Website www.looksery.com | Industry SoftwarePhotography Number of employees 45 (2016) Parent organization Snap Inc. | |
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Key people Victor Shaburov PresidentYurii Monastyrshin COOAlex Grytsiuk CTOJulie Krasnienko Marketing and Business Development Director Founders Victor Shaburov, Yurii Monastyrshin | ||
Ukraine tech startup odesa based looksery reported bought by us firm snapchat
Looksery is an American software and photography company founded in 2013 by Victor Shaburov and Yurii Monastyrshin, based in San Francisco and owned by Snap Inc. The company developed the Looksery application that does facial modification of photos in real time on mobile platforms.
Contents
- Ukraine tech startup odesa based looksery reported bought by us firm snapchat
- Looksery app lets you manipulate your mobile video face in real time
- History
- Application
- Reception
- Awards
- References
The company has offices in Russia, the United States and Ukraine.
Looksery app lets you manipulate your mobile video face in real time
History
Victor Shaburov founded Looksery company in 2013 in San Francisco. Shaburov was sponsoring a programming contest in Ukraine, which Yurii Monastyrshin won twice in succession. Victor offered him to become a co-founder of the startup. In 2014, offices were established in Odessa, Ukraine and Sochi, Russia. Later, the company launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise funds, and exceeded their fundraising goal.
In September 2015, Looksery was acquired by Snap Inc. for $150 million, marking the biggest startup acquisition in Ukraine’s history. Snapchat used the Looksery technology to launch a new feature, Lenses.
Application
Before Snapchat's acquisition, Looksery was available as a stand-alone application for iOS and Android. Looksery’s mobile application enabled users to simulate their appearance for a photo or video chat in real-time. Additionally, users could share photos and videos through popular social networks and messengers. When Snapchat launched its product, Lenses, Looksery was withdrawn as a stand-alone product.
Reception
Looksery garnered a lot of media attention. Vogue selected Looksery as one of the ten Best Apps of 2014 and wrote that "it’s truly addictive and instantly fills you with the childlike energy and creativity of playing make-believe". TechCrunch called it "a clever application that lets you change your facial features..." and Inc. wrote that "[it] is an example of technology that may make it easier for camera-shy folks to sit through live video calls or take pictures in the future."
Awards
In 2014, Looksery won the Best Innovative Startup Award at the SVOD annual conference in Silicon Valley.