Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Virtual reality specialist Vection Technologies (VR1) announced plans to buy HTC-backed tech company Mindesk today
- Vection will buy Mindesk in a full-scrip acquisition valuing the company at roughly $3.3 million
- With the purchase, Vection will gain some key institutional investors, including HTC Vive and A11-Venture
- Mindesk has also locked in some strong partnerships with the likes of Logitech, Autodesk, and Epic Games
- The combining of Vection and Mindesk tech will potentially let designers create products from scratch entirely in VR
- Vection shares have gone unchanged today, continuing to trade for two cents each in mid-afternoon trade
Virtual and augmented reality company Vection Technologies (VR1) has announced plans to buy out HTC-backed Mindesk in a full-scrip offering.
Vection had just $345,000 cash on hand at the end of the last quarter but has made the call to buy Mindesk by issuing roughly 165 million Vection shares to the company. This values the purchase at $3.3 million based on Vection’s current share price.
However, the scrip absorption of Mindesk brings some big names to Vection’s flagship FrameS tech.
Key institutional investors of Mindesk include HTC Vive, Primomiglio SGR, and A11-Venture. Subsequently, these three investors will join Vection’s shareholder base, escrowed for 12 months from the purchase date.
Pearly Chen, the Vice President of Business Development at HTC, spoke highly of Vection in light of the fresh acquisition.
“We are grateful to have had the opportunity to back Mindesk since their early days and share the team’s excitement about the possibilities this acquisition could unleash for Vection Technologies and their customers globally,” Pearly said.
“We are firm believers of the many positive ways virtual reality will transform how we work, collaborate, and connect with one another. It is great to see validation of Mindesk’s vision of accelerating productivity with real-time technologies and we look forward to supporting their joined journey onwards as a new shareholder of Vection Technologies,” she said.
What’s the big idea?
The combination of Vection and Mindesk’s VR and augmented reality (AR) tech brings with it the possibility for designers and engineers to create products from scratch entirely in VR.
Mindesk lets users seamless switch from ordinary computer-aided design (CAD) to VR in real-time. According to Vection, this tech is the only type available that links several commercial CAD and design software for quick switching.
Mindesk’s tech links Rhinoceros, Dassault Solidworks, and Epic Games Unreal Editor so that designers don’t need to spend time exporting projects before switching to a new platform.
The easy linking comes from Mindesk’s Live Link graphic engine. While Vection’s VR design tech has typically targeted luxury car designers, the Mindesk purchase means the company is gaining a foothold in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industries.
Further, Mindesk has landed some high-profile partnerships in the past, notably including brands like Autodesk, Microsoft BizSpark, Logitech, and Epic Games.
Since 2017, Mindesk’s product suite has seen consistent quarter-on-quarter growth in both downloads and paying customers. This has been despite beta testing ongoing until 2019 and minimal market exposure.
Vection Managing Director Gianmarco Biagi said the Mindesk purchase is a milestone for the company as it works to make design projects easier and more accessible to amateurs and professionals alike.
“Together, Vection and Mindesk bring significant client access represented by global companies such as Lamborghini, Ferretti Yachts and Volvo Italy with best-in-class technology partnerships including Dassault SolidWorks, McNeel, Autodesk, Epic Games, HP, Logitech and Varjo,” he said.
Vection’s share price has gone unchanged today as the company continues to trade at a flat two cents per share.
