Gurgaon-based Photo Sharing Platform Spyne Raises Pre-series Funding

Spyne, an AI-driven Indian tech company that helps Online businesses with all kinds of photoshoots and photographers to leverage their visual content for business growth, has successfully raised an undisclosed amount as growth capital in their Pre-series funding.

The investment was led by Angellist, Smile Group, Manish Amin (COO, Yatra), Anil Goel (CTO, OYO), Anubhav Sonthalia (CEO, Sokrati), Deepak Mittal (CEO, TO THE NEW), among other entrepreneurs from leading companies in India. The company raised its seed funding last year, which was led by the Smile Group and other angel investors. 

The Gurgaon-based startup will use the current funding to build and reinforce the AI-based image editing suite that will help businesses in getting images edited 4x faster with the highest precision. The technology will also ensure the marketplace image specifications and customizations are followed during the bulk processing, helping businesses save up to 90% of the costs. 

Commenting on the development, Sanjay Kumar, Co-founder & CEO, Spyne, said, "Every business - big or small - needs HQ images and videos to sell their products and services online. We are in the business of providing the best visual content and photoshoot services to them anywhere, anytime at ~30% quicker with 99.99% accuracy. With the network of 2500+ highly curated photographers across 35+ cities and industry-first Image processing and distribution technology, we are uniquely placed to cater to the large incoming demand coming from businesses in the post Covid-19 era.” 

“With the current round, we are looking to invest deeper in building the next set of computer vision and Deep tech applications solving complex use cases such as auto editing of images in a click, automated curation and quality check, On the fly Image and Design generation, etc. This will enable us to open new markets in the coming months not only in India but thousands of businesses outside India.", he further added.

Currently, an editor can manually edit at max 150 images per day. The company’s high tech editing suite will help accomplish hundreds of edited images in minutes, guaranteeing up to 90% margins, 99.9% accuracy, and 100% on-time delivery.

"I'm excited about how Sanjay and his team at Spyne are working to solve the Image processing problems, faced by most Online Businesses globally, including us at Oyo. Producing personalized high-quality content at an industrial scale is something which very few companies have been able to achieve anywhere, and I am fully behind the team to achieve it eventually," said Anil Goel, CTO, OYO.

The company is also reinforcing its business operations for SpyneStudios and freelance photography networks across the country. Last month, the company opened its first studio in Delhi NCR and added over 150 freelance photographers to its existing network of over 2500+ freelancers. Spyne plans to spread across tier 2 and tier 3 cities and then to South-Asia and the Middle East to help businesses order any kind of shoot at scale at any time and anywhere. 

Currently, Spyne has 2000+ photographers actively using its high-tech content sharing platform, SpyneShare, which helps photographers generate reviews and more business. So far, 6M+ photos and videos have been shared through SpyneShare product. The company plans to extend this product to businesses as well with add-on AI tech-features to instantly track all their products from pickup for a shoot to final image delivery. This perhaps is a much-needed feature that doesn't exist in the market so far.

“Internet marketplaces all across the globe are growing exponentially. Millions of high-quality images and videos of products/services are published every day on marketplace platforms to improve their traffic and conversions. Still, high-quality content delivery and management remain a daunting task. We see the founder-market fit in Sanjay, given his past experience. Spyne has the potential of becoming a global company,” says the Angellist India team.

The company currently provides a wide array of photoshoot services such as HQ images, videos, social media content, 360-degree shoots, 3D rendering, etc to cater to industries including e-commerce, real estate, fashion, Jewellery, and food. 

Spyne has worked with top national and international brands such as Amazon, Snapdeal, Oyo, Big Basket, WedMeGood, Yatra, PP Jewellers among many others. 

Anubhav Sonthalia, CEO, Sokrati says, “Large companies & small sellers alike do not have easy access to high-quality, timely, and professional talent to get converting content on demand across the entire span of India. Spyne, with its core Shoot and AI-driven Image Processing technology, has built a platform that will make the production of Images and Videos at scale available to every seller, and it is as easy as ordering food.”

Spyne was launched in 2018 by an IIT-Kharagpur alumni Sanjay Kumar who has worked with brands like Amazon, Yatra, OYO, etc and Deepti Prasad from Delhi School of Economics with 8+ years of consulting and marketing experience. The AI-driven company provides photographers a new content management experience and an opportunity to work for top national and international brands. With an aim to fill the high-quality content requirement gap in the industry at high volume and scale, the company aims to be the go-to place for all kinds of shoots, visual content management, and image processing requirements across India and beyond. 

Founding Team:

Sanjay Kumar (Co-founder, CEO): IIT KGP, 2005. Ex Amazon, Oyo, Yatra 12+ years in Deep Tech, Product Built multiple successful Online products for some of the top startups and Consumer companies, used by millions of customers globally. 

Deepti Prasad (Co-founder, Marketing): Delhi School of Economics, 2007 8+ years in Consulting & Marketing Genpact Consulting for 5 years+, Media/Economic Analyst to renowned Economist Omkar Goswami for Question Time Show on NDTV.

Meet 'Pramaan', India’s Very Own 3D Printer

3D printing is currently a $2.2 billion industry but is bound to grow up to $10.8 billion as per Goldman Sachs. 4 energetic entrepreneurs saw an opportunity in this sector, decided to tap it and make a 3D printer so that it doesn't have to be imported to India at high prices. This is how Global 3D Labs started out in Manipal, Udupi. Gopal Krishna, Aviral Kedia (both from MIT, Manipal), Manish Amin, Shreyas Kudva (both from MITE, Manglore) set out to make their product, Pramaan. Pramaan is a latest generation, industrial grade, desktop 3D Printer designed for multiple users and sturdy usage.

[caption id="attachment_94964" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Pramaan Creator - (L-R) Gopal Krishna, Shreyas Kudva, Aviral Kedia and Manish Amin[/caption]



"Concept modelling has been an integral part of any Engineering process. The models can be developed for various sectors ranging from Architecture to Jewellery," says Gopal. The 3D printed parts give a first-hand experience of how the products will look in their physical scale. The printed parts can be painted, sanded or even chromium plated to give an actual feel of the product or the architectural structure before it is brought to the production stage.

"Unlike earlier processes where concept modelling consisted of separate simulation on computer and then a scaled down model made up of wood, foam, etc., a 3D Printed part gives the tangibility of computer simulation and physical modelling at the same time," adds Aviral. The printers can create parts that can be tested for production before the final machine tooling is done.

"Pramaan has LCD support and SD card connectivity that allows it to be an independent system. The printer has a massive build volume of 27 x 35 x 22 cm3 that allows the users to build multiple and bigger parts in a single print. It has the largest build volume in its price range," says Shreyas.



Pramaan can be used with ABS, PLA, Laywood, HIPS Polymer, Nylon 618 and other compatible materials. Pramaan can be used to print multiple designs that can be both downloaded from the internet as well as designed by the user. Pramaan can be used with various 3D printing software that are available for free download. Apart from this, Pramaan has full metal chassis which helps making the machine a very robust one.

"Presently we are researching on multiple extruder 3D printers, food extruders, 3D scanners. These products will hit the market in early part 2015," says Gopal. G3D Labs has signed an MOU with Appmob Marketing to conduct workshops throughout the nation to make people aware of the wonders this technology can do. These workshops are a part of G3D Labs endeavour to evangelize 3D printing in India.

How Pramaan is different from other 3D Printers -

Pramaan comes with LCD support and can interact in 11 different languages meant to cater to customers all across the globe. Moreover, the printer has a massive build volume which is the biggest in the world for its price range. The printer is made for multiple users and has a sturdy chassis made of Mild Steel.

Moreover, Pramaan is a plug and play gadget. You can unpack the machine and start printing from the day 1. You can even print Pramaan without using system as Pramaan comes with SD card support. You can copy the g-codes and print using the same.

[caption id="attachment_94967" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 3D printer 'Pramaan' in action[/caption]

The team currently comprises of 9 members and they hope to establish themselves as major player in field of 3D printing and rapid prototyping by constant R&D and launching a variety of products. They are currently not funded.

As a message for future entrepreneurs, Aviral says "Entrepreneurship is a great way to bring about the changes that you wish to see in the society and empower people. Do not hesitate to invest your time and efforts in something that you firmly believe in because if you can dream it you can do it."