What Wikitude does

Wikitude GmbH was a Salzburg, Austria-based mobile augmented reality technology company founded in 2008 (company records) / 2009 (firmographics), operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm. Its core product was the Wikitude AR SDK, a cross-platform software development kit enabling mobile application developers to integrate augmented reality features — including image and object recognition, target tracking, and 3D augmentations — into native iOS, Android, and Windows applications. Supporting tools included Wikitude Studio (a cloud-based target-management console) and the Studio API (a service generating .wtc and .wto recognition files). Over more than a decade of operation, the platform was used to build in excess of 40,000 mobile apps that reached millions of end users globally.

The company's go-to-market was a horizontal, self-serve developer model: the SDK was distributed directly through the wikitude.com website under a license-key system, with no public pricing tiers disclosed. The customer base was a long-tail of mobile app developers and integrators rather than concentrated enterprise accounts, and the company carried headcount in the 11–50 range. Total disclosed equity funding across seven rounds between 2010 and 2019 was approximately $2.84M, with Gamma Capital Partners and tecnet equity as repeat backers. Leadership included Kate Turner as Chief Executive Officer (Geschäftsführer), with Martin Herdina previously serving as CEO and Andreas Schacherbauer heading the SDK function.

On September 21, 2024, Wikitude shut down all services — Studio, Cloud, Studio API, and support — and deleted associated data, formally ending the mobile AR SDK business. The team and underlying technology were redirected into Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform, repositioning the group's focus from smartphone-based AR toward headworn XR experiences. The Wikitude GmbH entity remains registered at Schrannengasse 6, Salzburg, but is no longer an operating business.

Name

Wikitude

Legal name

Wikitude GmbH

Website

https://wikitude.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wikitude GmbH was a Salzburg-based mobile augmented reality SDK provider, wholly owned by Qualcomm, whose cross-platform toolkit powered over 40,000 iOS, Android, and Windows apps before services were fully shut down in September 2024 and the team pivoted to Snapdragon Spaces XR.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Augmented Reality Development Tools

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Developer Tooling & SDK Platforms (BPAMAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Developer Portals, SDKs & Documentation Platforms (BPAMADAG)

Keywords

• Augmented reality SDK
• Mobile AR development
• Cross-platform AR
• Image recognition SDK
• AR developer tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Salzburg

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Wikitude developed a cross-platform augmented reality software development kit (SDK) that enabled mobile developers to integrate AR capabilities into iOS, Android, and Windows applications. The offering included the core Wikitude AR SDK along with Wikitude Studio (cloud-based target management) and Studio API (file generation tools) for image and object recognition. All services were fully discontinued on September 21, 2024, with the team transitioning to head-worn XR experiences via Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces platform.

Product overview

Wikitude was a single-platform augmented reality product suite consisting of the core Wikitude AR SDK, Wikitude Studio (cloud-based target management), and Studio API (file generation tools). The product enabled mobile developers to integrate AR functionality into smartphone applications. As of September 2024, all Wikitude products and services have been discontinued, with the company pivoting to headworn XR experiences via Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wikitude AR SDK Cross-platform augmented reality software development kit that enabled mobile developers to integrate AR capabilities into iOS, Android, and Windows applications. Over 40,000 mobile apps were created using this SDK.
• Wikitude Studio

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Qualcomm (Snapdragon Spaces)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2024Wikitude, now a Qualcomm company, is redirecting developers to Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform for headworn-based AR experiences. This represents a transition of the Wikitude technology and team toward developing immersive head-worn experiences beyond smartphone-based AR.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• 8th Wall (Niantic): Web-based and cross-platform AR development platform serving mobile and web developers; one of the closest direct competitors to the Wikitude AR SDK in the cross-device AR tooling space.
• Vuforia (PTC): Long-established AR SDK for mobile and industrial/enterprise use cases; a direct substitute for Wikitude's AR SDK, particularly for image recognition and industrial AR applications.
• Zappar: Cross-platform AR SDK and creative tools suite for mobile and web AR experiences; competes head-on with Wikitude for marketing, packaging, and consumer-facing AR use cases.
• MAXST: AR SDK provider offering image, object, and marker tracking across iOS and Android; competes in the same cross-platform mobile AR developer tooling category as Wikitude.
• DeepAR: AR SDK specializing in real-time face filters, effects, and body tracking for mobile apps; overlaps with Wikitude's developer base targeting consumer AR experiences.
• Banuba: AR SDK focused on face AR, try-on, and video effects for mobile developers; competes with Wikitude in the consumer and ecommerce AR integration use cases.
• Blippar: AR content creation and SDK platform for mobile web and native apps; a long-standing direct competitor in the cross-platform AR development tooling market.

Broad incumbents

• PTC: Parent company of Vuforia and a major enterprise PLM/CAD player; offers Vuforia as part of a broader industrial and enterprise software portfolio rather than as a standalone AR-only business.
• Niantic: Parent of 8th Wall and the developer of Pokémon GO; an established AR platform incumbent that bundles AR tooling (8th Wall) with location-based games and a broader spatial computing vision.

Emerging players

• Onirix: Cloud-based AR authoring and SDK platform for image tracking and location-based AR; a smaller, more recent entrant in the same cross-platform mobile AR SDK category that Wikitude pioneered.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wikitude
• Facebookfacebook.com/WIKITUDE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/377961

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wikitude