SearchInk, a Berlin, Germany-based technology company developing software to access and understand the knowledge and information locked in handwritten documents, raised €4.2m in seed funding.
Backers included IBB Berlin as well as individual investor Michael Schmitt, ex Engineering Director at Google Switzerland.
The company intends to use the funds to facilitate growth and further development of its technology.
Founded in 2015 by CEO Sofie Quidenus, along with a team of co-founders including Eric Pfarl, Co-founder & CIO; Stephan Dorfmeister, Co-Founder & CFO; Martin Micko, COO & Co-founder; and Harald Gölles, CTO & Co-founder, SearchInk is focused on developing technology that enables access to the knowledge and information locked in handwritten documents. Its Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology converts any handwritten text into a machine readable format by leveraging an algorithm that learns how to understand and analyze documents the way a person would. The software has the potential to be used for any handwritten document that has been digitized (scanned in to create a digital file) for personal, institutional or corporate use, including notes, lists, expense claims, bills, receipts, research papers and printed documents with handwritten annotations.
Early next year, SearchInk is planning to announce both a new site launch and business partnership, which will make the technology accessible to audiences for individual use, as well as academic and corporate purposes.
The company, which is part of the Qidenus Group, which also includes Qidenus Technologies, a company of 50 + people based in Vienna, Austria, is now cooperating with UPV Universitat Politècnica de València and the Computer Vision Center (CVC) in Barcelona.
FinSMEs
17/11/2016