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VP Capital and Larnabel Ventures Announce $2 Million Investment in Smart Parental Control Startup FaceMetrics
While other parental apps offer scheduling, location-tracking, social activity monitoring, and call-tracking, FaceMetrics combines these features in one platform in a user-friendly way and adds tracking on the device camera. The app allows parents to track a number of parameters to, for example, determine the distance between the screen and the face and measure engagement. Here is how the app works in action:
The information is then provided to parents in a convenient, informative, and safe way. Parents are the only ones who can access data about their child through a secure, password-protected, account. The app complies with all the requirements of GDPR and COPPA.
"The app is not a supervisor but a friend. If you ban games, it will simply make them more appealing to kids," said Mikhail Boyko , FaceMetrics' CEO. "By leveraging state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies, FaceMetrics allows parents to propose a fair and enforceable trade-off to their children: an hour of reading time, for an hour of play time. After all, it's not just about getting kids to read, but making sure they do it regularly and mindfully."
"To get kids prepared to be the leaders of the future we need to make sure they study effectively today. The brain is our greatest asset and we can develop it only through knowledge," said Viktor Prokopenya, Founder of VP Capital. "We are excited to be investing in FaceMetrics, by leveraging AI in innovative ways the Company has the potential to change children's attitudes towards reading and learning."
FaceMetrics' technology is partly developed by Banuba, a startup that develops technologies for augmented reality-enabled mobile applications. Since VP Capital and Larnabel Ventures announced a $5 million investment in Banuba in February 2017 , the company now has 25 technology patents pending, with six already approved. In October 2017 , Banuba announced plans to work with ten startups based on the "technology for equity" model where startups are provided with technology, marketing, and investments in exchange for a share of their company. FaceMetrics is the second startup that was chosen.
FaceMetrics is available in Russian and English and will launch this summer. The app will be free to use in Belarus and will be available through a subscription in other countries. You can subscribe for demo access at http://facemetrics.io .
Larnabel Ventures was founded by Said Gutseriev to invest in the information technology sector.
Founded by Viktor Prokopenya, VP Capital is a global investment vehicle focused on the technology sector. For more information, please visit https://vpcapital.com/.
Banuba develops mobile apps powered by AR and machine learning algorithms, capable of defining and recognising objects, facial expressions and mimics in real time. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Hong Kong and has a 110-strong development team with extensive expertise in artificial intelligence and augmented reality, based in Minsk Belarus . Banuba has submitted 25 IP pending patents in the USA . In February 2017 , the company raised $5M from Larnabel Ventures and VP Capital venture funds. For more information, please visit https://banuba.com/.