PropTiger buys PropRates

Online real estate advisor PropTiger.com has acquired Mumbai based start-up PropRates, which gathers real estate transaction data. The acquisition will enable PropTiger to offer consumers real-time data about property transaction, both sales and rentals, in Mumbai in order to determine the fair market value of a property.

News Corp backed PropTiger, which also owns real estate portal Makaan.com, has been acquiring start-ups to gain strength in areas such as data research and 3D reality. PropTiger bought a start-up called 3DPhy in August to strengthen 3D visualization. Last year, PropTiger bought Bengaluru based OoBI Media Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates a digital interaction design start-up under the Out of Box Interaction Brand.

PropTiger has been offering new products such as 3D realty and real estate data insights to widen its revenue stream from the current dependence on commissions from real estate transactions. While the 3D visualization service is yet to gain widespread acceptance in the Real estate market, other portals such as commonfloor.com and housing.com are also experimenting with the technology.

PropTiger plans to tap its wider user base to offer its real estate data insights. The PropRates service will initially be available in Mumbai and later extended to nine other cities under the next phase of expansion. 

CarDekho buys Volob Technologies

Jaipur based Girnar Software Pvt. Ltd which owns and operates online portals CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com and Zigwheels.com has acquired Volob Technologies, a virtually reality startup in all cash deal. The deal size was undisclosed.

This is the third acquisition that the company has made this year. In April, it bought SaaS Startup Connecto and roadside assistance start-up Help on Wheels Pvt. Ltd in a cash and stock deal. Volob was founded in 2010 and provides 3D visualization solutions to various industries, primarily automotive, and this acquisition will strengthen 3D visualization capabilities of CarDekho by use of virtual and augmented reality.

CarDekho.com acquisition of Volob is aimed at amplifying the visual experience of car buyers in both real and virtual settings. GirnarSoft has enriched its value proposition for online buyers, dealers and OEMs. CarDekho, which is currently valued at $380 Million, raised funds from Google Capital and Hillhouse in March. The company that started out as a portal for used cars branched out to provide new car services after it acquired Gaadi.com in 2014.

Revenue generation for the company is greatly dependent on advertisement revenues from the new car segment. The strategy to move to the new car segment was adopted by rival CarTrade.com that acquired CarWale.com in 2015 and also raised Rs950 crore in a round led by Singapore based investment firm Temasek and March Capital this year. As part of its expansion plans in India, CarDekho is looking to add value added services. It launched insurance, accessories and tyres last year, in addition to roadside assistance services.