ViSenze bags $10m for its image recognition tech powering ecommerce

Photo credit: ViSenze.

Computer vision startup ViSenze has leapt over the dreaded so-called series A gap to raise a series B round of funding worth US$10.5 million.

The round is led by existing investor Rakuten Ventures, internet dynamo Rakuten’s investment arm. It was also co-led by WI Harper Group, which specializes in cross-border investments between the US and China, and early-stage venture capital firm Enspire Capital.

Cool tech must also translate to a product that solves problems and that clients are willing to pay money for.

SPH Media Fund (the investment arm of Singapore Press Holdings), FengHe Fund Management, Raffles Venture Partners, Phillip Private Equity, and UOB Venture Management also participated.

ViSenze co-founder and CEO Oliver Tan knows how challenging it is for local startups to raise series B rounds these days. “Not many players in Singapore write these checks,” he tells Tech in Asia.

The startup had previously raised a US$3.5 million series A in February 2014.

Oliver attributes investor interest to the startup’s tech and the traction it has achieved in the last couple of years.

“It’s one thing to have cool technology, but you also have to show it translates to a product that solves problems and that clients are willing to pay money for,” he says.

ViSenze enables visual search on ecommerce providers like Indian fashion marketplace Myntra. Photo credit: ViSenze.

Digital vision

ViSenze builds visual search and image recognition software, specializing in ecommerce and retail applications. Its tech combines computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to provide things like image-based search and item recommendations.

The company’s tech is used by ecommerce providers in several markets like Rakuten, Lazada, British fashion marketplace Asos, Indian fashion e-tailer Myntra, and ecommerce stalwart Flipkart.

See: Flipkart now has image-based search, and Singaporean startup ViSenze is behind it

Looking ahead