Google Cannot Track Down the Dress You Fell in Love With on Instagram, Says Syte Founder

When you see something you love online, you want to get it for yourself immediately, said Lihi Pinto Fryman, co-founder of online shopping assistant company Syte-Visual Conception Ltd. Pinto Fryman spoke Thursday at Calcalist’s WeTech Berlin 2020 conference, held in collaboration with Israel’s Bank Leumi Property Holdings PLC.

Founded in 2015, Syte offers shopping suggestions based on image recognition software, letting users upload an image of an outfit and have the company’s technology break it down to its components, suggesting similar items from multiple retailers. Shoppers can also upload photos of their own clothes and receive various styling recommendations from Syte.

The idea for Syte sprung into Pinto Fryman’s mind when she saw a dress she fell in love with on her Instagram feed. Pinto Fryman said she would have paid anything to have that dress but had no idea how to find more information on it. Google could discern what dress she was looking for through a verbal query, she added. This was when she decided to create a comprehensive visual search engine for online retailers.