AVentures Capital, a Ukrainian venture capital fund that invests primarily in the information technology sector, announced today that it bought a 25 percent equity stake in Augmented Pixels, a technology developer for Google Glasses and other augmented reality applications.
Both sides closed the deal on Feb. 15, but
didn’t disclose the financial details of the investment to the public.
However, Yevgen Sysoyev, co-managing
partner and CEO of the venture fund, told the Kyiv Post that the fund typically invests
from $300,000 to $3 million into one deal and the size of the deal is in this
range.
Based in the port city of Odesa, Augmented Pixels primarily
develops mobile phone technology and applications in “augmented reality,” a
live, direct or indirect, view of the physical environment whose elements are
enhanced by computer-generated sensors.
“This newly created industry is developing
rapidly in both hardware – such as Google Glasses – and software,” said an AVentures’
press release today. “Experts from Mind Commerce, Juniper Research, Research
and Markets, as well as others forecast a multibillion dollar turnover in
augmented reality in just two to three years.”
Already a recognized software developer for
mobile operating systems, such as, for iPhones, Android phones and Google Glasses,
with established global partners, the CEO of Augmented Pixels, Vitaliy
Goncharuk, has set an ambitious goal to gain 10 percent of global market share
in the augmented reality mobile niche.
The company monetizes the technology it
develops through the sale of licenses to both business-to-business and
business-to-consumer clients, as well as through the sale of its own products.
It cooperates with advertising agencies, gaming companies, and develops
strategic partnerships within the augmented reality ecosystem, reads the
AVentures press release.
“The development of the augmented reality
industry is accelerating,” noted Sysoyev. “I am confident that already in 2014,
we will witness disruptive new generation devices and mass-market consumer
applications. Augmented Pixels is gaining traction in a very promising category
of mobile applications and games. We are pleased to become partners with world
class technology entrepreneurs with an eye on making money.”
Launched in March 2012, AVentures’ venture
capital fund plans to invest up to $30 million within the next two to three
years. Its target investments are the consumer internet and e-commerce sectors
in Ukraine and Russia, as well as software, mobile, gaming and other digital
related projects with a larger geographical reach.
The fund is co-managed by Sysoyev and Andriy
Kolodyuk, the founder of Divan.TV, a leading over-the-top content Smart TV
operator in Ukraine and Russia.
Kyiv
Post editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
