India’s online realty consultant Proptiger acquires interaction design firm

India’s online real estate advisor PropTiger has acquired two-year-old digital interaction design firm Out of Box Interaction (OoBI) for an undisclosed amount in an all-cash deal.

OoBI is a digital interaction design company that offers interactive technology to display real estate projects. It claims to have served about 270 projects by 42 real estate developers.

With the acquisition, OoBI will function as the design studio of PropTiger, where it will continue to work closely with developers in enhancing customer experiences.

“The acquisition will help us in adding a new dimension to our customers’ home search process by making digital information more tangible and interactive,” says Dhruv Agarwala, CEO of PropTiger, adding that OoBI team will develop engaging products for home buyers.

“Traditional media cannot adequately showcase important aspects of properties that are under development and doesn’t really provide sufficient information to justify an investment. Moreover, what is available in the market in the name of virtual reality is very basic. We will take buyer experience to a new level with our technology,” says Atish Patel, OoBI co-founder and an IIT-Bombay graduate.

Both Patel and Agarwal did not reveal the exact details of products it aims to add to its boutique.

To date, PropTiger, a four-year-old company, has come out with tech-led features like heat maps, portfolio trackers, livability, and safety scores. Its portal provides a tailored, end-to-end home buying experience including search, property identification, price negotiation, documentation, home loan facilitation, and post sales services.

Having raised several rounds of funding, the News Corp, SAIF Partners, Accel Partners, and Horizon Ventures backed firm claims of having sold 10,000 properties worth over INR 8,000 crore.

Lately, many Indian online real estate search portals have flushed millions of dollars in designing. The most infamous among them is SoftBank-backed Housing.com which roped in US-based Moving Brands to design its logo an upward arrow indicating “look up.” It has also revamped its website for “better customer experience.” IndiaHomes, another firm, appointed an international agency to design a website for a mobile interface.