Aarhus-based startup JumpStory has raised €900K after two successful rounds of funding.
JumpStory was established in 2018, after founders Jonathan Low and Anders Thiim realised that the stock image market needed radical innovation, having experienced first-hand the frustrations marketers experience every day sourcing images.
The startup leverages AI technology to tackle this issue and allow marketers to find images more quickly and efficiently by searching using their own content and quickly narrowing down the most relevant results. Its platform features a Netflix-style subscription model and gives users unlimited access to 15 million authentic photos, videos, icons, illustrations and vectors, with music soon to be added. The company already has customers in 80 countries, 40 different languages and has an international team of 16 based in Aarhus, Denmark.
JumpStory also offers users it AI-powered HighJumper feature, which uses neuromarketing analysis to predict which images will be most impactful and helps to quickly narrow down searches. For this tool, the AI is being trained in neuromarketing – how images work on our brains and how the eye perceives visual content. It uses this to analyse the contrast, colours and emotions in an image, then predict how well it will perform. The intention is that as JumpStory’s AI tools learn, they will get to know customers well enough to match authentic images with their specific brand and audience in the best possible way and in a matter of seconds.
It also provides images that look and feel natural, and feature real people of all ages and appearances. Not only does this provide marketers with realistic images that will resonate with their audiences, it also helps to challenge pervasive norms about body image and appearance.
The JumpStory team are also working to integrate the platform into other MarTech tools and platforms so that storytellers can source the images they need without having to leave the application they are working in. A number of important integrations are planned for 2020.
“The stock image industry is outdated, overpriced and overcomplicated. It seems to be more about uploading millions and millions of visuals rather than about their impact. At JumpStory we are entrepreneurs and marketers by heart, and we know that both groups spend way too much time searching for authentic images. We want to solve their problem by making it super easy to find authentic visuals – and at the same time helping out with predicting which photos will actually create the desired results”, explains Jumpstory’s co-founder Jonathan Low.
“We’ve rethought the entire process from scratch, and are applying AI in order to simplify and improve the experience. Matching images with texts automatically, and in an intelligent way, is one element of this. Using AI to filter out the more fake-looking photos and instead giving them more authentic visuals is also valuable to marketers. These tools are enabling storytellers in 80 countries to find images more quickly and efficiently.”
