Wannaby

History

2022: Sale of the company for $29.4 million

The Belarusian developer of augmented reality technologies Wannaby sold to the British marketplace for $29.4 million.

At the end of May 2022, it became known that the British online marketplace Farfetch completed the acquisition of Wannaby (Wanna brand), which provides immersion augmented reality and virtual fitting technologies. The value of the transaction amounted to almost $30 million.

Startup Wannaby develops technologies for computer vision and rendering or visualization of objects. The technology allows users to try on, present and personalize various products in augmented reality. The company describes its area of ​ ​ activity as an expression supplemented by reality in commerce.

Belarusian developer of augmented reality technologies Wannaby sold for $29.4 million

The transaction was closed on April 5, 2022, amounted to $29.4 million, of which Farfetch would pay $24.5 million in cash, and $4.9 million in shares, based on the price of securities at the date of acquisition, approximately 302 thousand at $16. Farfetch already uses Wanna technology on its platform in categories such as sneakers, accessories and cosmetics, according to Farfetch.

Our mission is to overcome psychological barriers to online shopping. The AR fitting of the shoe will allow a person to find out what a particular model on his leg will look like. This will both increase the level of sales and reduce the return rate of goods, - Wannaby CEO Sergey Arkhangelsky.

As of May 2022, Wanna developers are working in Lithuania, Poland and Cyprus, and after the transaction they became Farfetch employees. In total, Wanna employs about 80 people. It was owned by the venture capital company Palta (ex-Haxus) co-founders Alexei Gubarev and Yuri Gursky.

Farfetch Retail is developing an innovative NMG strategy to revolutionize integrated luxury retail. As part of its partnership commitments, the company will make minority investments in NMG's total equity of up to $200 million.^[1]

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