Matterport LLC is an American 3D spatial mapping company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. It is a subsidiary of CoStar Group. The company was founded in 2011 as a private startup[3] and subsequently merged with a special-purpose acquisition company in 2021 to commence public trading on the Nasdaq. Following its acquisition by CoStar Group in February 2025, Matterport was delisted from the Nasdaq and now operates as a subsidiary.[4] The current CEO is R.J. Pittman.[5]
Matterport produces cameras used to capture images for 3D mapping of indoor spaces and the creation of digital twins. The company also provides various software as a service for real estate and property management.[6][7]
Technology
Matterport's platform creates 3D models by combining specialized camera hardware with a cloud-based artificial intelligence engine.[8] The core technology can be understood through its three main stages: data capture, cloud processing, and the final interactive model.
Data Capture
The first stage involves capturing both visual and spatial data. The method depends on the hardware used:
Structured Light: The Pro2 camera uses structured light, a process where an infrared sensor projects a pattern of light onto a scene. By analyzing the deformation of this pattern, the camera system calculates depth and distance to create a 3D model of the environment.[9]
LiDAR: The Pro3 camera incorporates a LiDAR sensor, which uses laser pulses to directly measure distances to create a precise point cloud of its surroundings. This method allows for faster scanning over a greater range and is effective in various lighting conditions, including direct sunlight.[10] The system is designed for the AEC market for design and facilities management. However, its manufacturer-stated accuracy of ±20 millimeters at a 10-meter range is not a substitute for dedicated survey-grade terrestrial laser scanners, which can achieve accuracies in the 1-3 millimeter range.[11] The accuracy of its paid add-ons for the AEC sector, such as MatterPak and BIM files, is a frequent topic of debate among industry professionals. Users have reported cumulative errors over larger areas leading to significant discrepancies, rendering the data unsuitable for critical tasks like construction verification or off-site fabrication, where inaccuracies can have costly or legal consequences.[12]
Photogrammetry: The platform can also process images from third-party 360-degree cameras and mobile devices. In this method, the software analyzes a series of overlapping 2D photographs to calculate depth and infer 3D geometry.[13]
Cloud Processing and Cortex AI
After capture, the data is uploaded to Matterport's cloud service where it is processed by a proprietary AI engine named Cortex.[14] This engine uses a combination of computer vision and a deep learning neural network, which was trained on Matterport's extensive library of 3D spatial data, to automate the model's creation.[13] The primary functions of Cortex are:
3D Reconstruction: It aligns and "stitches" together the individual scans to form a cohesive 3D mesh of the space.[11]
Image Processing: It automatically performs HDR tone mapping, color correction, and blurring of faces for privacy.[11]
Property Intelligence: The engine identifies and extracts property details, such as room dimensions, and can automatically generate assets like photos and video tours from the captured data.[13]
The Digital Twin Model
The final output is an interactive 3D model, referred to as a "digital twin," accessible via a web browser. The model allows users to navigate the space in several modes, including a first-person "walkthrough," a top-down "floor plan" view, and a signature "dollhouse" view which shows a rotatable 3D cutaway of the entire property.[8]
History
2011–2013: Founding as a startup
Matterport was founded as a private startup in 2011 by Matthew Bell, David Gausebeck (known for Gausebeck–Levchin test used in CAPTCHA technology) and Michael Beebe. The company was established after Bell and Gausebeck developed a prototype camera for capturing 3D images inside a room using the PrimeSense camera-on-a-chip, and later recruited Beebe for his expertise in 3D modeling and medical device design.[3] In early 2012, the company joined the startup accelerator Y Combinator to incubate their project.
In April 2012, Matterport claimed that its prototype camera could scan 3D objects "20 times faster" and "18 times cheaper" than their competitors, and initiated collaborations with real estate and video game developers.[15] In that year, the company secured US$1.6 million in seed funding. Subsequently, by March 2013, Matterport raised another US$4 million from 39 investors to initiate a Series A round of financing.[16][17]
In July 2013, Matterport announced plans to release its first camera to the public.[18] In November 2013, Bill Brown became the CEO of the company.[19][20]
2014–2018: Early growth
Matterport launched their first camera named 'Pro 3D' on March 13, 2014.[21][22] In June 2014, Matterport competed against 14 other early-stage real estate startups in Realogy's FWD Innovation Summit, a real estate technology competition, and emerged as the winner.[23] Subsequently, the company raised US$16 million in a Series B funding round, in part to bring its 3D mapping technology to mobile devices.[24]
In June 2015, Matterport raised US$30 million in a Series C funding round with the goal of diversifying from its camera products and enhancing its software for stitching images together in virtual reality.[25] The company began scaling operations and shifted its focus to the consumer by accelerating the development of content-capturing capabilities on mobile devices and expanding its developer platform across its web and mobile apps.[26]
On December 3, 2018, Matterport appointed R.J. Pittman, who was previously the Chief Product Officer at eBay, as its CEO.[5] Bill Brown, the former CEO, remained on the company board as an advisor.
2019–2021: COVID-19 pandemic and SPAC merger
In April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Matterport laid off 90 of its employees or roughly one-third of its workforce.[27]
On February 8, 2021, Matterport announced its intention to go public by merging with Gores Holdings VI, a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a US$2.9 billion deal.[28][29] The merger and deal were completed on July 23, 2021, and Matterport began publicly trading on the Nasdaq as MTTR.[30][31]
Around the same time in July 2021, Bill Brown, the former CEO, sued Matterport over a bylaw regarding the SPAC merger acquisition that prevented him from trading shares of the new company following the merger.[19][32][33] The court later ruled in favor of Brown on January 10, 2022.[34]
2022–2025: Post-merger and acquisition by CoStar
On January 5, 2022, Matterport completed the acquisition of Enview, a company that specializes in artificial intelligence for 3D spatial data, for a total of US$37 million.[35][36] Subsequently, in July 2022, Matterport acquired VHT Studios, a real estate marketing agency, for an undisclosed amount.[37]
In July 2023, Matterport announced a restructuring of the company, which resulted in the layoff of 170 employees (equivalent to 30% of its workforce) as a cost-cutting measure.[38]
In September 2023, Matterport was sued by investors for "allegedly allowing self-dealing by insiders".[39]
On April 22, 2024, it was announced that Matterport would be acquired by the CoStar Group for a cash and stock deal valued at approximately US$1.6 billion.[40][41] The acquisition was completed on February 28, 2025.[42]
The company's 2021 public offering via a SPAC coincided with peak investor enthusiasm for "metaverse"-related technologies, framing the company as a spatial data library for future virtual worlds.[43] Following a market downturn for unprofitable technology companies, Matterport's stock price declined significantly throughout 2022 and 2023, leading to the major restructuring and layoffs reported in July 2023.[38] The subsequent acquisition by CoStar was framed by financial news outlets as a strategic integration for CoStar's real estate platforms and a stable exit for Matterport after its turbulent period as a publicly-traded company.[44]
Products and Services
Cameras
The Pro2 uses structured light to scan indoor commercial spaces.
Matterport's professional camera line began on March 13, 2014, with the launch of the 'Pro 3D Camera' (later referred to as the Pro1).[21][22] This was followed in June 2017 by the Pro2, an upgraded model that increased image resolution to 135 megapixels.[45] The Pro2 remains a widely used model, particularly for real estate marketing and Google Street View production, due to its high-resolution still imagery, which exceeds that of its successor.[46]
The Pro2 demonstrating its outdoor 360° capture capability at Dal Lake, Srinagar.
The company launched the Pro3 in August 2022, which incorporated a Lidar sensor to enable faster capture over a greater range, specifically targeting the AEC and facilities management markets.[11]
Consumer-grade and mobile capture
In addition to its professional cameras, Matterport also supports 3D capture using consumer devices. This includes dedicated support for specific third-party 360° cameras, as well as smartphone capture facilitated by the Matterport Axis, a motorized gimbal designed to automate the process.[47] These methods rely on photogrammetry rather than the direct depth measurement of the Pro-series cameras. While they lower the barrier to entry for 3D capture, technology reviewers have noted that they lack the dimensional accuracy and geometric reliability of the professional hardware, rendering them unsuitable for applications in AEC or construction where precision is required.[48]
Software, Platform, and Criticisms
Matterport's business operates on a mandatory SaaS model, where a recurring subscription is required to host and access digital twins. This model has faced sustained criticism regarding vendor lock-in; if a subscription is canceled or payment lapses, the account is deactivated, rendering the entire portfolio of hosted data inaccessible.[49] These concerns were central to a class-action lawsuit filed against Matterport in September 2023. According to Reuters, the suit alleged the company engaged in unfair business practices by imposing "substantial and coercive" price hikes on legacy users, leveraging the platform's vendor lock-in to compel them into more expensive plans under the threat of losing access to their entire portfolio of hosted data.[50] The platform has also drawn criticism from users for unresponsive customer support, particularly regarding billing disputes.[51]
The company maintains a walled garden ecosystem that restricts data portability. The final tour is rendered in a proprietary format, making it technically impossible to self-host or migrate to other platforms. The terms of service legally reinforce this by stipulating that while users own their raw data, the processed "Matterport Space" is the intellectual property of the company.[49] A notable exception is an integration that allows direct publishing to Google Street View.[52]
An API and SDK allow third-party developers to build custom overlays with features like virtual staging. However, users in professional forums report that these layers can introduce significant performance overhead, leading to slow load times and high data consumption, which contrasts with the default player's optimization for low-bandwidth connections.[53] The platform's built-in analytics have also been criticized by users as rudimentary and insufficient for measuring return on investment.[51]
Capture Services and Channel Partner Programs
In addition to its self-service platform, Matterport offers a managed service called Capture Services On-Demand, where a business can hire a technician directly from the company to scan a property.[54] In this model, Matterport dispatches a technician from its network and handles the subsequent data processing and quality control. The service is not globally available and is offered only in select countries, primarily in North America and Western Europe.[55]
The company's previous "Service Partner" program has been phased out, and the company does not maintain a public directory, certification program, or official badges for independent capture service providers. Matterport's channel strategy maintains a strict separation between its sales and service operations. Its Value-Added Reseller (VAR) program is focused exclusively on the sale of hardware.[56] To prevent a conflict of interest, the company's reseller agreements explicitly prohibit authorized resellers from also offering paid photography or image capture services.[57]
This business structure has created channel conflict, as it places Matterport in direct competition with the independent photographers who purchase its hardware.[54] This dynamic, combined with the lack of an official certification program or public directory for service providers, is a recurring source of criticism among professional users, who cite the difficulty of acquiring clients without direct support from the platform in a crowded marketplace.[51]
Virtual Reality Implementation
Matterport has shifted its virtual reality support away from native applications to a limited, web-based experience. Official support is now confined to the WebXR browser on Meta Quest headsets. This implementation has been criticized for degraded visual quality and a lack of true 6 Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) movement.[58] Critically, key features, including interactive Mattertags, the "dollhouse" view, and measurement tools, are unavailable in VR mode, providing a heavily compromised user experience.[59]
Collaborations
In 2014, Matterport collaborated with other companies such as Google on Project Tango, an augmented reality platform,[60] and with Redfin to create a 3D walkthrough feature for real estate listings.[61]
In July 2021, Matterport announced a collaboration with Facebook AI Research and released the Habitat-Matterport 3D Dataset (HM3D),[62] a collection of 1000 digital twins generated from real-world environments that was intended for use in academic research such as in embodied artificial intelligence.[63][64][65]
↑ Pattison Tuohy, Jennifer (January 26, 2023). "Matterport Axis review: 3D scans for the rest of us". The Verge. Retrieved September 17, 2025. But as a tool for professionals in the building, construction, or design trades... it's not accurate enough.
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