Resonai to transform built environments into fully digitized ecosystems

Tel Aviv, Israel-based Resonai aims to build the “digital square foot” and prepare the built world for its “mixed-reality” future. The company is looking to transform physical spaces into intelligent, digitally empowered environments. 

After successfully growing and steering the $60 million sale of Pebbles Interfaces to Meta’s Oculus in 2014, Emil Alon founded Resonai in order to develop a new OS that would converge the physical, built world with emerging digital and web technologies.

“Augmented reality is going to dramatically change the world we live in and the way we experience it today,” he told VentureBeat. “It will require a new paradigm of ownership, accountability and privacy in a world where everything can be reshaped seamlessly for users at any given time.”

The company recently received $20 million in a series A extension funding round with investors such as Meitav Dash, a TSE-traded Israeli institutional investment house; Blue Square Israel, the second-largest retail chain in Israel; and Irani Ventures, the investment arm of Irani Corp (Factory 54), the exclusive representative of the world’s leading fashion brands in Israel.

A digital infrastructure for the physical world

Resonai’s enterprise computer vision technology enables building owners and operators to refactor their properties into new digital assets. Vera, the company’s core platform, serves as a new digital infrastructure, enabling powerful technologies like IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) to be integrated so they can be put to work to improve the world’s physical buildings and properties. Vera facilitates hyper-accurate, location-based applications and experiences across the building lifecycle for relevant stakeholders such as property managers, facility managers and consumers in commercial spaces such as malls, retail, entertainment venues, offices and hospitality settings.

“All over the world, commercial real estate owners and operators are faced with the reality that their portfolios and traditional business models are under pressure and that their survival is increasingly threatened by broad shifts in society and consumer behavior toward more modern, hybrid, digital ways of living and working,” said Alon. “At Resonai, our mission is to cultivate a new kind of built environment that can thrive in this rapidly changing world.” Resonai does this by empowering commercial real estate owners and operators to transform their physical properties into operationally efficient, intelligent digital assets that enable innovative experiences and create new data-driven revenue models. 

Integrating computer vision with accurate indoor mapping and location tracking services, Vera creates an intelligent digital twin of any commercial building. This digital twin then serves as an operating system for a wide variety of applications aimed at improving operations and deploying engaging consumer experiences, while also opening up new, non-traditional revenue streams.

A new world of AR experiences from Resonai

Building owners and marketers can use Vera to launch innovative AR experiences and applications such as digital concierge services, indoor navigation and wayfinding for personal assistance, and enhanced loyalty programs. They can also convert a property into a 3D digital canvas to create new media units, launch mixed-reality offerings, and offer personalized, AR immersive experiences that can be accessed through visitors’ mobile devices. 

Vera also serves as a powerful tool for property and facility managers, allowing them to visualize and access their buildings anywhere and at any time. That means they can more efficiently control their IoT devices and use integrated data to manage energy usage, occupancy, HVAC and much more across portfolios. Managers can proactively identify maintenance problems; speed up, prioritize and accurately pinpoint required repairs; increase customer satisfaction through space and revenue optimization tools like virtual tours; and launch AR training to effectively train workers within individual buildings on the equipment they will be working with.

“Our proprietary visual positioning technology enables accurate positioning in six degrees of freedom. Our technology is unlimited in the scale of buildings we can scan and process. We offer an SDK focused on enterprise solutions and integrated AR applications, with app management tools for developers and customers. We also have a suite of admin tools, including content deployment and publishing, permissions management and visualization tools. This 360 offering is what differentiates Resonai,” said Alon.

International growth

Resonai has formed partnerships with a growing number of real estate and construction companies across the globe, including Kajima Construction, Takenaka Construction and GoldBeck Construction, as well as transportation companies such as JR Tokai and real estate companies such as Vonder Properties in Europe. It has also partnered with a growing list of retail companies, including one of the largest wholesale mall operators in the world.

“As the physical environment and the digital world become more intertwined, Resonai is offering commercial real estate operators and property managers an opportunity to revolutionize their assets for the digital age — to attract new customers, unlock powerful monitoring and data analytics capabilities, and create new revenue streams,” said Amir Rosen, CEO of Irani Ventures. “Since first learning about Resonai and its Vera platform, we have been impressed by its potential to completely reimagine both the visitor experience and operations management at a wide range of commercial spaces, from malls and large entertainment venues to office buildings and hospitals. We’re proud to back Resonai as they continue to expand the Vera platform and enter an exciting new growth phase in the months and years ahead.”

Bringing the total amount raised in the series A to $30 million, the new funding round will be used to continue Resonai’s growth throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe. In addition to Blue Square Real Estate and Meitav Dash, Resonai has received funding and continued support from existing and new global investors including SBI, Vive Nevo, Redds capital and others.

The funding will also finance the continued development and expansion of the proprietary Vera platform, as well as support sales and marketing programs in order to build a pipeline for the company’s next round of growth.

“With [Vera’s] global presence and growing pipeline, we expect to see significant growth while solving real estate owners’, operators’ and developers’ most acute pains and setting up their business operation[s] for the future,” said Alon.

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz