GeoCV raises $1.8 million for its 3D capture technology

GeoCV, a New York-based 3D capture startup, raised $1.8 million in seed investment from Runa Capital, Emery Capital, and several New York angel investors.

GeoCV scans interior spaces using a 3D camera equipped smartphone and proprietary software. The space can be viewed in 3D from any angle in virtual reality (VR), or in a web browser. Unlike competitors that offer 3D scanners at a price of $5,000, GeoCV utilizes $500 smartphones with 3D cameras like Lenovo Google Tango, delivering affordable 3D capturing and sharing reality to the mass market.

“Our goal is to become the world’s No. 1 solutions provider for 3D capturing,” said Anton Yakubenko, GeoCV co-founder and CEO. “Real estate is a beachhead market, where agents can include a 3D virtual tour in their listing. Other brick and mortar industries such as construction, interior design, insurance and property management will follow. User-generated content creation tools are the longer-term future when everyone has a 3D camera in their pocket and can easily view in AR and VR.”

Though the full range of consumer applications for 3D capture and VR remains to be discovered, real estate professionals have already valued the revolutionary uses. Photorealistic 3D virtual tours enable agents to attract a larger number of potential homebuyers and tenants by providing a complete preview of a property through a remote walk.

While GeoCV technology is currently in closed beta, the company already offers a service to New York realtors at disruptive pricing. For $149 they get a whole package of real estate marketing visuals: a 3D tour, professional photos and a floor plan. The 3D tour includes a 3D scan for an overhead view to showcase the layout, 360-degree panoramas for an immersive walkthrough and 2D floor plan with dimensions extracted from the 3D scan.

“The biggest problem the VR industry now faces is a lack of realistic content, and most of the 3D/VR content we see today is either synthetic or bound to a specific viewpoint,” said Dmitry Galperin, a Runa Capital principal. “We are excited to partner with GeoCV, a team of computer vision experts who offer unique 3D capture technology virtualizing entire scenes like your house, store, or office space in a way that you can freely navigate in VR. This approach is changing how people buy or rent real estate, but one can imagine that the technology will be used by e-tailers, game developers and more.”

About GeoCV

GeoCV was founded in 2014 by 3D computer vision experts with 12 years of experience in the industry. The company has previously raised $700,000 and is an alumnus of San Francisco-based Rothenberg Ventures River accelerator for VR companies, and New York-based Starta Accelerator.