Banuba builds a platform that lets application developers embed augmented reality capabilities into their products. The platform supports filters and emojis, face recognition, and motion tracking. Its tools are designed for easy integration into third-party apps. The article reports that Banuba attracted $12 million from the funds VP Capital and Larnabel Enterprises. Banuba was presented among other IT companies at an exhibition reviewed by Alexander Lukashenko. No operating metrics or additional financial details were reported in the article. Banuba develops a mobile SDK and consumer apps that give apps and hardware the ability to “see” users via 3D face tracking, facial analysis, skin smoothing, background subtraction and Avatar AR. The company’s Banuba 3.0 mobile SDK is available for iOS and Android and is positioned as a developer tool for both high- and low-end smartphones. Banuba’s technology can detect micro‑eye movements with subpixel accuracy, estimate age and gender, perform spectral analysis to monitor heart rate, and enable gaze-based interactions used in apps like Facemetrix. The company has an R&D center in Minsk staffed by about 50 people and has filed 25 U.S. patent applications, six of which were processed unusually quickly. Banuba has been testing concepts through consumer apps while shifting focus toward licensing its SDK to brands, app makers and device makers. Banuba develops technologies for augmented reality-enabled mobile applications, with core systems built on machine learning and neural networks. Its algorithms detect and identify objects, facial expressions, and gestures in real time and modify or augment those features using filters and video effects. The platform is positioned for entertainment mobile applications, educational programs, and emotion tracking. The company employs over 30 AI/AR engineers and maintains a development subsidiary in Belarus. Banuba has a number of pending US patents and plans to launch its first mobile app in the first quarter of 2017. It raised $5m in funding to further develop its technologies.

Total raised

$24M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Apr 2019