NexTech AR Solutions seeing rapid growth as augmented reality goes mainstream

First mover advantage in the explosive augmented reality (AR) space with its ARitize technology Currently pursuing four multibillion-dollar verticals in the industry Augmented Reality Experiences; Augmented Reality eCommerce & Advertising; Hybrid and Virtual Events; and Augmented Learning  What NexTech AR does: NexTech AR Solutions Inc (CSE:NTAR) (OTCMKTS:NEXCF) is creating a major buzz in the augmented reality (AR) space with its proprietary ecommerce platform, ARitize. ARitize is the first cross-platform, browser-based and web-enabled augmented reality ecommerce option. A monthly SaaS (Software as a Service) subscription platform, ARitize enables retailers to transform two-dimensional images into true 3D AR experiences. AR and virtual reality (VR) applications are set to revolutionize the eCommerce space, a burgeoning US$2.8 billion industry that is expected to nearly double its value in three years, according to 2020 company data. The Toronto-based company is currently pursuing four potentially multi-billion dollar verticals in the AR industry in areas where it sees incredible revenue potential - Augmented Reality Experiences; Augmented Reality eCommerce & Advertising; Hybrid and Virtual Events; and Augmented Learning  The company launched webAR for e-commerce early in 2019 and has been rapidly signing up customers onto its SaaS platform, with notable customer wins like Walther Arms, Wright Brothers, Mr Steak and Budweiser. The technology allows companies to create 3D versions of their products and create 360-degree ads for Facebook and Google. ARitize University is an app-based solution that allows companies and educational establishments to leverage all of their existing 2D assets such as YouTube videos, PDF documents, PowerPoint decks and images, and overlay immersive 3D-AR experiences on top of that content for an interactive training experience that drives productivity. AR Hollywood Studios is a proprietary entertainment venue for which it is producing immersive content using AR as the primary display platform. For brick and mortar stores, NexTech is also involved in what it calls v-commerce, which the company believes could transform the $3.7 trillion retail sector. The technology can create a virtual store in which customers can “try on” and buy products virtually in 3D. Its VRitize platform will include an app for both iOS and Android, which will work on VR headsets. This would allow any store with a pair of VR goggles to create a virtual store for its customers. Additionally, NexTech’s Capture AR 3D app will allow users to create their own 3D images in less than two hours with just a smartphone and without requiring any technical knowledge, making AR dramatically more mainstream.  How is it doing: NexTech AR Solutions has continued to successfully roll out its AR and VR for e-commerce, education, conferences and events during 2021 and has expanded its offerings. In June, Nextech revealed that it had acquired Threedy.ai, Inc, an artificial intelligence (AI) company based in Silicon Valley, California, which provides 3D modeling for e-commerce companies. The all-stock transaction was valued at US$9.5 million. Threedy has built a disruptive end-to-end solution around its model creation technology for the AR industry. Through a simple JavaScript tag integration, product photos are automatically onboarded, 3D models are created for each product through the power of AI and hosted on Threedy’s cloud. Nextech and Threedy plan to create a unified, scalable 3D content creation engine for all their AR solutions. By combining its leading AR platform with Threedy’s disruptive AI technology, Nextech said it has just changed the game. Most recently, on August 10, Nextech announced the acquisition of UK spatial computing company ARway Ltd in an all-stock transaction worth around US$1 million. The deal gives NexTech an entry point into an exciting field known as the metaverse, a collective virtual shared space that brings together physical, augmented, and virtual realities. NexTech told shareholders that ARway’s spatial mapping platform is “critical” to building the metaverse in that it provides users an augmented reality software kit (SDK) to frame the digital world in just minutes. The SDK combines mapping technologies for location-persistent AR experiences across ARkit, ARcore and Microsoft Azure Spatial Anchors that are delivered on cross-platform Unity, with other ones like Unreal, Android Studio or Xcode/Swift to come shortly. The technology helps to unlock true spatial computing within a single toolkit for iOS, Android and Hololens. ARway’s customers include names like HCG Hospital, British Telecom, Bosch, AirAsia, The City of London and the GuildHall School of Music and Drama. Founders Baran Korkmaz and Nikhil Sawlani will join NexTech in undisclosed roles, according to the company. The transaction is expected to close by the end of August 2021. Earlier in August, Nextech said it had begun integration of its mixed reality (MR) solution HoloX, a human hologram application into HoloLens2, which is expected to be available in September 2021. The implementation will support gesture controls across HoloX’s UI and UX, allowing for users to navigate the application through eye-tracking and hand gestures. AR/MR smart glasses are wearable computer-capable glasses that add 3D images and animations to a massive screen on an individual's glasses. The HoloLens initiative is being designed as a solution to provide a more realistic feeling of human hologram presence, beyond what is currently capable from other in-market solutions. And at the end of July Nextech had revealed plans to launch its NFT (non-fungible token) hologram creator platform. The company said the creator platform will leverage its human hologram creator platform HoloX, which is expected to launch in the third quarter. Once up and running, customers will have the ability to seamlessly experience its digital collectibles in augmented reality. Nextech noted that it has a two-staged rollout plan where initially AR human holograms are purchased through a third-party NFT marketplace, then viewed and experienced outside a digital wallet using the company’s HoloX application.  The second stage of the rollout includes minting the NFT on Nextech’s platform and being able to buy and sell human holograms on the platform. In addition, the company said it is in talks with existing marketplaces to leverage its newly acquired Threedy.AI 3D content creation technology to turn existing NFT artwork into AR NFTs at scale.  Also in July, Nextech announced the closing of a multi-event deal for the fenestration industry using its LiveX platform with FENEX worth about $185,000. Nextech said the events will reach over 30,000 people in the home improvement sector and will introduce a new digital marketplace, where consumers can interface, try new products via Augmented Reality, and get educated on home improvement options with top UK vendors like Deceuninck, ODL Europe, VBH, Brisant, and GQA Qualifications.  In another deal announced in August, Nextech said that Ryerson University, a globally recognized leader in higher education with over 46,000 students, has ordered an additional 35 augmented reality labs for its biology, chemistry, and biochemistry departments. The company said that once the additional labs are complete, which is expected this year, the university’s Faculty of Science will have one of the largest known AR-immersive learning programs in the world. Nextech also said the new labs are in addition to the 50 labs developed for the 2020/2021 school year. Among other contracts, in July, Nextech announced that it had won a multi-year agreement with a European-based, multinational company working in the energy and automation space with over 100,000 employees in more than 100 countries.  And in June Nextech announced that EdTechX, the augmented reality company’s virtual education solution built on Microsoft Azure, had achieved “co-sell ready” status, meaning NexTech can work with Microsoft sales teams to fulfill customer need Looking at its financials, on August 12, Nextech reported its financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2021 which showed the company had cash on hand of $15.4 million as of June 30, 2021. The company reported revenue of $6.1 million for the three months to June 30, 2021, an increase of over 73% compared to $3.5 million posted for the same period in 2020, while gross profit was $2.3 million, an increase of over 6% compared to the $2.2 million reported for the same period in 2020. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, Nextech's revenue increased by 130% to $13.8 million compared to the same six months period in 2020, while gross profit increased by 59% to $5.6 million over the same period in 2020. And on the personnel front, on June 1, Nextech appointed 20-year finance veteran Andrew Chan as its new CFO. The company noted that Chan had spent more than a decade in public accounting, including nine years at Ernst & Young, before moving into senior finance positions at fintech firms Real Matters Inc and goeasy ltd, where he was involved in several financings, transactions and acquisitions. In the same announcement, the company also named Paul Moon as its vice president of investor relations. It said Moon has more than 20 years of investor relations experience in the financial services, technology and biotechnology sectors, and he most recently served as head of investor relations and business development for Protean Biodiagnostics, a disruptive precision oncology company. And in May, Nextech said Paul Duffy, president and head of the newly formed entertainment business unit, is also taking the role of board chairman. Other key appointments announced at the same time included Chris Burton as executive vice president, head of global sales; Chetwyn Rodrigo, senior vice president, platform development, service & support; Rob Christie, senior vice president, product innovation; Yau Boon Lim, global head of ecosystem & channel, and Deta Constantine, chief human resources officer. Inflection points: More news on metaverse entry after spatial computing company ARway acquisition Further expansions utilising Threedy.ai, Further signings to use AR and VR solutions for e-commerce, education, conferences, and events What the broker says: Starwood Research called NexTech a potential “unicorn farm” in an April 2020 note and tagged the firm with a $20 price target.  “We believe NEXCF is under-valued based on it’s strong growth fundamentals,” Starwood said. “The stock is now even better positioned for a potential upside to $20 — as the company’s AR business is perfectly aligned with the new coronavirus theme of remote working/AR-powered ‘try it on’ e-commerce, and training.” Starwood was also impressed with NexTech’s ARitize 3D AR 360 ad network, calling it a potential game-changer for the $200 billion online ad industry.  “The big idea here is that NEXCF’s AR and VR applications for commerce and online advertising are a potential game-changer for these massive markets — because they help e-commerce businesses achieve the ‘holy grail’: increasing sales while reducing product returns,” Starwood added. What the boss says: Announcing the US$1M deal to acquire spatial computing company ARway on August 10, NextTech CEO Evan Gappelberg said the company believes that the mini-metaverse business-use case is “here to stay,” with significant implications for future growth.  “Nextech's mini-metaverse offering will be available to brands and companies that want to create mini-metaverses based on a geolocation like museums, corporate headquarters, theme parks, sports stadiums, university campuses and more,” Gappelberg said in a statement. “We can scan these spaces with ARway’s technology and drop-in AR experiences that are triggered based on geolocation, making for a fully immersive Metaverse experience. The mini-metaverse is the first step towards universal mapping, a concept that while not a reality today, is a future inevitability. Nextech's mini-metaverse offering will enable people to experience the multiverse as it increasingly becomes a normal part of everyday life.” Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com