Shopify brings on team from augmented reality home design app Primer

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In Friday acquisition news, Shopify shared today that they’ve acquired the team from augmented reality startup

Primer

, which makes an app that lets users visualize what tile, wallpaper or paint will look like on surfaces inside their home.

In a

blog post

, co-founders Adam Debreczeni and Russ Maschmeyer write that Primer’s app and services will be shutting down next month as part of the deal. Primer’s team of eight employees will all be joining Shopify following the acquisition.

Primer had partnered with dozens of tile and textile design brands to allow users to directly visualize what their designs would look like using their iPhone and iPad and Apple’s augmented reality platform ARKit. The app has been highlighted by Apple several times, including this

nice write-up

by the App Store’s internal editorial team.

👋 We’ve been working on this one for a while at

@primersupply

💡Our AR paint intelligently blends in highlights and shadows

👨‍💻 Props to

@ericflo

for getting this to the finish line

📱 Live now:

https://t.co/3Tm1TYksQB

pic.twitter.com/qMd5JGSWbt

Adam Debreczeni (@heyadam)

March 9, 2021

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Primer’s backers included Slow Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Foundation Capital and Expa.

There’s been a lot of big talk about how augmented reality will impact online shopping, but aside from some of the integrations made in home design, there hasn’t been an awful lot that’s found its way into real consumer use. Shopify has worked on some of

their own integrations

— allowing sellers to embed 3D models into their storefronts that users can drop into physical space — but it’s clear that there’s much more room left to experiment.

Mapbox acquires augmented reality activity tracking app Fitness AR