ViSenze is a Singapore-based image-recognition startup founded in 2012 that offers a “personal shopping concierge” platform for retailers. Its core product combines visual search, automatic photo tagging and recommendation algorithms that surface products based on images and browsing history. The company serves clients including Rakuten, ASOS, Urban Outfitters, Zalora and Uniqlo across verticals such as fashion, jewelry, furniture and intellectual property. ViSenze reports an annual revenue growth rate of more than 200 percent and maintains offices in Asia, Europe and the United States. The company says it will use the new funding to further develop its software through partnerships with smartphone makers including Samsung, LG and Huawei. Other startups in the same space include Syte.ai, Slyce, Clarifai and Imagga. ViSenze develops artificial-intelligence products for e-commerce, beginning with a visual search feature that lets shoppers find products from images. The company is rolling out two new products: contextual video advertising that inserts relevant ads into or around video content, and an image-to-text capability to enable more customizable searches from uploaded images. Customers and partners mentioned include Myntra and Zalora, and global video site Viki (owned by Rakuten) is cited as a partner. ViSenze was spun out of the National University of Singapore more than three years ago and currently has a headcount of 40, which the company expects to easily double before year-end. The startup plans to use recent funding to hire, double down on R&D, accelerate its go-to-market strategy, reinvest in its technology, and expand business-development offices. ViSenze develops image-recognition products for visual search, including a cloud-based tool called ViSearch. The company is positioned to enable visual shopping features for e-commerce sites and apps, particularly in fashion. Seven months before this raise it began collaborating with Rakuten Taiwan to launch visual fashion search and recognition tools. ViSenze is a spin-off of the National University of Singapore and is headquartered in Singapore. The company announced a $3.5M Series A led by Rakuten Ventures as its current financing event. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.

Total raised

$34M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Feb 2019