Ukrainian startup RefaceAI closes funding round. Elon Musk uses its app
Ukrainian startup RefaceAI, which developed Doublicat, an AI-powered app to swap faces in GIFs, are rising investments from several investors. The total amount of the round is not disclosed. According to AIN.UA data, one of the minority investors, Adventures Lab, has invested in the startup between $300,000 and $500,000.
What does RefaceAI do?
RefaceAI develops AI technology to swap faces in photos, GIFs, and videos. In other words, you can paste the face of a person on the face of another one in a photo or video, given the facial expressions. Previously, we wrote about the Doublicat app, in a few months after its release, it was downloaded more than 900,000 times. The technology used by the startup team works as follows:
The RefaceAI company was founded by Roman Mogylnyi, Oles Petriv, and Yaroslav Boiko in 2011. It was called Neocortext at that time. At first, the team was engaged in machine learning – from working with text semantics to visual content. Currently, the company has focused on its AI face-swapping technology.
The R&D center of RefaceAI is located in Kyiv. At first, the company employed 12 people, but now its staff has grown to 40 specialists.
How does the technology work and where is it used?
According to developers, unlike other face-swapping applications, they do not use CGI or 3D-modelling. The technology is based only on AI, they use generative adversarial networks, known as GAN.
The startup already worked with companies from the entertainment industry, cinema, advertising. For example, their technology was used in “Movie Selfie” in the Multiplex application: there you could create your own photos like you are a character of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Terminator, etc.
The company’s applications are also used by influencers in social networks. For example, one of Elon Musk’s viral photos was taken using its Reflect application:
Who are the investors of RefaceAI?
The deal will be closed for several more months, and the startup does not disclose its main investors. So far, only one investor is known – Adventures Lab. It has been working in the Ukrainian market since late 2019. Their average investment amount ranges from $100,000 to $500,000.
Where will the funds go?
The company will spend investments on product improvement. The company also plans to expand its business development team and content team, to work on new sources of monetization.
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