Ingka Group acquires Geomagical Labs

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group (owner and operator of 380 IKEA stores in 30 countries) has acquired Geomagical Labs, a leading US-based development company of 3D and visual AI solutions for interactive home furnishing inspiration, based in Silicon Valley, California.  

In order to better meet the increasing needs of its customers, Ingka Group is continuing to invest as part of its digital transformation. The 3D and AI technology developed by Geomagical Labs will be used to bring out the uniqueness of IKEA to life, digitally, by making it easy for customers to capture and furnish their homes using photorealistic 3D representations of their furnishings. 

“With Geomagical Labs onboard, we can bring our home furnishing expertise to many people in new ways and assist them in their unique design needs. In a time when people spend more time at home, we can support our customers with their everyday life through an enhanced digital meeting,” says Barbara Martin Coppola, Chief Digital Officer, IKEA Retail (Ingka Group).

Geomagical Labs develop leading solutions that make it easy for people to take 3D photos from their rooms and experiment with home furnishing solutions to fit their unique needs, from any location – making home or office design an inspiring and fun experience, while saving people valuable time in their creative design process.

“Our work has focused on using technology and magical experiences to enable people’s creativity. We are thrilled to join one of the world’s most beloved brands and are excited to work together to transform the way people interact and purchase home furnishings by bringing together inspiration, imagination and world-class design,” says Brian Totty, Founder and CEO of Geomagical Labs. 

Customers will be able to access the platform via a full integration into the IKEA app and IKEA.com, where they can also purchase directly within the app. Through this, Ingka Group aims to offer an affordable and seamless online shopping experience for the many people that can make their homes and lives better. 

“Digital development is at the very core of our transformation to meet new and changing customer needs. We are now taking a more dynamic approach to digital investments and acquisitions so we can strengthen our IKEA Retail business and target companies with new digital capabilities and services,” says Krister Mattsson, Managing Director of Ingka Investments at Ingka Group.   

Ingka Group now owns 100% of Geomagical Labs, which will operate as an independent subsidiary and continue to be based in Mountain View, California. 

Source : Ingka Group

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