CoStar Acquiring Virtual Tour Leader Matterport for $1.6B

SUNNYVALE, CA–CoStar Group is acquiring locally based Matterport, the producer of photorealistic 3D virtual property tours, in a $1.6 billion transaction that will be split evenly between cash and stock, the companies have announced.

CoStar, the operator of leading online property marketplaces including Apartments.com, LoopNet, CoStar and Homes.com, has agreed to pay Matterport shareholders $2.75 in cash and another $2.75 in CoStar stock for each of their shares, the announcement said.

Using a global network of photographers and capture services technicians, Matterport produces thousands of 3D virtual tours known as digital twins for properties each month, building a spatial property data library that now includes 12 million spaces encompassing an estimated 38 billion square feet in 177 countries.

The Matterport acquisition is a good fit for CoStar, which currently is using nearly 300,000 Matterport digital twins on its platforms, because both companies are at the forefront of digitizing real estate, CoStar CEO Andy Florance said, in a statement.

“CoStar Group and Matterport have nearly identical mission statements of digitizing the world’s real estate,” Florance said in the announcement. “I believe we will be stronger together.

“There is no better way to remotely experience space than via Matterport,” Florance added, noting that CoStar will be investing in R&D for next-generation proptech with Matterport.

“[We will] invest in research and development opportunities to further develop Matterport’s spatial technology, including the application of AI and machine learning to extract information from the 3D spatial data library as well as using generative artificial intelligence to imagine and reimagine physical spaces,” Florance said.

Matterport was an early developer of technology to digitize a property using a camera, including smartphone cameras.

Matterport produces 3D capture devices, including the company’s flagship LiDAR-based Pro3 camera. Its spatial property data system is run by an AI-driven software engine known as Cortex, which automatically generates the 3D digital twin and virtual tour.

In March, there were more than 7.4 million views of Matterport 3D tours on Apartments.com, with consumers spending 20% more time viewing an apartment listing when Matterports were available, CoStar said in its release.

“The world has changed and today a Matterport is the new open house or property tour,” Florance said. “People now select their next home, apartment, office, store, hotel, or warehouse on their mobile device often without ever visiting the property.”