Toronto-based social media analytics firm acquires Bengaluru-based gazeMetrix
Bengaluru-based 500 Startups alumnus gazeMetrix announced that it has been acquired by the Canadian firm Sysomos Inc in a cash and equity deal. gazeMetrix is an image recognition and visual listening listening platform that helps brands and agencies capitalize on the opportunity presented by the increasingly visual social web. This acquisition will make Sysomos the first social intelligence platform to expand into visual listening.
A brief history of gazeMetrix
Co-Founded by Deobrat Singh, Saurabh Paruthi and Debayan Banerjee in 2012, gazeMetrix is a product from UberLabs that lets you know when and where your brand was photographed across social media. Launched through 500 Startups, the platoform provides visual analytics in social media using algorithms and a proprietary virality detection method. It gives brands a window into how their logos are representing them and how customers are representing their brand.
In addition to its photo monitoring offering, gazeMetrix also seamlessly enables digital rights management, allowing brands to easily contact users who have posted photos. Brands can ask for permission to republish user-generated images on their own channels, turning that content into assets that work for the brand.
gazeMetrix has raised a more than $300K funding from 500 Startups and a few angel investors.
Canadian company in Silicon Valley
Sysomos Inc. is a Toronto-based social media analytics company whose flagship product, Media Analysis Platform (MAP), mines and analyzes content from social media or user-generated content to create a picture of media coverage. The company has an office in Silicon Valley as well and claims to have 1500 customers.
Sysomos CEO, Lindsay Sparks, believes that most brands are missing crucial visual data about their customers on Twitter and Instagram, and few recognize that analyzing captions, comments and hashtags isn’t enough.
Partnership to aquisition
The conversation with Sysomos did not start as an acquisition discussion. Deobrat says,
"We were exploring partnership opportunities. As time went by, we found more and more synergy in our vision, teams and technologies. Eventually we reached a point where we realized, this had to be done."
What happens after the deal ?
Of the 9 member team of gazeMetrix, five will move to Silicon Valley to work closely with rest of the Sysomos team while the remaining will help company maintain its presence in India.
Deobrat says,
“With Sysomos being the largest independent social intelligence platform, now made even more powerful through Expion’s enterprise-class social engagement platform, the integration of gazeMetrix visual listening technology will make Sysomos the actionability engine marketers really need.”
This is in sync with company's vision of building an image-based monitoring and engagement offering that would delight customers.
Product demo of Sysomos Gaze.