Gotta catch em all ... Thred is moving from social media to augmented reality. Picture: Getty
Social media is out, augmented reality is in as Thred shares jump 70pc
Tech
share
The ASX’s latest augmented reality stock, Thred, jumped 70 per cent today after announcing it would rebuild its social media app Thred into a virtual reality app called Sweep.
Thred (ASX:THD) jumped 71 per cent to 1.2c in lunchtime trade on Thursday, after the announcement.
Its shares closed at 1.1c, up 57 per cent.
“Some of the existing features of the Thred platform will be removed as Thred rebrands its consumer facing app to a new brand called Sweep,” the company announced.
Users of Sweep will be able to view augmented reality (AR) content such as restaurant reviews, historical information or sales discounts integrated into real-world scenes via a smart phone screen.
AR technology is best known for driving Nintendo’s global Pokemon GO craze last year, where millions of gamers hunted virtual animals in real world settings via a smart phone app.
AR is now growing up with the arrival of commercial applications.
For example, AR could be used by travel giants like Lonely Planet to convert foreign languages and provide travel directions; or for dating apps to allow users to identify other singles.
Sweep — an “engaging and immersive technology that will transform communications through virtual discovery” — is a change of strategy from Thred’s original vision of creating a unified messaging app to bring conversations from various social platforms to a single screen.
“Sweep has the capacity to transform the way we communicate, integrating the latest in augmented reality and geo-location technologies within our Thred platform,” managing director Geoff Marshall said in a statement.
“We believe this is a unique technology application and are confident that we can bring this new opportunity to market quickly to capitalise on new device based software that enables the use of our technology.”
The company plans to launch the Sweep app before the end of this year, with a view to start generating revenue in that time.
Estimates from the company suggest AR will reach US$165 billion by 2024, off the back of strong growth in the ecommerce and retail space.
Thred burned through $6.1 million last year leaving $4.5 million in the bank at the end of June.
It reported full-year loss of $2.8 million.
