Why Snapchat is Buying this Israeli Augmented Reality Startup Cimagine?

The popular photo-video messaging app Snapchat is ready for its first acquisition in Israel. As per a report by financial daily, the company is buying an Israeli augmented reality startup named Cimagine Media for an estimated $30-$40 million.

Cimagine develops True Marketless Augmented Reality technology, which allows users to virtually place furniture and appliances they wish to purchase in the space of their home on their mobile device itself at the click of a button.

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Sounds familiar? Yes, it is. We have seen this technology in Lenovo's first Tango based smartphone- the Phab 2 Plus. Project Tango is built around augmented reality and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro will be the world's commercial model based on Google Tango. It is Google's dream of weird and innovative products in mobile technology.

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But is it the technology or anything else that triggered the idea of acquiring the startup? As per information, the startup has a highly-skilled team, which is probably the main reason Snapchat is so eager to invest heavily in the acquisition.

The reports further say that Cimagine will become Snapchat's research and development centre in Israel and is expected to rapidly expand its workforce from its current 20 employees. Cimagine was founded in 2012 and has raised a few million dollars.