Introducing Our Latest Acquisition: Binocular

We're very excited to welcome the newest member of the Blippar family, Binocular!

Binocular is an Austin, Texas-based software startup that specializes in providing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences for brands and consumers. The team has worked with and created apps for leading brands, and is best known for its creation of the Cannes Lions award-winning Glasses.com app.

This marks our second acquisition in the last year since Layar joined forces with Blippar in 2014. Here at Blippar, we are determined to steer the growth of the augmented reality (AR) industry and to help champion this new consumer behavior. With these acquisitions, we continue to strengthen our advanced technology offering to clients, helping them create even more engaging and immersive user experiences.

“As we continue to transform the way people relate to and connect with the world around them, we’re always looking to incorporate the best and brightest minds in the industry into our team to expand our offerings," said Blippar CEO and co-founder Ambarish Mitra. "Binocular has a proven track record of transforming the user experience across industries, and we’re excited to add its talented team to help us further our mission of changing the way people access and discover information.”

Binocular spent its first 18 months devoted to developing "virtual try-on" apps, resulting in the Glasses.com app. The app enabled users to scan their faces from several angles to generate a model of their head to virtually try-on eyewear in a photorealistic experience.

After the success of the app, Binocular created similar experiences for Luxottica’s premiere brands, such as Ray-Ban. Binocular also expanded its expertise to other sectors, creating virtual try-on experiences for other global brands in the cosmetics and jewelry industries.

The team is comprised of talented individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit. “We’ve built an all-star roster of entrepreneurs focused on creating great user experiences, and we’re excited to dive in and contribute to the continued evolution of Blippar,” said Darren Turetzky, CEO of Binocular.

This acquisition will add an extra dimension to Blippar’s platform by providing a boost to consumer engagement for brands across multiple industries, including beauty, fashion and bridal.