ImagineAR Inc (CSE:IP) (OTCQB:IPNFF), which creates augmented reality (AR) technology, revealed on Thursday that it has struck a partnership agreement with Indian superstar singer Ananya Birla to spearhead ImagineAR’s consumer launch in India.
With over 350 million streams of her songs on streaming platforms, 26-year-old Birla is a household name in India. She is the first homegrown artist to go Platinum with an English language track in India and achieving this multiple times. The singer-songwriter shuttles between Mumbai and Los Angeles, where she is signed to Maverick Management.
Vancouver-based ImagineAR Offers augmented reality-as-a service platform that enables sports teams, entertainers, brands and businesses to instantly create their own global mobile phone AR campaigns.
READ: ImagineAR provides technology that blends together the real with the digital
"Technology plays a pivotal role in having one's music reach a wider audience. I am excited to be partnering with a technology leader like ImagineAR to break new ground with technology in music,” said Birla.
“I want to thank Greg Thompson, my strategic manager and mentor, for playing such an integral role in this project."
ImagineAR allows every organization from professional sports franchises to small retailers, to develop interactive AR campaigns that inform, entertain and reward consumers with any type of content - including 3D holograms, videos, and images as well as advertisements and coupons. Consumers can then enjoy a game-like experience that they can instantly share on social media.
The platform, protected by five patents, is simple to use. Just point a mobile device at logos, signs, buildings, products, landmarks and more, to create the desired content that is activated via AR visual markers and GPS locations. The interactive content is hosted in the cloud and managed using a menu-driven portal.
Maverick President Greg Thompson, who is Birla’s manager said the singer’s partnership with ImagineAR provides “a great opportunity to continue to expand her global brand” while bringing her relationship with her fans into an even greater level of connection.
"Ananya is truly a role model for today's women as a successful singer, entrepreneur and mental health advocate," said ImagineAR CEO Alen Paul Silverrstieen.
"We are proud and honored to be represented by Ananya as ImagineAR expands into the Indian consumer marketplace. We thank Mike Tunnicliffe, our ImagineAR board of director, for introducing our company to Greg Thompson of Maverick and Ananya."
Birla was a student at the University of Oxford, England, when she decided to be a catalyst for change in rural India. She established Svatantra Microfin Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based start-up microfinance institution (MFI) to help women entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban areas. Svatantra means “freedom” in Hindi and currently serves over a million women.
She has also launched the Ananya Birla Foundation that aims to address mental health, education, humanitarian relief, climate change, and equality. The Indian heiress is the daughter of Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and philanthropist Neerja Birla.
The self-taught santoor and guitar player has been propelled from gigs around London to performing at some of Asia's biggest events including Global Citizen, Oktoberfest and Sunburn, and opening for artists like Wiz Khalifa and Coldplay. Birla has scaled the charts at home and appeared on major playlists and radio stations in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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