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VOCHI raises additional $2.4 million for its computer vision-powered video editing app
VOCHI, a Belarus-based startup behind a clever computer vision-based video editing app used by online creators, has raised an additional $2.4 million in a “late-seed” round that follows the company’s initial $1.5 million round led by Ukraine-based Genesis Investments last year. The new funds follow a period of significant growth for the mobile tool, which is now used by more than 500,000 people per month and has achieved a $4 million-plus annual run rate in a year’s time.
Investors in the most recent round include TA Ventures, Angelsdeck, A.Partners, Startup Wise Guys, Kolos VC and angels from companies like Belarus-based Verv and Estonian unicorn Bolt. Along with the fundraise, VOCHI is elevating the company’s first employee, Anna Buglakova, who began as head of marketing, to the position of co-founder and chief product officer.
According to VOCHI co-founder and CEO Ilya Lesun, the company’s idea was to provide an easy way for people to create professional edits that could help them produce unique and trendy content for social media that could help them stand out and become more popular. To do so, VOCHI leverages a proprietary computer vision-based video segmentation algorithm that applies various effects to specific moving objects in a video or to images in static photos.
“To get this result, there are two trained [convolutional neural networks] to perform semi-supervised Video Object Segmentation and Instance Segmentation,” explains Lesun, of VOCHI’s technology. “Our team also developed a custom rendering engine for video effects that enables instant application in 4K on mobile devices. And it works perfectly without quality loss,” he adds. It works pretty fast, too — effects are applied in just seconds.
The company used the initial seed funding to invest in marketing and product development, growing its catalog to over 80 unique effects and more than 30 filters.
Image Credits: VOCHI
Today, the app offers a number of tools that let you give a video a particular aesthetic (like a dreamy vibe, artistic feel, or 8-bit look, for example). It also can highlight the moving content with glowing lines, add blurs or motion, apply different filters, insert 3D objects into the video, add glitter or sparkles and much more.
In addition to editing their content directly, users can swipe through a vertical home feed in the app where they can view the video edits others have applied to their own content for inspiration. When they see something they like, they can then tap a button to use the same effect on their own video. The finished results can then be shared out to other platforms, like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
Though based in Belarus, most of VOCHI’s users are young adults from the U.S. Others hail from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and parts of Europe, Lesun says.
Unlike some of its video editor rivals, VOCHI offers a robust free experience where around 60% of the effects and filters are available without having to pay, along with other basic editing tools and content. More advanced features, like effect settings, unique presents and various special effects, require a subscription. This subscription, however, isn’t cheap — it’s either $7.99 per week or $39.99 for 12 weeks. This seemingly aims the subscription more at professional content creators rather than a casual user just looking to have fun with their videos from time to time. (A one-time purchase of $150 is also available, if you prefer.)
To date, around 20,000 of VOCHI’s 500,000 monthly active users have committed to a paid subscription, and that number is growing at a rate of 20% month-over-month, the company says.
Image Credits: VOCHI
The numbers VOCHI has delivered, however, aren’t as important as what the startup has been through to get there.
The company has been growing its business at a time when a dictatorial regime has been cracking down on opposition, leading to arrests and violence in the country. Last year, employees from U.S.-headquartered enterprise startup PandaDoc were arrested in Minsk by the Belarus police, in an act of state-led retaliation for their protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. In April, Imaguru, the country’s main startup hub, event and co-working space in Minsk — and birthplace of a number of startups, including MSQRD, which was acquired by Facebook — was also shut down by the Lukashenko regime.
Meanwhile, VOCHI was being featured as App of the Day in the App Store across 126 countries worldwide, and growing revenues to around $300,000 per month.
“Personal videos take an increasingly important place in our lives and for many has become a method of self-expression. VOCHI helps to follow the path of inspiration, education and provides tools for creativity through video,” said Andrei Avsievich, general partner at Bulba Ventures, where VOCHI was incubated. “I am happy that users and investors love VOCHI, which is reflected both in the revenue and the oversubscribed round.”
The additional funds will put VOCHI on the path to a Series A as it continues to work to attract more creators, improve user engagement and add more tools to the app, says Lesun.
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MultiVu raises $7M seed round for its next-gen 3D sensor
MultiVu, a Tel Aviv-based startup that is developing a new 3D imaging solution that only relies on a single sensor and some deep learning smarts, today announced that it has raised a $7 million seed round. The round was led by crowdfunding platform OurCrowd, Cardumen Capital and Hong Kong’s Junson Capital.
Tel Aviv University’s TAU Technology Innovation Momentum Fund supported some of the earlier development of MultiVu’s core technology, which came out of Prof. David Mendlovic’s lab at the university. Mendlovic previously co-founded smartphone camera startup Corephotonics, which was recently acquired by Samsung.
The promise of MultiVu’s sensor is that it can offer 3D imaging with a single-lens camera instead of the usual two-sensor setup. This single sensor can extract depth and color data in a single shot.
This makes for a more compact setup and, by extension, a more affordable solution as it requires fewer components. All of this is powered by the company’s patented light field technology.
Currently, the team is focusing on using the sensor for face authentication in phones and other small devices. That’s obviously a growing market, but there are also plenty of other applications for small 3D sensors, ranging from other security use cases to sensors for self-driving cars.
“The technology, which passed the proof-of-concept stage, will bring 3D Face Authentication and affordable 3D imaging to the mobile, automotive, industrial and medical markets,” MultiVu CEO Doron Nevo said. “We are excited to be given the opportunity to commercialize this technology.”
Right now, though, the team is mostly focusing on bringing its sensor to market. The company will use the new funding for that, as well as new marketing and business development activities.
“We are pleased to invest in the future of 3D sensor technologies and believe that MultiVu will penetrate markets, which until now could not take advantage of costly 3D imaging solutions,” said OurCrowd Senior Investment Partner Eli Nir. “We are proud to be investing in a third company founded by Prof. David Mendlovic (who just recently sold CorePhotonics to Samsung), managed by CEO Doron Nevo – a serial entrepreneur with proven successes and a superb team they have gathered around them.”
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Google ups the Pixel 3’s camera game with Top Shot, group selfies and more
With the Pixel 2, Google introduced one of the best smartphone cameras ever made. It’s fitting, then, that the Pixel 3 builds on an already pretty perfect camera, adding some bells and whistles sure to please mobile photographers rather than messing with a good thing. On paper, the Pixel 3’s camera doesn’t look much different than its recent forebear. But, because we’re talking about Google, software is where the device will really shine. We’ll go over everything that’s new.
Starting with specs, both the Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL will sport a 12.2MP rear camera with an f/1.8 aperture and an 8MP dual front camera capable of both normal field of view and ultra-wide angle shots. The rear video camera captures 1080p video at 30, 60 or 120 fps, while the front-facing video camera is capable of capturing 1080p video at 30fps. Google did not add a second rear-facing camera, deeming it “unnecessary,” given what the company can do with machine learning alone. Knowing how good the Pixel 2’s camera is, we can’t really argue here.
While it’s not immediately evident from the specs sheet, Google also updated the Pixel visual co-processing chip known as Visual Core for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. The updated Visual Core chip update is what powers some of the powerful and processing-heavy new photo features.
Top Shot
With the Pixel 3, Google introduces Top Shot. With Top Shot, the Pixel 3 compares a burst set of images taken in rapid succession and automatically detects the best shot using machine learning. The idea is that the camera can screen out any photos in which a subject might have their eyes closed or be making a weird face unintentionally, choosing “smiles instead of sneezes” and offering the user the best of the batch. Stuff like this is usually gimmicky, but given Google’s image processing prowess it’s honestly probably going to be pretty good. Or as TechCrunch’s Matt Burns puts it, “Top Shots is Live Photo but useful,” which seems like a fair assessment.
Capture smiles, not blinks. With Top Shot, Pixel 3’s camera is smart enough to know a good photo when it sees it. #madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/WeVI1yojDZ
— Google (@Google) October 9, 2018
Super Res Zoom
Google’s next Pixel 3 camera trick is called Super Res Zoom, which is what it sounds like. Super Res Zoom enables the camera to take a burst of photos and then leverages the fact that each image is very slightly different due to minute hand movements, combining those images together to recreate detail “without grain” — or so Google claims. Because smartphone cameras are limited due to their lack of optical zoom, Super Res Zoom employs burst shooting and a merging algorithm to compensate for detail at a distance, merging slightly different photos into one higher resolution photo. Because digital zoom is notoriously universally bad, we’re looking forward to putting this new method to the test. After all, if it worked for imaging the surface of Mars, it’s bound to work for concert photos.
Night Sight
A machine learning camera hack designed to inspire people to retire flash once and for all (please), Night Sight can visualize a photo taken in “extreme low light.” The idea is that machine learning can make educated guesses about the content in the frame, filling in detail and color correcting so it isn’t just one big noisy mess. If it works remains to be seen, but given the Pixel 2’s already stunning low-light performance we’d bet this is probably pretty cool.
Group Selfie Cam
Google knows what the people really want. One of the biggest hardware changes to the Pixel 3 line is the introduction of dual front-facing cameras that enable super-wide front-facing shots capable of capturing group photos. The wide-angle front-facing shots feature a 97 degree field of view compared to the normal already fairly wide 75 degree field of view. Yes, Google is trying to make “Groupies” a thing — yes, that’s a selfie where you all cram in and hand the phone to the friend with the longest arms. Honestly, it might succeed.
So long, selfie sticks. There’s more in the shot with Pixel 3 and Group Selfie—more friends, more details, more scenery. You get the picture. #madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/8FGBjIStsv
— Google (@Google) October 9, 2018
Google has a few more handy tricks up its sleeve. In Photobooth mode, the Pixel 3 can snap the selfie shutter when you smile, no hands needed. With a new kind of motion-tracking auto-focus option you can tap once to track the subject of a photo without needing to tap to refocus, a feature sure to be handy for the kind of people that fill up their storage with hundreds of out-of-focus pet shots.
Google Lens is also back, of course, but honestly its utility is usually left forgotten in the camera settings. And Google’s AR stickers are now called Playground and respond to actions and facial expressions. Google is also launching a Childish Gambino AR experience on Playground (probably as good as this whole AR sticker thing gets, tbh), which will launch with the Pixel 3 and come to the Pixel 1 and Pixel 2 a bit later on.
With the Pixel 3, Google will also improve upon the Pixel 2’s already excellent Portrait Mode, offering the ability to change the depth of field and the subject. And, of course, the company will still offer free unlimited full resolution photo storage in the wonderfully useful Google Photos, which remains superior to every aspect of photo processing and storage on the iPhone.
Many of the features that Google announced today for the Pixel 3 rely on its new Visual Core chip and dual front cameras, but older Pixels will also be able to use Night Sight. Google clarified to TechCrunch that Photobooth, Top Shot, Super Res Zoom, Group Selfie Cam and Motion Auto focus are exclusive to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL due to a dependence on hardware updates.
With its Pixel line, now three generations deep, Google has leaned heavily on software-powered tricks and machine learning to make a smartphone camera far better than it should be. Given Google’s image processing chops, that’s a great thing, and most of its experimental software workarounds generally work very well. We’re looking forward to taking its latest set of photography tricks for a spin, so keep an eye out for our upcoming Pixel 3 hands-on posts and reviews.
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Spectral Edge’s image enhancing tech pulls in $5.3M
Cambridge, U.K.-based startup Spectral Edge has closed a $5.3M Series A funding round from existing investors Parkwalk Advisors and IQ Capital.
The team, which in 2014 spun the business out of academic research at the University of East Anglia, has developed a mathematical technique for improving photographic imagery in real-time, also using machine learning technology.
As we’ve reported previously, their technology — which can be embedded in software or in silicon — is designed to enhance pictures and videos on mass-market devices. Mooted use cases include for enhancing low light smartphone images, improving security camera footage or even for drone cameras.
This month Spectral Edge announced its first customer, IT services provider NTT data, which said it would be incorporating the technology into its broadcast infrastructure offering — to offer its customers an “HDR-like experience”, via improved image quality, without the need for them to upgrade their hardware.
“We are in advanced trials with a number of global tech companies — household names — and hope to be able to announce more deals later this year,” CEO Rhodri Thomas tells us, adding that he expects 2-3 more deals in the broadcast space to follow “soon”, and enhance viewing experiences “in a variety of ways”.
On the smartphone front, Thomas says the company is waiting for consumer hardware to catch up — noting that RGB-IR sensors “haven’t yet begun to deploy on smartphones on a great scale”.
Once the smartphone hardware is there he reckons its technology will be able to help with various issues such as white balancing and bokeh processing.
“Right now there is no real solution for white balancing across the whole image [on smartphones] — so you’ll get areas of the image with excessive blues or yellows, perhaps, because the balance is out — but our tech allows this to be solved elegantly and with great results,” he suggests. “We also can support bokeh processing by eliminating artifacts that are common in these images.”
The new funding is going towards ramping up Spectral Edge’s efforts to commercialize its tech, including by growing the R&D team to 12 — with hires planned for specialists in image processing, machine learning and embedded software development.
The startup will also focus on developing real-world apps for smartphones, webcams and security applications alongside its existing products for the TV & display industries.
“The company is already very IP strong, with 10 patent families in the world (some granted, some filed and a couple about to be filed),” says Thomas. “The focus now is productizing and commercializing.”
“In a year, I expect our technology to be launched or launching on major flagship [smartphone] devices,” he adds. “We also believe that by then our CVD (color vision deficiency) product, Eyeteq, is helping millions of people suffering from color blindness to enjoy significantly better video experiences.”
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Prisma uses AI to turn your photos into graphic novel fodder double quick
Artists beware! AI is coming for your paintbrush too… A new iOS app, called Prisma, is using deep learning algorithms to turn smartphone photos into stylized artworks based on different artwork/graphical styles. Snap or choose your photo, select an ‘art filter’ to be applied and then wait as the app works its algorithmic magic — returning your… Read More
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The Apple Watch Is A Great Event Assistant
This past week’s Disrupt NY 2015 conference was my first opportunity to use the Apple Watch at a multi-day event, and considering Disrupt is always essentially a non-stop workfest for us here at TC, from morning well into night, it’d be hard to find a better real-world test case to see how the Apple Watch performs in this type of setting. In short, events throw into bas-relief… Read More
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