Back in December, we put a spotlight on Spotzer, a Boston startup powering interactive, socially engaging apps that personalize museum visitors' experiences. Since then, the company has taken on a new name—Cuseum—and now, raised $1.2 million in seed financing. Investors in this round included Foundry Group’s FG Angels, Atlas Venture’s Boston Syndicates, Seavest Capital Partners, Drummond Road Capital and New Gen Partners. Angel investors Paul English, Joshua Schachter, Deborah Ellinger, Wayne Chang, Colin Angle, Nicole Stata, David Chang, Jit Saxena and others also participated. Michael Sippey, former vice president of product at Twitter, is a previous investor and is also now acting as an advisor for the startup.
The new funding for Cuseum, which Founder and CEO Brendan Ciecko has described as the “Pinterest for the physical world," will be used to expand the company's sales, design and development teams.
“We're hugely impressed by Brendan's vision to bring art and culture to life through mobile and beacons, thereby unlocking a world of shareable content for consumers and rich visitor insights for museums,” said Brad Feld of Foundry Group in a press release.
Already, the startup has powered apps for a number of prominent museums and galleries, like the New York City's Neue Galerie across from The Met; Boston Athenaeum, one of the oldest independent libraries and cultural institutions in the United States; and the Public Art Collection at the MIT List Visual Arts Center.
All museums that are using Cuseum platform have access to a number of new tools, including support for Bluetooth beacons. This feature allow patrons to learn more about a work of art they’re observing without having to scan a QR code, because the apps are already location-aware. Additionally, museums have access to data analytics through Cuseum, which may offer insights that can help them to enhance the museum experience. Cuseum can also “learn” about museum visitors over time—if they linger in front of a specific work, the system will take note of their preferences and send a notification about other pieces they may be drawn to.
Images courtesy of Cuseum.
