AI image recognition company Pomvom eyeing $45 million IPO
The Israeli startup’s technology enables users to upload a selfie to a website and receive content that features them in real-time
Israeli AI image recognition company Pomvom is targeting an IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange at a valuation of NIS 150 million (approximately $45 million), a person familiar with the move told Calcalist under the condition of anonymity. Pomvom is planning to offer 30% of its shares with the hope of raising around NIS 45-50 ($13-15 million). The company completed a private funding round last year at a valuation of $30 million.
Pomvom was founded in 2015 by Yehuda Minkovicz (CEO) and Shmuel Assa and the two jointly hold 25% of the shares set to be listed. The company has to date raised $12 million from private investors who own the remainder of the shares.
Pomvom's AI image recognition technology enables site operators in the entertainment and attractions industry to provide guests with the chance to capture images that would have previously been impossible, and view and order content from a personalized digital album through the attraction’s app. Users upload a selfie and receive content captured of them in real-time. By purchasing content on the app, operators can bypass the need for visitors to stand in queues waiting to collect personalized content.
Pomvom acquired Picsolve, a British digital content capture partner for visitor attractions, last summer for just one million pounds after Covid-19 handed the UK company a deathblow. Picsolve had reached annual revenue of around $100 million thanks to its photography sites in amusement parks and numerous attractions in Europe and North America, but their closure due to the pandemic brought its income to a grinding halt.
The attraction photo industry was estimated at $1 billion a year in 2019 and is largely dependent on millennials, who are the primary users of smartphones for photography purposes, which suits Pomvom's model to view and order content from a personalized digital album.
Additional large photography markets are those of the sports industry, which is estimated at $2 billion a year, the water park market, estimated at $500 million, and the cruise market estimated at $300 million.
