Candy Ventures has agreed to buy Blippar, a UK-based augmented reality (AR) technology provider in administration that is backed by mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm, Business Insider reported on Wednesday.
Blippar initially launched as a marketing agency that sold AR advertising, but went on to develop several products including as a visual search engine, facial recognition technology and a mapping app.
The company attempted in late 2018 to raise emergency funding in a bid to prevent administration but the investment was blocked by one of its shareholders, leading to it entering administration in December.
Existing shareholder Candy Ventures, an investment fund owned by property developer Nick Candy, has now agreed to wholly acquire the company for an undisclosed amount.
Blippar will relaunch as a new business headed by its co-founder and CEO Ambarish Mitra that will enable users to build mobile augmented reality experiences.
Qualcomm’s corporate venturing arm, Qualcomm Ventures co-led the company’s $37m series E round with Candy Ventures in September 2018, two years after Khazanah Nasional, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund that reportedly blocked the emergency funding, led its $54m series D round.
The series D included existing investors and came a year after Blippar raised $45m in series C funding from undisclosed investors, and four years after an investment of undisclosed size by Qualcomm in 2012.