How CamFind brings you image search results even better than Google does

by Sean McClure
March 5, 2014

[ibimage==30607==Large==none==self==null]


CamFind, the company tackling visual search with your everyday smartphone, is soaring ahead of Google's Goggles. How is this possible?

First, co-founders Dominik Mazur and Brad Folkens have spent the past decade working within the search space, creating companies like JRank and StateUniversity.com. Now operating under the Image Searcher, Inc. name, these two are pioneering the visual search industry with CamFind.

CEO Mazur said this technology seems to go head-on against Google: "We started the project without knowing Google was working on Google Glass/Goggles. When we were alerted to Google's product, we did our homework and found that only one to two out of 10 images captured brought back accurate search results. We saw an opportunity to bring more accurate results and also apply it to a hardware everyone was already using (smartphone)."

Since CamFind's launch of the iOS app in April of last year (and Android app this past January), they have seen 1.2 million downloads and achieved visual search recognition accuracy of eight to nine out of every 10 photos sent their way. Mazur stated that a big part of that accuracy is the "human element" involved in search results.

Like Google, CamFind uses a computer visual software based on an algorithm, but if a photo stumps the software (50 percent chance this is a house cat, 50 percent that it's a poodle) then the image is forwarded to a data center in the Philippines where hundreds of employees answer what that image is in real-time and send that result back to the user.

Currently, CamFind is operating with two business models. The first is a B2B licensing business from their CamFind API that allows other companies to take advantage of this technology for about $.06 cents a photo. The other is the B2C side, working with consumer visual search results.

At this time, they are looking to develop both aspects of the business on a previously-raised $1.7 million in seed funding before the product was launched ($1.2 million from Angel investors and half a million from the co-founders). They will soon look to raise a Series A worth $6 million to $7 million that will help fund technology improvements and grow their current team. Right now, they have nine full-time employees residing on the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles as well as over 200 employees within their massive data centers in the Philippines.

Besides CamFind, the Image Searcher, Inc. team also created TapTapSee, which is a similar app for the blind and visually impaired. It uses image recognition technology with photos taken on your smartphone and then a voice actually speaks the results. This earned the team an Access Award just one week ago from the American Foundation for the Blind -- a very prestigious award that has been given to past companies like Disney, Google, Apple and CBS.

Though it is still a startup, CamFind certainly seems to be "capturing" the visual search space and is certainly putting the pressure on Google's goggles.

Jobs at Image Searcher, Inc.

Los Angeles startup guides

LOCAL GUIDE
Best Companies to Work for in Los Angeles
LOCAL GUIDE
Coolest Tech Offices in Los Angeles
LOCAL GUIDE
Best Perks at Los Angeles Tech Companies
LOCAL GUIDE
Women in Los Angeles Tech