NEW REPORT: Will Apple’s ARKit Be A Shot In The Arm For AR?

Whether it’s AR or acquisitions, software development companies are constantly looking for the edge that can help separate their business from the competition.

The latest PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker, powered by Vantiv, takes a look at companies around the space using AR software to help expand their reach.

Around the Developer World

It’s seemingly acquisition season for software developers, as over the past month, several software developers sought to boost roster capabilities — and thus up their chances of thriving in the software development landscape — by investing in new acquisitions.

HubSpot, for one, looked to strengthen its artificial intelligence and machine learning credentials with the acquisition of Kemvi, an AI and machine learning startup. Similarly, Bajaj Finance Limited bolstered its roster of developers with a partial acquisition of Indian mobile wallet provider MobiKwik.

Meanwhile, FairFX, a foreign exchange software developer, recently looked to make and be an acquisition. According to reports, the payments and financial services firm is planning to acquire CardOne, a digital banking and accounts solution provider, for a price of $19.5 million, while also announcing news of plans to raise $33.75 million in new funding.

To read up on more notable headlines from around the space — such as HubSpot, Bajaj Finance and MobiKwik highlighted here — download the Developer Tracker.

AR’s Mainstream Moment

With the recent Apple announcement of an AR-based software development suite known as ARKit, the AR iOS app capabilities that first captured gamers’ attention last summer in Pokémon Go may only be a preview of what the technology can provide.

In the weeks since Apple announced it was enabling software designers to build AR apps inside its iOS app development suite, demos showing off the technology’s potential and a storm of predictions and projections have followed.

With the hype machine is on high following the ARKit launch, PYMNTS caught up with AR executives to obtain their initial impressions. In interviews, the executives said the impact of Apple’s ARKit software could, in fact, live up to the lofty expectations that have been set for it.

“Apple has always been aligned with artists and the creative community, and now they are tapping into AR and VR in a way they were not before,” Shauna Heller, founder of augmented and virtual reality firm Clay Park VR said in an interview.

“Artists have a way of finding the humanity in technology and finding ways to get it into the hands of a lot of people,” Heller continued. “Giving them a platform like this will give them more opportunities to do that, and when you combine that with developers who are finding ways to make this useful, there is a lot of potential there.”

To find the rest of the Apple AR/VR story, check out this month’s Tracker.

To download the August edition of the PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker, powered by Vantiv, click the button below…

About the Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Developer Tracker, powered by Vantiv, provides the payments ecosystem with a view into how software developers are using new technologies to create innovative business opportunities and enable merchants to optimize the ways in which they engage with shoppers today. The developer community within the tracker is separated into three categories: Shopping and Payments, Operations and Marketing.