Carvana Acquires 360-Degree Imagery Tech Startup Car360

Carvana, the Phoenix-based online buying and selling platform for used cars and creator of the used car vending machine, has acquired computer vision startup Car360, which leverages 360-degree imaging technology to help sellers show off their vehicles from every angle.

According to Venture Beat, the acquisition closed on April 12, 2018 at a total price of roughly $22 million — that includes $6.7 million that Carvana paid in cash as well as shares issued with a collective value of $15.2 million based on the average of the previous two months’ trading prices.

After the success of its first used car vending machine in Atlanta, Georgia in 2013, Carvana opened a number of similar facilities across the U.S. Customers can visit the sites to retrieve cars they’ve purchased through the Carvana website.

The company also delivers used cars to their buyers, but it’s the uniqueness of the vending machines that really garnered the attention of both consumers and investors. Carvana went public on the New York Stock Exchange last year after raising $300 million in investments.

Car360 stitches together 3D models of vehicles, inside and out, using images captured on the seller’s mobile device. Buyers on Carvana’s website can already view 3D imagery of cars produced by the company’s in-house 360-degree photo system, but the acquired technology makes it possible for any seller to capture the same degree of immersive, interactive imagery using the phone in their pocket.

Carvana CEO and founder Ernie Garcia told Venture Beat that the Car360 technology will improve marketability of vehicles as well as driving transparency and confidence on the buyer’s side as they make “one of the largest purchase decisions of their life.”

Notably, Car360 was founded in 2012 as a panoramic video app called Cycloramic; it was only after its appearance on Shark Tank and an investment from Mark Cuban that the company pivoted to focus on “augmented vehicle imagery” and became Car360.

Carvana also acquired auto marketplace Carlypso in August 2017, the company’s only other known acquisition since its founding in 2015.