Smartify, a visitor engagement platform for attractions, has raised £1.5 million.
The investment in the company was led by Metavallan VC with Pembroke VCT also participating.
Founded in 2015, Smartify wants to expand its international presence and use its SaaS platform and app to “revolutionize how museums and visitor attractions connect with their audience,” a statement said.
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The company offers museums, galleries and other attractions apps tailored and branded to their venue and helps to drive engagement through augmented and virtual reality and artificial intelligence. It also helps partners find new revenue streams by integrating e-commerce capabilities and offering premium products alongside regular tickets.
Smartify currently partners with more than 700 organizations including the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece and the Tower of London. It said its app usage increased 68% in the past year with some two million active users tuning into more than 14 million audio tours and exploring 1.7 million objects.
“This funding follows a truly remarkable year for Smartify, and is a significant vote of confidence in our work to make arts and culture more accessible and more enjoyable. We’re delighted to have the support of Metavallon VC, Pembroke VCT and Mountside Ventures, as we expand our reach and transform the visitor experience at even more venues worldwide,” said Thanos Kokkiniotis, CEO of Smartify.
“With this investment, we continue to support Greeks based anywhere in the world who participate in ambitious teams bringing significant technological innovations across various sectors. Smartify already boasts an impressive clientele that includes some of the world's leading museums. We are confident they will continue their international expansion, but in addition to this, our vision is to see Smartify become the app of choice for travelers to search, select, and consume cultural content. We strongly believe the team has both the capability and the plan to achieve this ambitious goal,” said George Karantonis, partner at Metavallon VC.
Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke Investment Managers LLP, said: “Smartify brings imaginative and thoughtful innovation to galleries, museums and exhibitions that are steeped in history - the platform is simply a fantastic enhancement of a cultural experience.”