Walmart to Acquire Israeli Augmented Reality Startup Memomi
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by Meir Orbach / CTech
The logo of a Walmart Superstore is seen in Rosemead, California, U.S., June 11, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
CTech – Walmart is acquiring Israeli-founded Memomi, an augmented reality (AR) optical tech company. Memomi, which employs just 10 people, all of them in Israel, has never raised any funds.
The value of the acquisition was not revealed by the companies. Following the acquisition, Memomi will serve as an additional innovation center for Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. This is Walmart’s second acquisition of an Israeli company following the purchase of fashion startup Zeekit for an undisclosed sum in May of last year.
Memomi has developed technology to enhance virtual optical try-on experiences, helping customers virtually “try on” eyewear in real-time.
Since 2019, Memomi has enabled digital measurements for all Walmart and Sam’s Optical customers, across more than 2,800 Walmart Vision Centers and 550 Sam’s Clubs, and also powers the Optical eCommerce experience on SamsClub.com. Acquiring Memomi will allow Walmart to offer personalized access to optical care.
Memomi was founded in 2015 by Israelis Salvador Nissi Vilcovsky and Ofer Saban, who was the CTO at MobileAccess when it was acquired by Corning for over $150 million. Saban moved back to Israel in 2016 to set up Memomi’s R&D center. Calcalist has learned that Memomi approached many of the VC funds in Israel in the hope to receive funding, but was rejected by all of them.
“Customers are looking for access to care digitally, in their homes, and purchasing eyeglasses is no different,” said David Reitnauer, Vice President, Specialty Services, Walmart Health & Wellness. “This acquisition supports our Health & Wellness mission to provide accessible care to the communities we serve.”
“Walmart’s ability to roll out our virtual try-on and contact-free digital measurements service in a short period of time shows how committed Walmart is to its customers’ need for digital care in-stores and at home,” said Ofer Saban, Chief Technology Officer at Memomi.
“We are looking forward to joining Walmart and offering our innovations and user experiences to such a large scale both in-store and online,” said Salvador Nissi Vilcovsky, CEO, Memomi.
