Smartify secures £1.5M to transform arts and culture experiences
Smartify, the visitor engagement platform, has successfully raised £1.5 million to bring new technologies to the arts and culture sector and continue expanding its international presence.
Smartify is the app and digital platform that partners with leading arts and cultural institutions worldwide to enhance visitors' experience with audio and visual guides. The company's latest milestone was reached in a funding round led by Metavallon VC, with participation from Pembroke VCT, and advised by Mountside Ventures.
The investment will accelerate Smartify’s mission to revolutionise how museums and visitor attractions connect with their audiences through cutting-edge digital solutions. It will facilitate new collaborations and ensure that everyone can engage with arts and culture in a meaningful way.
Founded in 2015, Smartify now partners with over 700 organisations worldwide, including the National Gallery, the Acropolis Museum, the Tower of London, and other leading international heritage sites and attractions.
Usage of Smartify’s iOS, Android, and web apps grew 68% year-on-year over the past 12 months. More than two million active users played more than 14.3 million audio tour tracks and explored 1.7 million objects.
Thanos Kokkiniotis, CEO of Smartify, said: “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.”
George Karantonis Partner at Metavallon VC, said: “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 travellers to search, select, and consume cultural content. We strongly believe the team has both the capability and the plan to achieve this ambitious goal.”
Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke Investment Managers LLP, said: Smartify brings imaginative and thoughtful innovation to galleries, museums and exhibitions that are rich in history – the platform is an excellent enhancement of a cultural experience. Anna, Thanos, and the team have created strong connections with heritage arts and cultural institutions, and we are excited to continue our partnership in the next phase of international expansion.”
Jon Steinberg, Founding Partner of Mountside Ventures, said: “We were delighted to work with Smartify to secure this new funding round with Metavallon VC, and grateful for Pembroke’s introduction to support one of their portfolio companies. We are excited to see Smartify continue its high growth trajectory revolutionising the Arts & Culture sector through its innovative SaaS platform.”
Smartify’s innovative platform empowers cultural venues with bespoke, branded apps, eliminating the prohibitive costs of building and maintaining their own solutions. It also combines advanced technology such as AI-powered personalisation and AR/XR to deliver the level of digital experience that today’s visitors expect.
As a social enterprise, Smartify works in close collaboration with its partners, ensuring its products are tailored to the unique challenges of the cultural sector. It has helped partners to unlock vital new revenue streams, from selling premium tours alongside tickets to integrating e-commerce and ticketing systems.
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