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VentureDive, one of region’s fastest growing technology companies, today announced plans to enter into the augmented reality arena via investment in Taplando, an augmented reality start-up.
As per the announcement, VentureDive will invest in Karachi-based Taplando with an aim to develop a range of Augmented Reality (AR) offerings; AR applications take a live or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment and ‘augment’ elements therein through layering on top of the ‘live image’ various digital information or images, via multiple sensory inputs, including audio, visual, and haptic. With recent developments in smartphone technologies, AR-based applications and games have lately been all the rage.
As part of its vision to help foster regional entrepreneurship and technological innovation, VentureDive is constantly on the lookout for new technology start-ups to support and with which to partner. Taplando is currently set to be amongst the first Pakistani companies to completely develop AR mobile games in-house. By combining their strengths and resources, the two companies hope to create compelling, exciting, and immersive AR mobile games and applications, for Pakistan as well as the rest of the world.
Commenting on the occasion, Taplando’s CEO Muhammad Shariq said, “This investment will help us a great deal towards establishing a strong base. VentureDive has already made a mark within the technology sector; it is one of those rare companies that have the courage to invest in early-stage startups. I believe that working together with VentureDive, Taplando will be the next billion dollar company in their portfolio.”
VentureDive’s Co-Founder and Managing Director Saad Fazil added, “As a technology company, it is essential that VentureDive constantly stays at the forefront of all developments. Augmented Reality is currently at the cutting edge of mobile games and applications and will revolutionize the global entertainment and information landscape. Given Shariq’s passion and creativity, investing in Taplando was a no-brainer. For the future, we will continue to seek out similar opportunities, to help us stay ahead of the curve and ensure that we create and invest in products and solutions that are geared around adding value and providing solid entertainment.”
Taplando is a game studio based in Karachi, Pakistan. Their focus is to produce Augmented Reality mobile games, to launch with publishing partners. Taplando aims to launch its first game in early 2018, and have set themselves the target of getting their second game onto the Apple App Store’s Top 10 apps. Taplando’s founder and CEO Muhammad Shariq is a successful serial entrepreneur;his previous app studio raked in 1.5 million downloads and users from 120+ countries. Their Lead Game Developer Uzair Ali has worked at top game studios in Pakistan, and his mobile games have generated 20 million+ downloads. Their Business Development Manager Amna Nadeem has marketed top FMCG brands, including Dove and Surf Excel, to millions of consumers.
