117. Matterport Acquisition of VHT Studios - 9 Reasons This is a (Very) Bad Strategy

Commentary and Analysis by Dan Smigrod Founder and Managing Editor We Get Around Network Forum WGAN-TV Live at 5 WGAN-TV Training U (in Matterport) The Matterport acquisition of VHT Studios announced Thursday (7 July 2022), will have many in the We Get Around Network Forum community scratching their heads wondering what to make of this news. While there are at least two reasons that the Matterport acquisition of VHT Studios is a big, bold and brilliant move by Matterport (in the short term), unfortunately, there are nine reasons that this is a (very) bad strategy (in the long term). I could imagine that there are two reasons that Matterport decided to buy one of the largest residential real estate photography agencies in the United States: 1. VHT Studios will not offer any of the 170+ other 3D/360 virtual tour platforms and software that compete with Matterport 2. Matterport Capture Services On Demand to add all VHT Studios services While most Wall Street financial analysts that cover Matterport will likely reward Matterport for these two short-term sales growth strategies, in the long-term, investors will cringe for the following reasons: 1. Matterport’s Sweet Spot is Spatial Data for Enterprise at Scale – The sweet spot for Matterport is spatial data for enterprise at scale. This is the single greatest use case for Matterport. The acquisition of VHT Studios by Matterport is off strategy. 2. Matterport Continues to Compete with Its Real Estate Photographer Customers – When Matterport announced its plans for Matterport Capture Services On Demand, I wrote a 6-part series in the We Get Around Network Forum about why this was a bad idea (Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6). I went into great detail about how and why Matterport Capture Services On Demand competes with its Matterport Service Providers (which is a significant marketing channel for Matterport). By offering Matterport exclusively via VHT Studios – and adding VHT Studio services to Matterport Capture Services On Demand, Matterport is competing with real estate photographers – customers of its Matterport Pro2 3D Camera and Matterport Cloud subscriptions. While Matterport will likely spin the story as more demand for real estate photographers to add Matterport, the reality is that VHT Studios and Matterport Capture Services On Demand will be low paying opportunities for real estate photographers that offer Matterport. --- Continues in the We Get Around Network Forum (www.WGANForum.com).