AI-powered photoshoot platform Spyne secures funding

Gurugram-based Eventila Technologies, the parent operator of artificial intelligence-enabled photoshoot management platform Spyne, has raised an undisclosed amount in a bridge funding round, dubbed a ‘pre-Series A’ round, from returning investor Smile Group and others.

AngelList, senior executives from online travel agency Yatra and budget hospitality chain OYO, among others participated in the latest funding round, according to a statement released on Monday. 

Spyne had previously raised a seed-stage investment in 2019 in a round led by Smile Group. Gurugram-based Smile Group owns and operates various properties in the online and digital media space.

The Gurugram-based startup said it will use the fresh capital to build on its AI-based image editing suite. It also plans to spread across tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India, and then to South Asia and the Middle East to help businesses order any kind of shoot at scale.

The platform helps businesses with their visual content photoshoot needs. Spyne operates with a network of over 2,500 photographers across over 35 cities and an image processing and distribution technology.

“With the current round, we are looking to invest deeper in building the next set of computer vision and deep tech applications… This will enable us to open new markets in the coming months not only in India but thousands of businesses outside India,” Sanjay Kumar, co-founder and CEO at Spyne said.

The company claims to process hundreds of edited images in minutes using its editing suite.

"I'm excited about how Sanjay and his team at Spyne are working to solve the Image processing problems, faced by most online Businesses globally, including us at Oyo,” Anil Goel, CTO at OYO and one of Spyne’s investors said.

Some of Spyne’s other clients include Amazon, Snapdeal, Big Basket and Yatra.

“We see the founder-market fit in Sanjay, given his past experience. Spyne has the potential of becoming a global company,” AngelList India said in the statement.

Spyne was launched in 2018 by IIT-Kharagpur alumnus Sanjay Kumar and Delhi School of Economics alumnus Deepti Prasad. Kumar has previously led product and technology functions at companies Amazon, OYO and Yatra, while Prasad holds over eight years of consulting and marketing experience, according to the statement.