The startup behind the photo app Bundle today announced that it has raised $300,000 in seed funding from Startupbootcamp and angel investors. The Amsterdam-based company also announced the launch of the beta version of its iOS app and is now looking for beta testers to refine the product and get it ready for an official launch.
The app helps users take control of their photos by using algorithms to automatically select and organize the best ones into ‘bundles’. These bundles can be shared with friends and family to create stories together.
Bundle will be available initially only for the iPhone. The seed capital will be used to develop versions for web and Android, as well as to improve the algorithms and connect Bundle to other cloud services like Google Drive and iCloud.
Michel op ‘t Landt, co-founder at Bundle, describes the idea behind Bundle like this: “It feels like the more photos we take, the less likely we are to ever do anything with them. In this big pile of photos, the ones that bring out the best memories might get lost. It just takes too much effort to select and organize them. With Bundle we want to change this. We want to help people unclutter their photo mess and turn their best photos into valuable visual stories.”
Bundle gives its users automatic suggestions for selecting and organizing the best photos from their smartphone, digital camera or Dropbox account into albums, so called ‘bundles’. Bundle’s algorithm groups duplicate photos and suggests the best photos based on concept, smile detection, sharpness, and facial expression. These suggestions can then be added to a bundle and enriched with titles or text to turn them into valuable stories. As users continue to use Bundle, it learns about their preferences and helps them unclutter their “photo mess” even faster.
Users can create private bundles, or invite friends and family to add their photos. Based on location and date, Bundle can automatically suggest which photos from friends would likely be associated with the album, and combines them in one safe place. In the future, users will also be able to share bundles about certain events or subject publicly. An additional feature is the one-click print function, which lets users easily convert their favorite Bundle into a photo book or prints.