman of Taya Venture Capital.